#RolandMartinUnfiltered - Fani Willis Explosive Testimony, Mass Shootings & Gun Reform, Casey Goodson, Jr. Murder Trial

Episode Date: February 16, 2024

2.15.2024 #RolandMartinUnfiltered: Fani Willis Explosive Testimony, Mass Shootings & Gun Reform, Casey Goodson, Jr. Murder Trial  Fulton County, Georgia, District Attorney Fani Willis spent nearly three hours on the stand testifying about her relationship with Nathan Ward. We'll show you some of the heated exchanges. And discuss the case with a special legal panel.  Wednesday's mass shooting during the Kansas City Chiefs' celebration sparks more talks about gun reform. We'll talk to one expert about what really needs to be done to see a change. A former Ohio police officer is waiting for a jury to decide his fate after killing a black man. We'll talk to the attorney representing the family of Casy Goodson, Jr. who was shot in the doorway of his grandmother's home.  Watch #BlackStarNetwork streaming 24/7  Amazon Fire TV / Amazon News, Prime Video, Freevee + Plex.tv Download the Black Star Network app at http://www.blackstarnetwork.com! We're on iOS, AppleTV, Android, AndroidTV, Roku, FireTV, XBox and SamsungTV. The #BlackStarNetwork is a news reporting platform covered under Copyright Disclaimer Under Section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976, allowance is made for "fair use" for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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It 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. It's Thursday, February 15th, 2024. I'm Dr. Greg Carr, sitting in for Roland. Here's what's coming up on Roland Martin Unfiltered, streaming live on the Black Star Network.

Fulton County, Georgia, District Attorney Fannie Willis spent nearly three hours on the stand testifying about her relationship with Nathan Ward. We'll show you some of the heated exchanges and discuss the case with a special legal panel. Wednesday's mass shooting during the Kansas City Chiefs celebration sparks more talks about gun reform. We'll talk to one expert about what really needs to be done to see a change. A former Ohio police officer is waiting for a jury to decide his fate after killing another black man. We'll talk to the attorney representing the family

of Casey Goodson Jr., who was shot in the doorway of his grandmother's home. It's time to bring the funk on Roland Martin Unfiltered, streaming live here on the Black Star Network. Let's go. He's got whatever the piss he's on it. Whatever it is, he's got the scoop, the fact, the fine. And when it breaks, he's right on time.

And it's Roland, best belief he's knowing. Putting it down from sports to news to politics. With entertainment just for kicks He's rollin' Yeah, yeah It's Uncle Roro, y'all Yeah, yeah It's Rollin' Martin

Yeah, yeah Rollin' with Rollin' now Yeah, yeah He's funky, he's fresh, he's real, the best you know. He's rolling, Martel, now. Martel. It was an explosive day in a Georgia courtroom during the disqualification hearing to remove the Fulton County District Attorney from the election interference case.

Fannie Willis took the stand for a face-off with the attorneys of Donald Trump's co-defendants indicted on charges of trying to subvert Georgia's 2020 presidential election. Willis was on the stand for hours answering questions about her relationship with attorney Nathan Wade. Here's some of her testimony. The only thing you've ever given him outside of a contract is cash. I didn't give him money in a contract so that was cute but I didn't give him money in a contract. What happened is, no we're gonna answer it since you said it. He worked. He worked more hours than he was paid.

And the county paid him for the work that he did. So don't be cute with me and then think that you're not going to get an answer. But I always have cash at the house. That has been, I don't know, all my life. If you're a woman and you go on a date with a man, you better have $200 in your pocket. So if that man acts up, you can go where you want to go. So I keep cash in my house and I don't keep cash as good in my purse like I used to. I don't go on many dates, but when you go on a date, you should have cash in your pocket.

So my question was, where did that cash originally come from? If it didn't come out of the bank? Cash is fungible. I've had cash for years in my house. So for me to tell you the source of where it comes from, when you go to Publix and you buy something, you get $50, you throw it in there. It's been my whole life. When I took out a large amount of money on my first campaign, I kept some of the cash of that. To tell you I just have cash in my house, I don't have as much today as I would normally have, but I'm building back up now. So you just put money in.

It's a very good practice. I would advise it to all women. So you can't identify when you came into this cash or where the cash came from? I didn't say I couldn't identify it. Nobody gives me anything. I am sure that the source of the money is always the work, sweat, and tears of me. What you asked me for is, when did the money go in there? What I am trying to tell you is, so I got divorced in 2005 from my husband. And I'm not.

No, no, no. It's important. You said, where did the money come from? And I need to tell you where the money came from. And so for many, many years, I have kept money in my house. That money in my worst days has probably only been $500 or $1,000. At my best days, I probably had $15,000 in my house of cash. At all times, there's going to be cash in my house or wherever I'm laying my head. The money that you paid, Mr. Wade, the cash in October of 2022,

you do not know where that money came from? I do know where it came from. It came from my sweat and tears. You know which job it came from. Did it come from Fulton County or did it come from a private job? It came from, I don't, I'm not, what are you talking about? So it could have come from a private job because before I was DA, I was in private practice. So I earned money during that time period that's probably in there. Let's go on and have the conversation. I'm just asking you whether or not it was a coincidence. It had absolutely nothing to do with this. It's interesting that we're here about this money. Mr. Wade is used to women that, as he told me one time, the only thing a woman can do for him is make

him a sandwich. We would have brutal arguments about the fact that I am your equal. I don't need anything from a man. A man is not a plan. A man is a companion. And so there was tension always in our relationship, which is why I would give him his money back. I don't need anybody to foot my bills. The only't need anybody to foot my bills. The only man who's ever foot my bills completely is my daddy. So your office objected to us getting Delta records for flights that you may have taken with Mr. Wade. Well, no, no, no. I object to you getting records.

You've been intrusive into people's personal lives. You're confused. You think I'm on trial. These people are on trial for trying to steal an election in 2020. I'm not on trial, no matter how hard you try to put me on trial. So my question was, do you have any problem getting any personal records of mine? We're not dealing with privilege through a witness. And where, when did he come to, I guess the condo, I'm not sure what you called it, condo apartment. Would he come and stay at that cond I guess the condo, I'm not sure what you called it, condo apartment. Would he come and stay at that condo or visit you there?

I'm sorry, visit you there. What condo, what apartment? I want to be clear. So not your house. I know you classified one as house and one as condo. So I'm trying to use those terms. There's been more. See, what you don't understand is because of this case, I got to move.

And so I. If you could ask a more precise question. Please give me the time period. Mr. Wade visits you at the place you laid your head. When? Has he ever visited you at the place you laid your head? Well, let's be clear, because you've lied in this. Let me tell you which one you lied in. Right here?

I think you lied right here. No, no, no, no. This is the truth, Judge. It is a lie. It is a lie. Ms. Will? The hearing will continue at 9 a.m. Eastern Time on Friday. We've assembled a legal panel here today to discuss today's proceedings. Joining us here in the studio is Pamela Keith, the CEO at the Center for Employment Justice Law firm, and Monique Presley, legal analyst and host of Make It Make Sense with Monique Presley.

They join us from Washington, D.C., regulars here at the Roland Martin Unfiltered broadcast, and we're also joined by criminal justice journalist Josie Duffy Rice. She's out of Atlanta. Thanks for being here, sisters. Well, where do we start? Perhaps Attorney Keith, who is over here in D.C. Let's talk. Walk us through what we saw.

I think the first thing we need to talk about is what were they getting at? What are they trying to establish with this line of questioning? And what they were trying to establish is that there was a romantic relationship between Fonny and Nathan Wade before they, before he got the contract to be the prosecutor in this case, which would suggest that she gave the job to him because of that interpersonal relationship. I think they tried hard to get there, but all they got was friendly, knew each other, mentor, we were friendly, not a physical relationship. Her testimony, I think, clearly establishes that their physical relationship didn't really

take off until they were working together in close proximity. The contract had already been offered. He was doing the job. And that friendship morphed into something more. And at which point they had a physical relationship. She admitted that they did. And I think that there are some people whose eyes kind of popped open at that.

Really? Yeah, because it's. I mean, they were going to be a big one to find that out anyway. And Wade himself said it wasn't about it. He and his wife, it was irreconcilable. What did he say? Marriage was broken as of what, 2016?

Yeah. I don't think the state of his marriage is relevant. Interesting. OK. It's not. It's not relevant to the question. Okay. they had been emotionally divorced, if not on paper, for many, many years. And again, that's one of those things that may look bad to the Christian viewer, but is not relevant in the law.

Especially the Christian hypocrite. I mean, who cares what Donald Trump says on Truth Social? So just one thing. So the thing they were after, they weren't able to prove today. Not in the testimony that I heard. There was no evidence that they were in a sexual relationship or they were sleeping together at the time that Fonny offered him the contract to be the prosecutor on this case, right? He was somebody she knew who had been a speaker at a conference

that she attended. She was impressed with his background and his experience. And when it came to picking somebody to prosecute this, she probably decided she wanted somebody she trusted, somebody she thought had the chops, had the experience. And this guy was close enough to her for her to have observed enough about him to decide, yeah, I think this guy's a good guy to be the prosecutor on this. Their intimate relationship did not begin until after that contract was given. So I think that's what they were going for. They were also kind of going for, looking for instances where she financially benefited from him being the prosecutor.

So they kept digging into, well, did you give him money? Did he give you money? How much money did you give him? When you traveled together, did you pay? Did he pay? And what she established through her testimony, as far as I could tell, was that every time they traveled, she paid her portion, he paid his portion,

and it could have been that he bought it initially, she paid him back, or she bought it initially, and she paid him back. The only exception to that was the trip to Belize, where she paid for everything as a gift to him from her own money. And again, that... That was the birthday trip. That was the trip to Belize where she paid for everything as a gift to him from her own money. And again, that was the birthday trip. That doesn't, at least in my mind, create a conflict of interest.

Because a conflict of interest is when the work of the people is interfered with by the relationship. And I don't think they got there. However, that's not to say that the optics are less than fabulous. And the politics of it are very less than fabulous. Because what it takes to create a conflict in a court of law is maybe different than what the Georgia legislature is looking for in terms of impropriety and use of the office. I don't think they got enough. What I saw didn't establish abuse of the office. I don't think they got enough. What I saw didn't establish abuse of the office.

It didn't establish wasteful contracts or something that you would be. And I also, I feel like I have to say, the people that are bringing this are the very same people who think that Clarence Thomas taken all kinds of benefits from people who have cases before him were perfectly okay. And same with Alito thought that's perfectly okay. And they're Supreme Court

justices. So we got to, we got to just own the fact that the hypocrisy here is pretty, absolutely, absolutely. Well, hypocrisy is their brand at this point. I mean, let's bring in a Monique, Monique, um, youique, you're looking at this. You watch this and we've seen Fannie Willis all along. What are your initial thoughts on what happened in that courtroom today? Any thoughts in particular on how Fannie Willis handled herself? I understand. Well, first of all, hey, Bison, hey. Yes, indeed. H-U, you know. That's right. We've got to back up finally. A lot of times the big economic forces we hear about on the news show up in our lives in small ways.

Three or four days a week, I would buy two cups of banana pudding. But the price has gone up, so now I only buy one. The demand curve in action. And that's just one of the things we'll be covering on Everybody's Business from Bloomberg Businessweek. I'm Max Chavkin. And I'm Stacey Vanek-Smith. Every Friday, we will be diving into the biggest stories in business, taking a look at inside the boardrooms, the backrooms, even the signal chats that make our economy tick. Hey, I want to learn about VeChain. I want to buy some blockchain or whatever it is that they're doing.

So listen to Everybody's Business on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. 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 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 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. And that is well, no question. Hustle, no question. Every day I'm hustling. If you know, you know what we're talking about right now. Hey, Bison. Hey, Bison. No question. She had me already, but when she said her former friend Robin did not go to Howard, I was done.

That said everything I needed. Listen, Dr. Gregg, I can't say this isn't personally triggering for me. As a woman, as a black woman, as a black woman lawyer, as a black woman lawyer who has been in high profile cases, as a black woman lawyer who's been in high profile cases and been attacked by the opposing side based on issues that had nothing to do with the facts of the case, with nothing to do with the evidence, nothing to do with me doing my job, my past, my man, my whatever. This is the playbook, right? And so on the one hand, I was incensed, I was enraged, but on the other hand, I was very thankful and very proud. I believe that special prosecutor Wade was a quintessential perfect witness. I couldn't have coached, trained, prepared a cooler witness under hotter fire. Here is a man who self-professes and who all the investigators who have been trying to find dirt on him profess is a very private person for years and years and years and years, such that we heard things from the witness stand we've never heard before because the investigators couldn't find it, right?

But here's a black man under attack who has to talk about his career and being targeted there, has to talk about his money, how much he made, how much he didn't make, has to talk about his ex-wife, has to talk about his kids, has to talk about his cancer diagnosis, has to talk about the new woman in his life who's now the other former woman in his life. All these things. Black men don't like none of that. No. No question. He doesn't grace. He doesn't smiling sometimes. I was talking back and forth with other lawyers who were like, we could have done without

that smile. I'm like, listen, he's doing the best he can. And he kept calm, cool as a cucumber, deliberate, answered every question. I thought he came out smashingly. So much so that before he got on the stand, the motion should have been granted for him to not get on the stand. After he left the stand, the state's motion should have been granted for D.A. Fonny Willis to not come on the stand, but she interrupted her side winning in order to testify. And I was going back and forth with my law school coach and mentor, Dr. Sharon Anderson. I was going back and forth with Charles Coleman.

I was going back and forth with all these people, and we were— I could have just fell out and died. She's the worst client ever, right? Because you're winning. Counselor, please, walk us through that, if you don't mind, Monique. What was the strategy? Why did she do that?

Listen, and it's all the reasons I just said, right? Because even though she, I believe, would have won that argument and the judge was on her side, she knew, like I know, like all these other women who are on this panel, love y'all sisters, hello sisters, like we all know it's not finished. It would never be finished without her testifying. It would never be settled. It would be that she went on a technicality. It would be that there wasn't enough evidence. It would be that she hid behind her lawyers. It would be all the crap that we go through even when we're right.

And so she came in and she said, I'm your huckleberry. I'm ready. I'm ready. My, my, I'm, I'm laid. My edge is laid for everybody talking about how she looked. Yep. She was real cute, but, but Trump's lawyer was not cute, as she pointed out. And she said, let's do this.

And when she went on the stand, we were worried because she came in hot. She was obviously upset. But see, Dr. Gregg, we don't give people other than white men the permission to be upset in business. The permission when they're called liars, when they're called whores, when they're accused of, as she was in this particular hearing, giving a man a re-up on a contract because he took her on a cruise

and a trip to Aruba. No, I didn't realize. That's what we do. We put our entire careers on the line to give a man another chance when his name isn't even husband because he took us on a cruise with his mama. No, no, I don't think so. Let me help everybody who doesn't understand how hard it is for a black woman to get in that job or any job of high acclaim. We know what it took for us to get there. We don't risk that for mom and them, daddy and them, brother and them,

bae and them, not even husband and them. That man was given that job. He was selected by her because he was qualified. He was selected because she could trust him. He was selected because he could do the job. And he proved on the stand that he could do the job. I would hire him. And I don't say that about, let me tell you, I don't say that about Harley.

He could be my lawyer. But I say all that to say, even though it was my worst nightmare, her being on the stand, thinking about it as a lawyer who would put a client on the stand, she did for herself what nobody could do for her. She didn't have to look at notes. She wasn't looking up in the corner. She wasn't saying, I don't recall. She wasn't saying, I need to pause and think about it.

The only breaks that were asked for were by the judge, by the other lawyers. They were objecting the opposing side to the testimony that they begged for her to give. She came ready and she proved her case. And I think she did a service to her profession, to womanhood and to democracy. Because, by the way, she's in this position because she's trying to put a criminally criminal in prison and his cohorts for committing crimes against democracy and trying to steal an election. And I'm sorry if I ran long. No, no, that's actually a perfect framing, and that's exactly right. We've got to keep our eye on the ball here as to what's really at stake.

And thank you. Thank you, Monique, for doing that, because that allows us to ask Josie a few questions. Josie Duffy Rice, I remember landing in Atlanta the day this story broke on the front page of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. And in the weeks since, it's only gotten hotter and hotter. And to kind of follow along what Malik has laid out for us here, you know, what is the climate in Georgia, particularly when we're talking about the larger politics of this, which is, of course, you have this sister, you have her office, attempting to track down and convict a criminal for trying to steal an election. politics of this, which is, of course, you have this sister, you have her office attempting to track down and convict a criminal for trying to steal an election.

I mean, but what's your sense there on the ground in Georgia as to how did they play it out? And put it in the larger context of what's going on around this case. Can you guys hear me? Now we can. Yes. So I think in Georgia, like many people across the country, especially here in Atlanta, there has been a lot of reliance on D.A. Willis to kind of pull through on this case. There's a lot of frustration and disappointment, I think, that this has become sort of the center of the story. And I think a lot of confusion, to be honest,

about what would drive her to make some of the decisions she's made. I think, for me, I would have to disagree. I don't think that they are in the right here. They may technically be in the right, but this is a massive mistake on both of their parts. I think it was unprofessional. I think it put this case at risk and every case that she has at risk in some ways because, you know, DAs operate through legitimacy, and this really has taken away some of her legitimacy. I think it's also worth noting, you know, Fannie Willis has become a national figure because of this Donald Trump case,

but she's also prosecuted some other big cases. She's prosecuting the YSL case right now here in Atlanta. She's in the past prosecuted the Atlanta teachers in the Atlanta cheating scandal, Atlanta Public Schools cheating scandal. And she has made what I think are some harmful choices in her prosecutions. I'm glad she's prosecuting Trump. I think many of the other cases, you know, many of the other hundreds of thousands of cases her office prosecutes have been mistakes, harmful, harmful, especially to black communities. And I found it quite frustrating today to watch her talk about this because I think it's very possible that they are technically right, that they technically didn't do anything wrong.

I don't know the ins and outs of the ethics guidelines here to conclude that conclusively, but I think it's totally right. She didn't have to look at notes. She knew what she was doing. And it seemed like she was making decisions intentionally throughout their relationship, knowing that if this was public, it would look bad, right? She was trying to be thoughtful in that way. But the fact that this is an issue for someone whose entire job is accountability is, I think, a travesty. I think it's a massive, massive failure on her part. I think it is a massive mistake

of her and Nathan Wade. And I feel frustrated with the general, you know defiance of uh that she took in the in the hearing i understand that defiance i thought she came off actually much better than i she she ended much better than she started but i but i also um you know when when you spend a lot of your time tracking down big wads of cash that you find at people's houses and asking them where it came from or drawing connections. I shouldn't laugh. Yeah, absolutely. You know, or drawing connections, drawing inferences from people's relationships, which is largely what RICO cases are. It feels a little hypocritical for you to sit there and say that this, you know, this is untouchable. You have a case of the biggest, the biggest election case in this country.

The one that had the most chance of succeeding was this case. Yeah. And she put it at risk. And I think that's inexcusable. Chelsea, you put something, a larger universe in play here. I momentarily forgot. Greg, can I ask a question?

Oh, please, go ahead, Monique, please. Sure, I'm just wondering what law she broke or what ethics code she violated. I don't think she broke the law. Or what, no, no, please go ahead, Monique, please. I'm just wondering what law she broke or what ethics. Or what? No, no, I'm, I'm asking and you can answer in any way because you said you feel like it's a certain way and that you're, you are disgusted by it. And I understand that people don't like RICO prosecutions. Uh, I'm one of those people, uh, BUT I AM THANKFUL THAT IT WAS USED IN THIS INSTANCE AND I THINK THAT THAT'S THE HERE AND THERE OF THE LAW, BUT THE REASON WHY I

AM SAYING THAT SHE IS STANDING IN THE PLACE OF RIGHT IS BECAUSE ALL WE HAVE IS A BOOK OF LAWS THAT DEFINE THE WAY PEOPLE ARE SUPPOSED TO BE TREATED AND SHE UTILIZES THEM IN HER JOB AND THEY ALSO DEFINE WHAT CAN AND CANNOT BE DONE AND I BELIEVE IN GEORGIA IS A people are supposed to be treated and she utilizes them in her job. And they also define

what can and cannot be done. And I believe in Georgia, especially, she couldn't have just hired if she wanted to her lover, she could have hired her husband. So I'm saying if she picked the best person for the job, where was her lack of judgment? Where was her miscalculation? And how did it put the case at risk? Because let's face it, even if both of them are disqualified, this case is still going forward with 40 other people who were in the office. Yeah, I mean, I think that's a good question of whether this case goes forward. I think it depends on how it fits. I don't know that that's true.

You don't think, Pam, you may think. No, if she's disqualified, her office is disqualified. The question is, will someone else take the case? If she is disqualified, she will be replaced. And they already have provisions in case in place for her replacement. And it does not end his indictment nor his co-defendants. No, no. Agreed. So what I'm asking, and I'm back to my original question, what moral code?

Oh, those two different things, right? Those are two different things. Moral code or law? Just name one other than she should know better because she's a black woman and she can't get away with falling in love with and dating a man who she hires. We don't want to mix. I want to know if they were going to find that she did something wrong, what is the thing that she did wrong? I'm open.

Tell me. I think that if you hire the best person for the job, you don't sleep with the best person for the job on the job. I think that's a mistake. I think that is an optical mistake. I think that's an optical mistake. I think it's an ethical mistake. It might not be a legal mistake. You might be right about that. Well, I mean, you know, I mean,

let's... Hold on. One second. We're going to take a break. The people that you don't sleep with, the people who work for you is a general ethical rule. If you would just name one, I would agree with you. I just did. I named three. Like I said, it's two separate things. Actually, it may be three separate things here as well.

I tell you what, why don't we do this? Why don't we take a break for a moment, and we're going to come back and introduce our panel, and we're going to continue this conversation in the second block. You're watching Roland Martin Unfiltered here on the Black Star Network back in a moment. Next on The Black Table with me, Greg Carr. We'll get to that work back in a moment. Next on The Black Table with me, Greg Carr. We look at one of the most influential and prominent

Black Americans of the 20th century. His work literally changed the world. Among other things, he played a major role in creating the United Nations. He was the first African American and first person of color to win the Nobel Peace Prize. And yet today, he is hardly a household name. We're talking, of course, about Ralph J. Bunch.

A new book refers to him as the absolutely indispensable man. His lifelong interest and passion in racial justice, specifically in the form of colonialism. And he saw his work as an activist, an advocate for the Black community here in the United States, as just the other side of the coin of his work trying to roll back European empire in Africa. Author Cal Rastiala will join us

to share his incredible story. That's on the next Black Table here on the Black Star Network. On a next A Balanced Life with me, Dr. Jackie, what does it mean to actually have balance in your life? Why is it important and how do you get there? A masterclass on the art of balance. It could change your life. Find the harmony of your life. And so what beat can you maintain at a good pace? What cadence can keep you running that marathon? Because we know we're going to have, you know, high levels, we're going to have low levels, but where can you find that flow, that harmonious pace? That's all next on A Balanced Life on Blackstar Network. Next on The Frequency with me, Dee Barnes,

the amazing Drew Dixon. She gives us the details behind the HBO documentary that shed light on the alleged sexual assaults by Russell Simmons. And we're talking about the Netflix documentary, Ladies First, right here on The Frequency on the Black Star Network. This is Essence Atkins. Mr. Love King of R.B. Waheem Duvall. Me, Sherri Shebret, and you know what you're watching.

You're watching. A lot of times the big economic forces we hear about on the news show up in our lives in small ways. Three or four days a week, I would buy two cups of banana pudding. But the price has gone up, so now I only buy one. The demand curve in action. And that's just one of the things we'll be covering on Everybody's Business from Bloomberg Businessweek. I'm Max Chavkin. And I'm Stacey Vanek-Smith. Every Friday, we will be diving into the biggest stories in business,

taking a look at what's going on, why it matters, and how it shows up in our everyday lives. But guests like Businessweek editor Brad Stone, sports reporter Randall Williams, and consumer spending expert Amanda Mull will take you inside the boardrooms, the backrooms, even the signal chats that make our economy tick. Hey, I want to learn about VeChain. I want to buy some blockchain or whatever it is that they're doing. So listen to Everybody's Business on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. 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. 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 Glott. 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 ban 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. Roland Martin, unfiltered Welcome back to Roland Martin Unfiltered here on the Black Star Network. I'm Greg Carr sitting in for Roland, and we're going to bring our panel into this conversation.

You all see why black-owned, black-controlled media is important, right? Because this conversation is not going to take place anywhere else. With all this layer and nuance, it's very important. So let's bring our expert panel in, our Thursday night panel. Our sister, Recy Colbert, hosts the Recy Colbert Show, Sirius XM Urban View. Y'all better tune into that from Washington, D.C. It's good to have the good brother Ben Dixon with us tonight. Benjamin Dixon, host of the Ben Dixon Show podcast.

And of course, our sister who always is on the beat 24-7, 365. The great Lauren Victoria Burt, Black Press USA, coming out of Arlington, Virginia. There are so many places we could go with this. Reesey, why don't you jump in first and weigh in? Because we're going to get everybody who was in the conversation back in the conversation. We want to just get everybody in the panel in the conversation first. What are your thoughts on what we've seen today? Let me just say, I'm going to stick beside her.

It's fine to your bust at this point if we want to take Trump's ass down. And so, yeah, you know, Neene Leakes had closed legs to marry Meg. Yeah, you know, there's some, you know, I think, judgment issues in terms of maybe, you know, you don't get for getting you with your special prosecutor. However, the defendant's attorneys did a crap job of proving a conflict of interest. That was what they were trying to assert today. And the testimony from Mr. Wade and from D.A. Fannie Willis completely blew that out the water. And so it looked like amateur hour for the way that they were trying to establish some sort of conflict of interest. And so I think they'll live to fight another day if it's based on the evidence and based on, you know, the letter of the law.

But at the end of the day, the judge who did seem reasonable to me is still a Republican appointee. And so Republicans play by a different set of rules. And the rules bend to their will often, as opposed to what the letter of the law is, depending on what's convenient for them. So at the end of the day, I'm going to stick beside Fannie. And at the end of the day, I mean, Trump ass was going down anyway. You know, this is just something that is a really, really inconvenient wrinkle in the prosecution that has been mostly flawless to this point. And it's an unfortunate thing that, you know,

they all have to deal with. And it's a self-inflicted wound so like i said i'm still with her bonnie i stand with bonnie bonnie willis or bus but girl yes yes i will say this um just to a point that somebody already made it's a political this is not a legal question none of what we're seeing is about any legal thing no no no disrespect to all the attorneys on the panel including you dr carr this is politics i listening. He's practicing attorneys. They're giving us the courtroom skinny. So, yes. I mean, this is all politics. This is all redirection. This is all about talking about something else. And that is not Donald Trump's problems. What we saw today was a political inquisition of someone's sex life in a way that we have never seen before, any time, any place.

If anybody can name a hearing like this that they have ever seen before, I would love to hear when that happened, OK? So we have Fannie Willis sitting there taking questions from all these people about her sex life. That's what this is about. This is a redirection to talk about something else. This is what the Republican Party always does. A lot of stuff they were asking about. And good for the judge. He shut some of the things down,

but he should have shut a lot more down. A lot of irrelevant questions to what this is supposed to be about. But really what this is about is political redirection off of Donald Trump. Ordinarily, I would say that volunteering information on the stand the way D.A DA Willis was doing today would be a bad idea, but actually she did it very well. She controlled the conversation. She controlled the pace of the conversation. She had them on defense, and she was on offense almost the entire time.

But we do have to understand that this is generally a mistake. You cannot be having a relationship with a subordinate employee that you're paying a bunch of money to on a case of this magnitude. You just can't be doing that. I think she's smart enough to know that. I'm surprised she didn't take him off of this. But here we are. I cannot believe we're going to be watching this again tomorrow. But we are going to be watching this again tomorrow because it's all about redirection and lying, which is what the Trump team does best. Good night to you all. And thanks for it's been very interesting to watch some of the perspectives tonight.

But there's nothing legal about this. This is all politics. This is all politics all the time. Thank you, Lauren. And enjoy yourself tonight. The historical figure and it's going to be a good time, I'm sure. We'll hear about it next week. Good to see you, sis. Absolutely. Thank you so much. Yes, indeed.

Yes, indeed. Pam, what do you think about this? Politics, huh? If that's your client, what are you going to tell? I mean, I would personally never have a client talk as much as she did. Interesting. That's just not my style as an attorney. You give them as

little as you possibly can. Because most of the time, if your client is trying to pontificate on the seat, they're going to do themselves damage. I think she did herself substantially less damage than could have been done by saying, oh, I want to answer that, and I want to talk about that, because she was kind of preaching from that posture. And there's some people...

She came in there to scrap. She's not coming in there yeah no question about absolutely i would say though that um the the questions i actually thought the lawyers were better than i expected because they were not actually trump's lawyers they were the lawyers for the co-defendants that's right they were people you know the defendants who actually pay their lawyers. It was not Alina Hava. Alina Hava couldn't get a document introduced into evidence, right? Right, in New York. In New York. No question. So I don't think, I think we saw a better performance than I had anticipated, although

I don't, I agree, I don't think it was a particularly strong performance because they didn't get what they were trying to get. What they got though was a whole bunch of television cameras picking up the innuendo and the implication and the, well, this looks shady, and sure, we believe you, roll eyes, we don't believe you. That kind of stuff got out to the general public, and so they kind of landed their blow that way. I kind of fall between the panelists. On the one hand, I absolutely do agree that the law, I don't think they got what they needed to get a trespass of the law. I don't know this judge. I know that he's a Republican judge, and I have my doubts about Republican judges. However-

Well, you spent some time behind the cotton curtain in politics. So what's your read of even how that might factor in? Well, and I will say this from a perspective of a black woman who ran for high office in a southern state in a GOP seat. I have to say that I would have never made the decision that Fannie made here. Right. Like I personally, my rule when I was running for office, when I was in the public eye was I will give you nothing. Right. I will give you nothing in my finances. I will give you nothing in my background. I will give you nothing on my taxes. I will give you nothing on my social things. I will give you nothing. They went deep into my military background and tried to establish, tried to question whether I earned the military medals that I had earned. I had receipts. So the minute it came out, I was like, nope, here's the receipts, here's the evidence

that these medals are actually mine. They tried to accuse me of voter fraud because the state voting record had the date that I moved into Florida and became a Florida voter as opposed to when I moved into the county where I was voting at that time. So they accused me of voting in two different counties at the same time.

Of course I had to debunk that too. But I was aware that when I was there under that level of scrutiny, I wasn't gonna have a social life. I couldn't date a preacher, a pastor, a politician, a donor, I couldn't date anybody because I couldn't control what those people might say. I couldn't control what media would come out of that.

I didn't wanna be pictured in the club. I didn't control what media would come out of that. I didn't want to be pictured in the club. I didn't want to be pictured in the hotel lobby. I just couldn't be. I just, so in my universe at that time, it was like, okay, if I'm doing this, which is to be in the public eye, then I'm not doing anything else, including a social life. And I understand that that's an easier position to hold when it's an election season than when you're actually in office and have to live that way for years. Fonny did testify about the fact that there was a period

there that was extremely lonely and extremely isolating and extremely scary for her. And I truly did empathize with her. Because I received death threats when I was running for office. I had people calling me up telling me they knew where my niece was going to college. A lot of times the big economic forces we hear about on the news show up in our lives in small ways. Three or four days a week, I would buy two cups of banana pudding, but the price has gone up. So now I only buy one. The demand curve in action. And that's just one of the things we'll be

covering on Everybody's Business from Bloomberg Businessweek. I'm Max Chavkin. And I'm Stacey Vanek-Smith. Every Friday, we will be diving into the biggest stories in business, taking a look at what's going on, why it matters and how it shows up in our everyday lives. But guests like Business Week editor Brad Stone, sports reporter Randall Williams, and consumer spending expert Amanda Mull will take you inside the boardrooms, the backrooms, even the signal chats that make our economy tick. Hey, I want to learn about VeChain. I want to buy some blockchain or whatever it is that they're doing. So listen to everybody's business on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

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

on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. And to hear episodes one week early and ad-free with exclusive content, subscribe to Lava for Good Plus on Apple Podcasts. And how dangerous that college town was, right? So I understand how fearful that is. But given all things being equal, it would have been my strong preference that she not have crossed that line with Ms. DeWard. This is a lot to process, y'all. I mean, thank you for walking us through

that because these circumstances aren't unique in that sense. And having had that experience, that gives a lens, I think, that is very valuable for us to try to even understand what's going on here. Monique, you get in the last word, sis. As you said at the beginning, you've been in some extremely high-profile situations with clients. In this situation, Fannie Willis is your client. What are you

advising her to do now? Because again, 9 a.m. Eastern tomorrow, they're back in court. So, based on your experience, which I think is in some ways singularly unique in situations where, you know, I doubt she ever figured she would be in the bullseye like this. Who knew that this election thing was going to play out the way she's your client? What would you tell her? Right. She's not listening to my advice right now. First of all, let's just start with that. Okay. Okay. Because she put herself on the stand. And to be further clear, that means she knew better than me

because she obviously has more experience than me. And I'm speaking as her lawyers now, not as me, because she and I, both Howard grads, both same age and somewhat similar resumes and train of thought. I get why she concluded that there was nothing for her to do but get up there and speak for herself. And even frankly, Greg, listening to everything that was said on the panel tonight, I understand why she had to get up there and speak for herself. Because you know what? As people, we are good with us being human. We're just not good with anybody else being human. How about that? And so I can't say, you know, I've never won a district attorney at large position in Georgia or any other state. I don't know what it takes to get there. She

figured that out and she won. So I'm going to give her the respect that's due, her office, and the fact that she is doing that job and doing it well. Do I like every decision she's done in that job? No, I don't. But would I stand on the precipice of hell and defend her as a black woman in a foreign soil doing a job that has been done by few, that is attacked by many. Yes, I would, because I'm still stuck in this skin and I make mistakes. And so as someone who has had my trash pilfered through and has had people write and say, you know, I hope, I wish your children would get raped so you don't take another one of these cases again. As someone who has a website that I still can't go on without checking for viruses because there are still people who make it a practice monthly to put

them on there. What I am saying is, y'all, let's not just be progressive in our lofty thoughts about what it is to support each other let's be progressive and unified especially in black history month when the finest that we have are up against an attack for doing something that maybe we wouldn't have done but do we even really know because we haven't been them let's be progressive in the way that we stand and defend WE ARE NOT GOING TO BE PROGRESSIVE. WE ARE NOT GOING TO BE PROGRESSIVE. WE WOULDN'T HAVE DONE BUT DO WE EVEN REALLY KNOW BECAUSE WE HAVEN'T BEEN THEM. LET'S BE PROGRESSIVE IN THE WAY THAT WE STAND AND DEFEND OUR OWN

WHEN THEY ARE DOING SOMETHING THAT IS FIGHTING FOR DEMOCRACY, FIGHTING FOR OUR COUNTRY, FIGHTING FOR OUR CHILDREN, FIGHTING FOR OURSELVES. AND SO IN THAT REGARD, I DON'T HAVE A DAMN THING TO SAY AS FONNIE'S LAWYER TONIGHT's lawyer tonight other than, girl, you got this. You got this, girl.

What you planning for tomorrow? Today went pretty good. It's not what we planned, but you need some ashwagandha, sis. I mean, can I get you, you know, a coffee, a glass of wine? What color are you wearing? I know that's right. You talked to me about what was on the stand, but I can be here for you because you got to understand that's her underlings who are representing her. Sure.

And she did the job that needed to be done today. I am not going to say anything different than that. If it was Pam, I would say the same thing. If it was Josie, I would say the same thing. When it's Kim Foxx, I say the same thing. When it's Marilyn Mosby, I say the same thing. When it's Tamika, I say the same thing. When it's Marilyn Mosby, I say the same thing. When it's Tamika, I say the same thing. When it's A-Rod, I say the same thing.

So y'all not gonna catch me cutting black women. Not in Black History Month. Not in any of the other months. Love you, Greg. Love you, too, because I hope if it were me, you would do the same thing. Black people, I know you wouldn't cut them, no question. You know,

we fuss to our faces, but let some of them on X, formerly known as Twitter, try to talk about you. They get the other side from me. Same here. Same here. No question. Gang, as kids say, gang, gang. That's how we do it. Trump and them clearly got their side. So we got to have our side. Monique,

I ain't mad at you, sis. I appreciate you. Monique, Presley, mad at you, sis. I appreciate you. Monique, Presley, Pam, Keith, this has been not only very illuminating, it's been very necessary. So if you all didn't see this live, if you got somebody who wasn't tuned in, then you can go back and watch this replay because as far as I'm concerned,

this is the only conversation we needed to have about Fannie Willis and what's going on in this trial. Thank you all, sisters, for joining us. Thank you for having me. Absolutely, absolutely. This is Roland Martin Unfiltered on the Black Star Network, and we'll be right back. When you talk about blackness and what happens in black culture,

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

This is about covering us. Invest in Black-owned media. Your dollars matter. We don't have to keep asking them to cover our stuff. So please support us in what we do, folks. We want to hit 2,000 people. $50 this month. Waits $100,000.

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Venmo is RM Unfiltered. Zelle is Roland at RolandSMartin.com. For the last 15 or maybe 16 years, 18 years, I'll say, since when I moved to L.A., I hadn't had a break. I hadn't had a vacation. I had a week vacation here and there. Right. This year, after I got finished doing Queen's,

and then we wrapped it up, because I knew I had two TV shows coming on at the same time, so I'm taking a break. So I've been on break for the first time, and I can afford it. Break's done. You know what I'm saying?

So I can afford it. I can sit back and ain't got nothing to worry about, man. But this was the first time in almost two decades that I've actually had time to sit back and smell the roses. Farquhar, executive producer of Proud Family. Bruce Smith, creator and executive producer of the Proud Family. Louder and Prouder. You're watching Roland Martin. A lot of times the big economic forces we hear about on the news show up in our lives in small ways. Three or four days a week, I would buy two cups of banana pudding.

But the price has gone up, so now I only buy one. The demand curve in action. And that's just one of the things we'll be covering on Everybody's Business from Bloomberg Businessweek. I'm Max Chavkin. And I'm Stacey Vanek-Smith. Every Friday, we will be diving into the biggest stories in business, taking a look at what's going on, why it matters, and how it shows up in our everyday lives. But guests like Business Week editor Brad Stone, sports reporter Randall Williams, and consumer spending expert Amanda Mull will take you inside the boardrooms, the backrooms, even the signal chats that make our economy tick.

Hey, I want to learn about VeChain. I want to buy some blockchain or whatever it is that they're doing. So listen to Everybody's Business on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. 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. 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 and six 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.

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 a Ricky Williams, NFL player,

Heisman Trophy winner. It's just a compassionate choice to allow players all reasonable means to care for themselves. Music stars Marcus King, John Osborne from Brothers Osborne.

We have this misunderstanding of what this quote-unquote drug ban. Benny the Butcher. Brent Smith from Shinedown. 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. Wednesday's shocking but sadly fairly mundane these days in terms of these things happening all the time shooting during the Kansas City Chiefs Super Bowl celebration was the 49th mass shooting of 2024. Let me just pause there and think about that. There are 31 days in January.

This is the 15th, so that would be 46. 46 days, 49 mass shootings already this year. One person was killed in Kansas City, and the 22 injured ranged in age from 8 to 47, and half of those people were younger than 16. Police say the shooting stemmed from some dispute. Three people, including two juveniles, are in custody for the shooting. The shooting is reigniting the conversation of gun reform

as if it has ever gone away. Missouri has some of the laxest gun legislation and rules in the country. In 2016, lawmakers eliminated the need for a permit to carry, and the homicide rate is reportedly 70% above the national average. Joining us from Baltimore, Maryland, is Nick Wilson, the Senior Director for Gun Violence Prevention at the Center for American Progress,

to discuss possible reforms that could save lives. Nick, welcome to Roland Martin Unfiltered and the Black Star Network. It's good to have you here. Nick, what are we looking at, man? And what can we do to try to remedy this situation? It's honestly tiring and angering just how every day we wake up not knowing what's in store for us. On Valentine's Day, when people should be celebrating with their loved ones. Many of my friends and allies were visiting their children in the cemeteries on the anniversary

of Parkland that happened six years ago. And other parents of Parkland were using AI software to capture the voice of children that had been killed by gun violence, so people could send messages on the shot line to members of Congress demanding reform. Yet we woke up and three police were shot in D.C. trying to serve a warrant for animal abuse. And then Kansas City happened, and while that was unfolding, there was a drive-by shooting at a high school in Atlanta.

And what we know is that just there are too many guns in this country. It's too easy to get access to them. And we don't have enough leaders standing up to the corporate gun lobby saying enough is enough. It's time to put an end to this carnage. This gun lobby is serious. And I'm sad that you had to, but glad that you did mention the shooting in Atlanta. That was particularly heartbreaking for me because of course those children every day go to a school named for Benjamin Elijah Mays, one of the great heroes of African history here in the United States and the teacher of Martin Luther King. So imagine the ironies there.

When you talk about these politicians and the control of the gun lobby. We've seen, is it LaPierre, the former head of the National Rifle Association, being in the hot seat and all the largesse and bills he's stacked up as he's running around the country promoting gun ownership and trying to stop any laws that would curb it. How powerful is this lobby, and how do we break it? For so long, we focused just on the NRA. And Wayne LaPierre, as you mentioned, was an extreme obstacle to common sense gun laws. And none of us are sad to see that his own defrauding of donors on lavish trips and hiring Oliver North was eventually his downfall.

And so we were not going to miss him. But it doesn't mean that we're out of the woods, because although the NRA is not as powerful as it was even in 2016 when it helped get President Trump and senators elected, there's still other gun lobby corporations out there. The National Shooting Sports Foundation is very large, and they represent gun dealers and manufacturers and spend a lot of money to lobby. And, unfortunately, the gun violence prevention movement is still a relatively young mainstream movement. And we lost and ceded a lot of ground to the NRA.

And now there's these very dangerous myths, like the good guy with a gun is the only way to stop a bad guy with a gun, that are making making politicians say we don't have to do anything. But yesterday's shooting shows that there were over 800 law enforcement there armed with weapons. There are over a million people there in a state where you can buy and carry a gun with no permit, no background checks, no questions asked. There are other people armed there. And yet, you know, a personal dispute between two young people escalated to where now, you know, one person, a local radio DJ, she lost her life and 22 others were changed or were shot.

And, you know, probably tens of thousands of people will never be exactly the same after that horrific experience. Absolutely. Well, Nick, if you don't mind, we're going to open up the conversation here and ask our regular panel to come in and maybe ask you some questions and offer their thoughts on the situation. Let's go with Recy first. Recy Colbert, any questions, comments, observations for Nick Wilson? Yeah, I'm curious to know, I know that there are two juvenile suspects that are still in custody here. What do you think can be done around juvenile gun

violence and access to guns that could be something that would be a bipartisan agreement? A lot of mayors and prosecutors and people at the local level are really having these difficult conversations because, you know, we don't want to do what we did in the 90s and what we even were doing a few years ago of throwing our young people under the bus and saying, oh, it's their fault. They're different than before. We need to lock them up. But there is something serious happening. There is a lot of trauma. A lot of people don't know how to solve interpersonal disputes without resorting to firearms. We're seeing much more social media driving

conflicts that, you know, end up in real-life blood shootouts and disagreements. And so what we need to do is we need to invest in community programs and in our schools to where people can unpack that trauma, make it harder for them to access firearms. Those two juveniles, reportedly, there was a girl there that saw that this dispute was escalating and said, "'Hey, don't do it. "'Don't do it here. "'This is stupid.'"

But the person chose to pull out a firearm and start spinning around and shooting a bunch of children and adults. And so, you know, in Baltimore, we have some great programs that have been invested in heavily that really teach young people, especially how to rethink, how to solve conflicts, how to take a—use cognitive behavioral therapy steps to take a breath, to think about the consequences of their actions.

ROCA Baltimore has gotten millions of dollars in federal funding and private funding to reach these hardest-to-reach people, and it's working. But we need to invest more money, and it needs to be in cities across the country. Thank you. Thank you, Recy. Ben, any questions, comments for Nick? Yes. Mass shootings are very difficult for me to cover. I would assume for anyone because of the frequency of them, but somewhere around 2015, Sandy Hook is when I realized that's pretty much it for the United States of America in terms of actually caring when we saw how many children were killed and not just the way they were killed at Sandy Hook, but the sheer disregard for their lives

that we saw happen afterwards. I don't really have a question as much, or perhaps maybe here's a question. What hope does this country have when we don't care when our children get killed? Sandy Hook was a big moment that brought in a lot of people. And for people like myself that had been doing this work for a while, it was really disheartening to see that no federal action was taken. But we've had conversations with Senator Murphy, who was represented that district and was new. And we didn't have a huge gun violence prevention movement. And those young people were too young to really advocate for themselves, like we saw after Parkland. And our movement has grown because people that are watching have really said enough is enough and joined. And we were able to pass the first federal gun bill in

over 30 years that Senator Murphy was able to negotiate, because eventually enough Republicans were saying, we have seen this happen in our communities. The voters are going to hold us accountable. We need to do something. It wasn't everything. It was just a start. But I think we have a chance to really build on that. And this used to be the third rail of politics, where Democrats and Republicans wouldn't want to talk about this. And now we have a president and vice president campaigning on gun violence as an important part of their platform. So the conversation has really changed. So I think that gives me hope.

Thank you, man. Nick, in some of your work, I was kind of reviewing some of the work you've been doing at the center. And a couple of things recently in the last few months, you've been in conversation with a couple of people that kind of stuck out to me around this question of community violence intervention. Pastor Raymond Solorzano in Southern California. Some interesting things going on there.

And I saw the conversation that you had in Chicago, well, with Chicago, and Susan Lee, Chief of Strategy and Policy at Chicago CRED. Could you talk about community violence intervention and how trying to intervene, whether it be churches, community organizations, whether it be some of the

kind of community groups, local community groups, why that's important and why, in particular, struck by something that Susan Lee said, that this is a civil rights issue. Any thoughts, can you walk us through some of that if you don't mind? Yeah, community violence intervention is a civil rights issue. Any thoughts? Can you walk us through some of that, if you don't mind? Yeah, community violence intervention is a new term, but not a new strategy.

It's been around in the African-American communities since the 40s and 50s, where credible messengers that are well-known in their community are able to talk to people at the highest risk of being involved in violence and crime and giving them services and giving—sending anti-violence messages and showing them another way. More recently, it's gotten a lot more funding and a lot more academic interest, with reframing

it as more of a public health, as opposed to a gang intervention program. And we're really seeing great success in cities across the country. And we've written about this in reports, and we've shown how much money has been saved and how many lives have been saved by investing in these inexpensive and important programs. But sometimes it takes hearing from the people themselves that do this tough work every day. And so we've been honored to do about 10 videos. We have much more going, 90 seconds on our website, where you can really hear how one credible messenger, one social worker, one outreach worker from that community can really make an impact on people's lives and receive that, you know, we can't rely just on law enforcement to prevent gun violence.

We need to rely on the community and the people closest to the problems. And so even the concept of framing this, at least one way of framing this, as a civil rights issue, there'll be a lot of people very interested in hearing how that thinking goes. How is this framed? How could this be framed as a civil rights issue? I'm glad you reminded me that, you know, gun violence is the number one killer of children, but it's especially more pronounced in black boys. It's a real—you know, we talk a lot about mass shootings, and people get scared about

shootings at the grocery store or school, where it could happen—feels like it could happen to anyone. But we know that, in disadvantaged and under-resourced black communities and brown communities, that's where we see the highest levels of gun violence. And that's where we really can't keep turning a blind eye to the violence that we're seeing in Kansas City, in Baltimore, in D.C., where we're seeing these really great—wherever we see the great racial inequities and redlining and disinvestment that's where we see the most violence and so investing in black and brown communities and in the people and economic advantages that's where we can really see uh a dip so we're no longer the leading

country with gun violence indeed well it's a heavy, but fortunately we have you here to help us parse and look for some hope, as Ben said. I mean, the question is, what is the future? And clearly that future is going to have to be shaped by all of us, and none of us can opt out of this. As Paul Robeson used to say, there is no sheltered rear, and clearly we saw that on display in Kansas City yesterday. Nick Wilson, the Senior Director

for Gun Violence Prevention at the Center for American Progress. Thank you for joining us tonight on Roland Martin Unfiltered. Thanks for having me. Oh, with pleasure, with pleasure. We will be back in a moment. You're watching Roland Martin Unf we hear about on the news show up in our lives in small ways. Three or four days a week, I would buy two cups of banana pudding. But the price has gone up, so now I only buy one. The demand curve in action. And that's just one of the things we'll be covering on Everybody's Business from Bloomberg Businessweek. I'm Max Chavkin.

And I'm Stacey Vanek-Smith. Every Friday, we will be diving into the biggest stories in business, taking a look at what's boardrooms, the backrooms, even the signal chats that make our economy tick. Hey, I want to learn about VeChain. I want to buy some blockchain or whatever it is that they're doing. So listen to Everybody's Business on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. I know a lot of cops, and they get asked all the time, have you ever had to shoot your gun? Sometimes the answer is yes. But there's a company dedicated to a future where the answer will always be no.

Across the country, cops called this taser the revolution. But not everyone was convinced it was that simple. Cops believed everything that taser the revolution. But not everyone was convinced it was that simple. Cops believed everything that taser told them. From Lava for Good and the team that brought you Bone Valley comes a story about what happened when a multi-billion dollar company dedicated itself to one visionary mission. This is Absolute Season 1, Taser Incorporated.

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

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

to care for themselves. Music stars Marcus King, John Osborne from Brothers Osborne. We have this misunderstanding of what this quote-unquote drug thing is. Benny the Butcher. Brent Smith from Shinedown. We got B-Real from Cypress Hill.

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

Listen to new episodes of the War on Drugs podcast season two on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. And to hear episodes one week early and ad-free with exclusive content, subscribe to Lava for Good Plus on Apple Podcasts. ...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 capital we're about to see the rise of what i

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

Here's all the Proud Boys guys. This country is getting increasingly racist in its behaviors and its attitudes because of the fear of white people. The fear that they're taking our jobs, they're taking our resources, they're taking our women. This is white fear. I'm Faraiq Muhammad, live from L.A. And this is The Culture. The Culture is a two-way conversation.

You and me, we talk about the stories, politics, the good, the bad, and the downright ugly. So join our community every day at 3 p.m. Eastern and let your voice be heard. Hey, we're all in this together. So let's talk about it and see what kind of trouble we can get into. It's the culture. Weekdays at 3, only on the Blackstar Network.

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 undamned believable. You hear me? Today, an Ohio jury ends its second day of deliberations with a verdict in the murder trial of a former deputy who killed a black man

at the door of his grandmother's house in 2020. Former Franklin County Sheriff's Deputy Jason Meade is on trial for the December 2020 death of Casey Goodson Jr. Meade contends shooting Goodson was in self-defense. Meade says he saw Goodson wave a gun while driving and feared for his life. No surprise there when Goodson pointed that gun at him while standing in the threshold of his grandmother's house. Joining me from Columbus, Ohio, is attorney Sean Walton. He represents the Goodson family.

Brother Walton, welcome to Roland Martin Unfiltered. Under these circumstances, I see you have Brother Goodson's image there on your lapel. Talk to us, Brother. What's going on there, and where are we with this trial? And give us the update. We've obviously had this conversation before, but now we're right down where the rubber meets the road. So please.

Yeah, absolutely. And I think it's interesting that you said there that, you know, former Deputy Meade alleged that Casey Goodson Jr. waved a gun and then later at the threshold entering into his home pointed that gun. And you said that because you probably saw some earlier media reports where Deputy Meade did indeed allege that Casey waived that gun. But in the course of this trial, that testimony changed, and he said that at that initial intersection where he saw Casey, that Casey pointed the gun. And so what happened here in the course of this trial is that you've seen a deputy that is executing a tried-and-true blueprint on how to get away with murder. What happened here is that Casey Goodson Jr., who worked third shift, got off at 3 a.m.,

woke up that morning, went to the dentist. After that, he stopped at Subway, about three 12-inch subs, on the way home to his family. On the way home, he happened to have the unlucky experience of passing by Jason Meade, who's in an elevated truck, and something happened as Casey passed by. Casey was a concealed carry gun holder, and Casey always carried his gun, as is his constitutional right in this country. And Jason Meade observed Casey with a gun at some point. That's what he told everybody in real time.

He followed Casey. And at some point, this military veteran, this combat veteran, this sharpshooter decided to hunt Casey. And so, you know, more about Jason Meade, right? He hunted Casey. He is a pastor that bragged about his right to use police brutality and that he would throw the first punch, and he's never been hit clean because he does throw the first punch. He joked about—he says he joked about police brutality. It wasn't a joke. He told us who he was. And he said that he hunts people for a living, and he loves it. And so, at some point,

he continued to manufacture this perceived threat that was not a threat at all, because Casey, unbeknownst to Jason Meade, had AirPods in his ear, and he was listening to music. He never even saw Jason Meade, never heard Jason Meade as he was being hunted. And as Casey walked into his home, he was shot in his back six times with a rifle. And guess what? Casey's gun was on safety. It was found underneath him. So the whole pointed a gun at him in the doorway, again, a tried and true rehearsed lie that allows you to lie on an innocent black man and murder him and try to get away with it. So that's why we're here.

So we're waiting on this jury to come back. And we have this public trial that is finally exposing these lies. I look forward to this guilty verdict and the statement being sent that you cannot murder us with impunity. JOHN YANG Indeed. Well, we know that he was hunting, this bastard was hunting. And we know from the witnesses, I guess there have been over now 20 witnesses, 20-plus witnesses that have testified so far. And you mentioned this as you kind of laid out the circumstances

by which this man hunted and killed Brother Goodson. But the physical evidence, is there any physical evidence that could be interpreted in any way that would lead to anything other than the fact that he hunted and killed this man? Nope. Jason Meade's entire defense is built on his word. I'm sorry. And so what we're seeing here is the fact that police officers,

even bad police officers, even unreasonable police officers, even police officers that have such a horrible work history that they can't even have contact with inmates as they work in the jail for almost four years. Even the most unreasonable officer who perceives what is not a threat at all can then say, well, you know what? I thought that the gun that he had legally was going to be used against me, and it's OK, no matter what we do.

I mean, Casey Goodson Jr. is the all-American kid. You know, he followed the laws. He exercised his constitutional rights. He was hardworking. He was a truck driver. You know, he loved animals. He loved his dogs. He loved his family.

He was as patriotic as any American citizen in this country. And even still, he was executed, and then this police officer was given so much credibility that despite all the physical evidence against him, he could still lie. And we're here watching a jury deliberate, trying to understand whether his word trumps the entirety of the physical evidence against him that has him indicted for murder in the first place. Body camera footage. Body camera footage, Brother Sean, is that a factor in this case? It is to the extent that he's caught on body camera footage lying after the fact. He didn't have body camera footage. And the physical evidence is such that it wasn't even needed to

get him indicted. There are no witnesses to this. So that'll tell you how strong the physical evidence is. But what he is, each time there is video in this case, at the first interception where he says Casey stopped and he could see him tracking a car with a gun and that's how he saw it, yada, yada, yada, lie, lie, lie, every time he's caught on video, he's caught in a lie. But he's able to tailor his testimony to fit the ground factors that help determine if an officer is reasonable. And so what do you do?

You change eyewitness the person with a gun or waving a gun to he pointed a gun. And you change that, you know, he was walking into the house with a gun to he pointed it to make it a more immediate threat. And then you change the fact that he walked out of his car holding his Subway sandwiches, and he manually locks his car because the key fob didn't work to lock it. He locks the car and walks into his home with his AirPods, and you turn that into he was running. He was evading an arrest. He was eluding an arrest that wasn't even an arrest because you were caught saying that I was going to investigate why he did this.

And it could have been something or it could have been nothing. If Casey Goodson Jr. pointed that gun at you, then there was no chance that it was nothing because you as an officer have a duty to arrest, not investigate. So, again, the body camera footage is a factor in that he didn't know it existed and he got caught in lies. And here we are. He's still standing on his word. And also he never actually even had to testify or even tell his story to anyone until this trial. He killed Casey in 2020. And it was a written statement that got put out. He didn't write it. Somebody wrote it for him, but that statement came out. And so how do you kill a man in 2020 and never even tell that story until 2024? It's a tragedy.

I'll tell you what, Brother Sean, if you can join us after the break here, I want to invite you to be in conversation with our panelists on Thursday night panel. And we'll be back in a moment. A lot of times the big economic forces we hear about on the news show up in our lives in small ways. Three or four days a week, I would buy two cups of banana pudding, but the price has gone up. So now I only buy one. The demand curve in action. And that's just one of the things we'll be covering on Everybody's Business from Bloomberg Businessweek. I'm Max Chavkin. And I'm Stacey Vanek-Smith. Every Friday, we will be diving into the biggest stories in business, taking a look at what's going on, why it matters, and how it shows up in our everyday lives. But guests like Businessweek editor Brad Stone, sports reporter Randall Williams, and consumer spending expert Amanda

Mull will take you inside the boardrooms, the backrooms, even the signal chats that make our economy tick. Hey, I want to learn about VeChain. I want to buy some blockchain or whatever it is that they're doing. So listen to Everybody's Business on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. I know a lot of cops, and they get asked all the time, have you ever had to shoot your gun? Sometimes the answer is yes.

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

Taser Incorporated. I get right back there and it's bad. It's really, really, really bad. Listen to new episodes of Absolute season one, Taser Incorporated, on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Binge episodes one, two, and three on May 21st, and episodes four, five, and 6 on June 4th. 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. 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. So that you can do that. You're watching Roland Martin Unfiltered on the Black Star Network.

And we will be right back. Grow your business or career with Grow with Google's wide range of online courses, digital training and tools. Gain in-demand job skills with flexible online training programs designed to put you on the fast track to jobs in high growth fields. No experience is necessary. Learn at your own pace. Complete the online certificate program on your own terms. Stand out to employers. Get on a path to in-demand jobs and connect with top employers who are currently hiring. Take one professional career certificate program or all six. Earn a Google career certificate to prepare for a job

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You're watching Rolling Mark. Until then. unfiltered. All right. Welcome back to the Black Star Network and to Roland Martin unfiltered. Don't forget to support the Black Star Network in all the ways that Roland reminds us of every day. We certainly need your support here as the network continues to build and expand. We have been in conversation with Sean Walton from Columbus, Ohio, where he is representing the family of Casey Woodson Jr., who, of course, was killed by the Franklin County, former Franklin County Sheriff and Hunter, Jason Meade. Dixon, questions or comments for Sean Walton? No, absolutely. I heard you say manufactured perceived threat, and I don't think I've ever

heard a more apt description of what happens to almost every black person in this country. I've personally experienced that. Tell us more about what that is as a concept. And have we seen that concept work in trials? Because this is what they've done, George Zimmerman, down to all of them. They hunt us because they manufacture a perceived threat. Absolutely. I mean, you know, there are so many racial connotations there. I mean, there's an entire history of our experience as Black people in this country that helps justify our murders. And so what you see is that, you know, we hear so often that policing is scary and that, you know, they have a dangerous profession. And

I agree, right? You know, they do have a dangerous profession. We live dangerous lives. Now, that danger comes on our most mundane of days. Casey was hardworking. He worked that night. He went to the dentist. He brought food home for his family. Everything he did that day was legal. But a police officer that has a history of bragging about police brutality, who has, again, a work history that is so heinous that he couldn't even be around inmates in the jail for four years, he's allowed to say that this innocent black man was a threat. And that threat had to only be reasonable to him. And if it was reasonable to him, who was a completely unreasonable and unhinged individual, it's still OK.

Police officers in this country are held to a lower standard when it comes to killing us, and we have a higher standard to meet in the court of law in order to have the justice system work for us. We don't have equal protection of the laws in this country. And, you know, officers are trained on, again, the ground, the counterfactors on how to basically justify our killing. And so what you see time and time again is that a black person had a gun, pointed a gun, pulled a gun, was reaching for a gun, had a gun near their body. We can't have guns. And so that constitutional right does not apply to us. And that is basically what we're talking about here, is that they've mastered the art of getting away with murder.

Thank you, Ben. Recy Colbert, please, any questions, comments for our brother Sean Walton? Yes, Mr. Walton, I have two questions. Number one, has there been any kind of civil action with regards to this case? And then number two, what are the range of charges that the officer is facing here if he's not convicted of the most serious account? Are there any other accounts that he could be convicted of? Yeah. So, first and foremost, that civil lawsuit was filed one year—or less than one year after that shooting, like, almost at the one-year mark. We sued Franklin County, as well as Jason Meade, because, again, Jason Meade told us who he was,

and this was totally foreseeable. You have, again, a combat veteran. I mention that because there's guidance regarding how combat veterans can sometimes blur that line between combat and how they police our communities, and that often comes in the form of improperly using force. And so here you have Jason Meade, who, again, we appreciate and love our military veterans, but they can't treat us like we are at war. And so you have this person who was a sharpshooter in Iraq and Afghanistan, and that was brought up so many times in this trial. But what I hear is that there's a sharpshooter that was shooting brown people. And then you give him a rifle, put him on the SWAT

team, and he tells you, I hunt people, and you're OK with that. So we sue Franklin County. Unfortunately, they have a stay of the discovery in that civil lawsuit until after the criminal trial. So it happened in 2020. Here we are in 2024. And like Casey's mother said to me today, when do we get a break? So yeah, that lawsuit, we expect to move forward with that aggressively and very judiciously once this criminal trial ends. And we expect that Franklin County will do the right thing, because this should have never happened. Secondly, the range of charges.

He is charged with the purposeful murder of Casey Goodson Jr. He's also charged with murdering Casey through the felonious assault that he knowingly committed on Casey Goodson Jr. And lastly, he is charged with the reckless homicide, you know, just the heedless indifference that he clearly showed in killing Casey. So he has to justify his actions. And, again, he has no evidence, even the officers that were there that day that he left behind as he hunted Casey, they didn't know what was going on because they were reasonable.

They were trying to assess and figure out what happened. He just went ahead and murdered this man that II hope I mentioned that Casey's gun was on safety. He had AirPods in his ear. You know, so we'll see what happens. I mean, I believe there—this will be the seventh murder conviction for shooting, you know, a person—you know, an officer shooting a person on duty. So it's a high standard, you know.

But if Casey can't get justice, who can? Absolutely. Thank you, Recy. I'm glad you mentioned the family there in answering Recy's question, Brother Walton. Is the website still active, Justice for Casey Jr.? CaseyGoodwinJr.com? And if so, how else can we show our support for the family as this case continues to unfold?

Yeah, so yeah, justiceforcaseygoodsonjr.com is active. If you look at any of the hashtags on social media, you will get a comprehensive story over the last three-plus years of Casey's family's experience. Casey's family does need support. They have had to fight endlessly for justice, not just for Casey, but for all of us, right? Because we are all Casey Goodson Jr. So yeah, that support is needed. And as we move forward with this lawsuit against Franklin County, they need to know that the country is watching and that they'll be held accountable and that this is going to send a message not just to the citizens in this community, but across the country. And lastly, I'd be remiss if I didn't also mention Takiyah Young.

She is a 23-year-old pregnant black woman who was accused of shoplifting, who was murdered by a local officer here, Connor Grubb, another officer, combat veteran, who brought that war to our communities. We've got to shine a spotlight on what's happening in Columbus right now. We have two other officers who will be awaiting murder trials for killing Andre Hill and Donovan Lewis. And so the way you can support us is to continue to give us the spotlight to air Columbus out until they do what's right by our people. Brother, that is so important. You know, it's funny.

I know you went to Capital Law School. I was down on the other side at Ohio State. You know, we all hung out together. One big boss, brother. One big law student association. But, you know, to think about Columbus, Ohio, and Franklin County as a site of this kind of police terror, I guess it's not something that, you know,

I was there in the late 80s through the mid-90s and graduated law school in 90 at Ohio State. And, you know, and I know Capitol's right there downtown on Broad Street. You know, we didn't think about Columbus, Ohio as this kind of place. What the hell is going on in Franklin County?

Man, you know, that's another episode, right? That's another time. I mean, you know, my first few cases came about 10 years ago, right? And I think about Henry Green, who was killed by plainclothes officers. Again, a very mundane day. Tyree King, a 13-year-old who was, you know, who had a toy BB gun. And this officer gunned him down and said, I thought he was going to shoot me.

What 13-year-old who knows he has a broken toy BB gun is going to pull that toy BB gun on an officer? So, again, that rehearsed blueprint on how to get away with murder has been implemented across time. But Columbus is also a great city, right? It's a great city for some people. Oh, no question. No question. Yes, right. But for some people, but for others, it is a terror dome. You know, and that's what we got to expose is that, you know, I speak for the marginalized in this city who don't have a voice and that voice will be heard loud and clear. And it is my mission, you know, come hell or high water to tell that story and to make life safer and easier for every citizen in Franklin County

every day. Absolutely. And I'm glad you said that, brother, because shout out to the Tawi family village and have a lot of real dear loved ones, particularly on the east side of Columbus there. And these are not Negroes you want to trifle with because they will get down with you. So you have represented them well tonight, brother. And we're going to keep our eyes on this. We're going to claim to the ancestors that this man is going down for his for murdering our brother. And we are grateful that you joined us tonight, Sean Walton.

And we appreciate you. Absolutely. We'll keep our eyes on this. Roland Martin and Filter will be right back right here on the Black Star Network. A lot of times the big economic forces we hear about on the news show up in our lives in small ways. Three or four days a week, I would buy two cups of banana pudding. But the price has gone up, so now I only buy one. The demand curve in action. And that's just one of the things we'll be covering on Everybody's Business from Bloomberg Businessweek. I'm Max Chavkin.

And I'm Stacey Vanek-Smith. Every Friday, we will be diving into the biggest stories in business, taking a look at inside the boardrooms, the backrooms, even the signal chats that make our economy tick. Hey, I want to learn about VeChain. I want to buy some blockchain or whatever it is that they're doing. So listen to Everybody's Business on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. 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 Glod and this is season 2 of the War on Drugs podcast yes sir, we are back

in a big way in a very big way real people, real perspectives this is kind of star studded a little bit man we got Ricky Williams, NFL player, Heisman Trophy winner. It's just a compassionate choice to allow players all

reasonable means to care for themselves. Music stars Marcus King, John Osborne from Brothers Osborne. We have this misunderstanding of what this quote-unquote drug thing is. Benny the Butcher. Brent Smith from Shinedown.

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 podcast. And to hear episodes one week early and ad free with exclusive content, subscribe to Lava for Good Plus on Apple Podcasts. on the next get wealthy did you know that the majority of households headed by african-american women don't own a single share of stock no wonder the wealth gap continues to widen next on get wealthy you're going to hear from a woman who decided to change that. I have been blessed with good positions, good pay, but it wasn't until probably in the last couple of years that I really invested in myself to get knowledge about what I should be doing with that money and how to productively use it.

Right here on Get Wealthy on Blackstar Network. I'm Faraiji Muhammad, live from L.A., and this is The Culture. The Culture is a two-way conversation. You and me, we talk about the stories, politics, the good, the bad, and the downright ugly. So join our community every day at 3 p.m. Eastern and let your voice be heard. Hey, we're all in this together, so let's talk about it and see what kind of trouble we can get into. It's the culture. Weekdays at three, only on the Black Star Network. Farquhar, executive producer of Proud Family. You're watching Roland Martin Unfiltered. A New York judge denied Donald Trump's request to delay his hush money trial.

Jury selection for Trump's first criminal trial is set for March 25th. Trump's attorneys are unhappy about the decision to keep the March date. Boo-hoo! Complaining that Trump will have to stand trial in New York while attempting to clinch the Republican nomination. I guess he has a right to be president of the United States. Isn't it funny how whiteness works? This case centers on payoffs to two women,

porn actor Stormy Daniels and former Playboy model Karen McDougal, and to a Trump Tower doorman who claimed to have a story about Trump having a child out of wedlock. Trump faces up to four years in prison. Reesey, what the hell? Now, they're talking about finding Willis. Let's keep our sister out of this.

This guy is really showing his behind. So any thoughts on this on this upcoming trial, which I guess will be about a month and a week from now? Well, I mean, Trump's ass is grass at the end of the day. This is financial. This is documents. This is the same thing that Michael Cohen went down for and did jail time for. And so, by the letter of the law, if the rules were to apply to Trump, which, by the way, he's not had a lot of success in New York. I mean, he's up to, what, $85 million in civil judgments, having to pay E. John Kerry, or Gene Caron, if all that was in New York. I know at least one case was. So, you know, Trump should be shitting bricks right now.

But, you know, I mean, it might also be a bone to his campaign. You know, he raises a lot of money off of the idea that he's being persecuted. This is all happening when Nikki Haley has refused to drop out of the race and throw her support behind him. So this presents a lot of danger for him. But so far, he's been mostly the Teflon Don. He you know, it hasn't inhibited his ability to steamroll into being the Republican nominee. And so I think it's a big TBD, but I would much rather have to be Biden talking about U2O than Trump on trial again and again and again and again.

Absolutely. Absolutely. Thank you, Recy, because, you know, it's interesting as you say that, you know, up until now, it was the federal trial that they thought might be first in the queue. And Ben, you know, do you think that the order of these trials may play a role in perhaps derailing the Trump presidential campaign? As Reese says, Nikki Haley has decided to stay in, probably hoping that one of these one of these trials is going to mean the end of him. And of course this particular one, as Judge Juan Merchan has scheduled the date for trial, I think there are 34 felony counts in this one. And of the four, in the 91 felony counts, this might be the easiest. Who knows? But he couldn't run out the clock. His lawyers couldn't stop it.

It's scheduled now. Any thoughts on how this may or may not impact the presidential primaries and the general election? Well, one thing we can be sure of is that no matter what Donald Trump does, he's going to have a base of white evangelical voters who are going to support him no matter what. He did say he can kill someone on Fifth Avenue and get away with it. And so in terms of the politics of it, this is only going to enhance his support. He's positioned himself as a savior. In fact, some of them have already called him a savior, the second coming. And so there's nothing that can happen to him negatively that doesn't

help him positively in the political column with his supporters. Now, in terms of the legal case, we'll see what happens. You know, the last attorney that you just had on was really speaking about how the evidence in so many different cases piles up. And it's clear. It's clear to any objective observer. But how many times have we seen white men get away with murder, literally and figuratively? Right. Right. Well, this one looks like it's going to be hard for Trump to evade. But as you say, being a white man in America is probably the best guarantee you have of having more than a more than a fair shot. In fact, you've got the shot that everybody else should want to have. So we are going to be keeping our eyes glued to this and we'll see. We'll see what happens, as you say. We'll be back in a moment.

Oh, yeah, please. Yeah. We'll be back in a moment. Oh, yeah, please, Recy. Yeah, no, by all means. Come on. I think that the actual criminal trial starting kind of pierces the invincibility that Trump has had. We've seen, I don't know if y'all remember, it's a different situation, but the Robert Murdaugh, remember how they kept pounding more and more charges on him? And it's like, well, damn, how many more charges can he get? That's right. They keep finding more cases and more suspect behavior. That's right. And so once that domino effect starts on a criminal basis, it's a lot harder to get out from under.

And so the notion that a former president should be immune or the notion that, conviction of Donald Trump in this first case, which is one of the easier cases to prove. With that being said, Donald Trump is not going to drop out even if he is convicted because he needs to be president of the United States. He needs to be the Republican nominee to have leverage to keep him out of jail or to get him out of jail earlier than he would otherwise be in jail if he were not president. And so the stakes are high for him, but I think that the walls are closing in even more on Donald Trump with the trial date set for this first case. I'm glad you jumped in, Recy, because, yes, as Ben, I mean, whether or not sequence made a difference, I think you just helped us understand how this could be a lot more problematic. Yeah. And as Ben said, I mean, he's going to be brazen. He's got that evangelical support. And I want to ask you, if you don't mind, to share with us what

you think about the politics of this situation. As you say, Nikki Haley is not going to drop out. But this one, like you said, this could be the easiest case. And like you said, this causes problems for him. You say he's not going to drop out. We know that, like you said, because he has to be president of the United States. And I want to ask you about something that we hadn't brought up today. But of course, Joe Manchin floating around out there in Ohio and floating the idea of Mitch Romney as some kind of vice president ticket trying to hijack this No Limits party to get on the ballot. You know, I don't even know if that even registers in your mind, but I know that

you see the full field. So, you know, how do you see ultimately this arc playing out? I mean, is this a guy who, Trump that is, who would run from jail or campaign? Well, I guess he's going to peel off any conviction. But any thoughts about this as it kind of continues to play out? For me or for Ben? Yeah, for you. Oh, well, I mean,

you know, I think that, like I said, I think that Trump has to go balls to the walls. He has to ride this until he can no longer ride it anymore. He needs the fundraising money because a good portion of the money the Republican committee has raised and himself has gone to his legal bills. So for the fact that he still has more cases pending, he has to keep those fundraising dollars going to his legal defense fund, right? As far as Joe Manchin, he's too big of a bitch to rerun for reelection in West Virginia because nobody has an appetite for a Joe Manchin, another term in Senate or for the presidency. So that is nothing but vanity, hubris and delusion on his part. Mitt Romney already lost his presidential campaign.

So the idea that, you know, Joe Manchin and a loser Romney are going to team up and be the Darth Vader of the 2024 election and take down Trump and Biden is preposterous, insulting. And the only reason why the mainstream media entertains it is because they're bored. You better preach, black woman. I know that's right. That sealed that all the way off. No question about it. Okay, well, we're going to take a pause here and we'll be back in a moment. Roland Martin Unfiltered on the Black Star Network.

Y'all better support the Black Star. We'll be right back. Next on The Black Table with me, Greg Carr. We look at one of the most influential and prominent Black Americans of the 20th century. His work literally changed the world. Among other things, he played a major role in creating the United Nations. He was the first African-American and first person of color to win the Nobel Peace Prize. And yet today, he is hardly a household name. We're talking, of course, about Ralph J. Bunch. A new book refers to him as the absolutely indispensable man. His lifelong interest and passion in racial justice,

specifically in the form of colonialism. And he saw his work as an activist, an advocate for the Black community here in the United States, as just the other side of the coin of his work trying to roll back European empire in Africa. Author Cal Rastiala will join us to share his incredible story. That's on the next Black Table here on the Black Star Network.

For the last 15 or maybe 16, 18 years, I'll say, since when I moved to L.A., I hadn't had a break. I hadn't had a vacation. I had a week vacation here and there. Right. This year, after I got finished doing Queen's Chicken, we wrapped it up. Because I knew I had two TV shows coming on at the same time. So I'm taking a break.

So I've been on break for the first time, and I can afford it. I got it. You know what I'm saying? Right. So I can afford it. I can sit back and ain't got nothing to worry about, man. But this was the first time in almost two decades that I've actually had time to sit back

and smell the roses. Me Sherri Sheppard, with Tammy Roman. I'm Dr. Robin B, pharmacist Shebritt. I'm Sammy Roman. I'm Dr. Robin B., pharmacist and fitness coach. And you're watching Roland Martin Unfiltered. A lot of times the big economic forces we hear about on the news show up in our lives in small ways. Three or four days a week, I would buy two cups of banana pudding. But the price has gone up, so now I only buy one.

The demand curve in action. And that's just one of the things we'll be covering on Everybody's Business from Bloomberg Businessweek. I'm Max Chavkin. And I'm Stacey Vanek-Smith. Every Friday, we will be diving into the biggest stories in business, taking a look at what's going on, why it matters, and how it shows up in our everyday lives. But guests like Businessweek editor Brad Stone, sports reporter Randall Williams, and consumer spending expert Amanda Mull will take you inside the boardrooms, the backrooms, even the signal chats that make our economy tick.

Hey, I want to learn about VeChain. I want to buy some blockchain or whatever it is that they're doing. So listen to Everybody's Business on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. 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 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 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. Mary Alice Wilson has been missing from Robbinsville, New Jersey since January 19th, 2024. The 16-year-old is 5 feet 7 inches tall, weighs 150 pounds, with brown hair and brown eyes. Anyone with information about Mary Alice Wilson is urged to call the Robbinsville Township, New Jersey Police Department at area code 609-259-3900. In other news, from South Cackalacky, South Carolina Congressman Jim Clyburn says he's stepping down from his Democratic House leadership post, but will run for re-election for his U.S. House seat. Clyburn first assumed office in 1993, has served in Congress for 31 uninterrupted years,

and during his time in Congress, Congressman Clyburn has served as the House Majority Whip from 2019 to 2022 and 2007 to 2011. Some believe Colorado Representative Joe Neguza will run for Clyburn's position. Ben, any thoughts on Jim Clyburn stepping down from his House leadership post? I think he's a fine, distinguished brother and look forward to all the things he's going to be doing in the future. Jim Clyburn is a great man. There's no hint of irony in anything you've said, is there? Don't see your tongue. I couldn't get it past you. I'm sorry. I've said. Don't see your tongue. I couldn't get it past you.

I'm sorry. I tried my best. I'll see your tongue. I'll go ahead and be honest. I like him as a black man. No question. I like him as a Democrat. But, you know, there's just a couple of policies across the years that have struck me the wrong way.

And I don't even think it's worth mentioning at this point. But you kind of pointed out that I wasn't being entirely genuine with it. So. I know. I mean, I mean, you know, many things can be true at the same time. I mean, Jim Clyburn is an old social studies teacher and a history man. So, I mean, the moving force behind the international museum of the enslaved there in Charleston and so many other good things. And, of course, there would be no Joe Biden in the White House if it weren't for Jim Cliburn pulling his fat out to fire. And people talk about genocide.

I'll never forget that one. Yes, sir, brother. Magnificent move he did two, four years ago. Listen, man, I mean, people talk about genocide, Joe, but I'm saying you do realize that genocide is damn near an official honorific of any president of the United States. That would be genocide Barack, genocide Don, genocide George, genocide Ron, genocide Jimmy. It comes with the title, so I'm not necessarily sure if that's a critique that holds a whole lot of water. Imperial designation. Exactly, exactly. Recy, Jim Clyburn, I mean, you've been around him,

you've interacted with him, you've seen his impact over the years, not only in Congress, but on the Democratic Party and on American politics as a whole. Any thoughts about him kind of stepping away from the leadership post here in Congress? Well, I think, first of all, it's really important for the elders, the elder statesmen and people who have the track record of Congressman Clyburn to make room for the new generation. I think that there's a disconnect in our presidential politics where we're talking about age, age, age. Yet when you look up and through the federal legislature, you see a lot of people that

are up there in age in both parties. And so I think it's a good move for him to step aside and start that younger. And I don't think age should be the only factor. Be clear on that. But I do think that Congressman Joe Neguse, I've interacted with him. He's great as well. And the succession on up, moving on up, I think it's positive. And I think that we need to start having these conversations a little bit more at the congressional level. And I would say at the Senate level, where in places like Maryland, where you have Larry Hogan just announced that he's running for the Republican nomination.

He's in his 60s. David Trone is leading, if you believe the polls, kind of executive Angela Altsabrooks for the Democratic nomination. He's in his 60s. These are people that will be in their 70s if they get by the end of their term. So I want to see the Democratic Party moving towards more of that younger pipeline. He's in his 60s. These are people that will be in their 70s if they get by the end of their term. So I want to see the Democratic Party moving towards more of that younger pipeline, so that when we come to presidential politics, we're not talking about septuagenarians every doggone time, being the people who have the experience, executive and legislatively, to lead the party.

Absolutely. In fact, let's stay on this for a couple more minutes, if you don't mind, Recy. I'll ask you first. You know, Clyburn has made some noise recently being critical of the Biden administration, saying you need to get out there and really beat this drum and talk about the things that you've done well. You think two questions I have for you. One, do you think this timing is about perhaps him doing more on the campaign side because it has been said that people expect him to be out there on the trail trying to quote-unquote shore up the black vote for the Biden-Harris ticket.

And the other question I have has to do with the politics, kind of inside baseball politics of the Democratic Party. I mean, certainly Joe Nguzi has proven to be a kind of inside baseball politics, the Democratic Party. I mean, certainly Joe Nguzi has proven to be a kind of steady presence. I remember the comments that I guess it was Hakeem Jeffries, Leader Jeffries, made at Eddie Bernice Johnson's funeral where he talked about the two of them being kind of like cubs of Eddie Bernice Johnson and kind of coming in and kind of being tutored and mentored.

Any sense that some of these folk that are being floated, like a Joe Nguzi, of Eddie Brees Johnson and kind of coming in and kind of being tutored and mentored. Any sense that some of these folk that are being floated, like Adjoa Nguzi, have been kind of curated or cultivated by the Democratic leadership? And as you mentioned, David Trone, we know that Jeffries endorsed David Trone. Of course, there's Angela and also Brooks trying to run for Senate in Maryland.

Is some of this changing of the guard something that you think might have been curated or kind of orchestrated behind the scenes and just kind of emerges now to the public, but in fact has been plotted before that? Yeah, absolutely. I think there's some will and a deal, and I don't mean that in a pejorative way, that's going on. I think Speaker Pelosi at the time, you know, she kind of had a succession plan with now House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries. And so, yeah, I don't think that these things happen in a vacuum and people have been cultivated and put in that pipeline. And that's why it has always been important for us as Black people to advocate for, you know, kinfolk in these offices. Now, whether you think this person is kinfolk or not is a different story. You know, kinfolk in these offices. Now, whether you think this person is kinfolk or not is a different story. You know, I think Speaker, House Minority Leader Jeffries, his endorsement of Trump was more about money, let's just be clear.

And he's also already a sitting congressman. I don't think that's going to move the needle in Maryland. However, I do think that Congressman Clyburn is a big asset when it comes to galvanizing Black voters. Even though he is a little, you know, on galvanizing black voters, even though he is a little on the older season side. Look at how he turned things around or helped turn things around for now Congressman Chantel Brown in Ohio. She was up against a very strong candidate in Nina Turner, who had that statewide recognition. She had the national recognition. And yet Chantel Brown

prevailed in that case. I think that Clyburn had played a big role in that. And so I think he could be an asset on the campaign trail. But let's be honest, all of these people are slowing down. President Biden, I was in the White House very shortly after he was elected covering various initiatives. And I can say from then to now, he doesn't slow down a little bit. His hair is a little thinner. He walks a little slower. But I think ultimately what they have to do is, as Clyburn says, make the case based on the accomplishments, based on the receipts, and based on the contrast with unhinged, deranged criminal Donald Trump, who was also not all there, then got all the marbles together age age-wise, mentally, and a whole number of host of things, morally as well. Actually, Recy, that's great. Penn, I want to just kind of follow up on what Recy has laid out there, particularly given Clyburn kind of has been around.

Obviously, he's in the known brand. Thinking about him perhaps campaigning and urging the Democratic Party to kind of seize the initiative to promote these initiatives. And thinking about Today Time magazine published an article announcing Clyburn's stepping back. And it said at the end, while Democrats still have a large lead over Republicans among black voters, Gallup found an 11 percent decrease in black adults who consider themselves Democrats since 2020, and an 8% increase in black voters who are Republicans. Could you see a scenario where Jim Clyburn might be less effective or even problematic trying to rally black votes in some regions of the country, in some places, if he kind of overplays his hand? I'm not sure. I don't know. But please, any thoughts? So, you know, you mentioned the Super Tuesday,

South Carolina 2020. Very effective, masterful stroke of political maneuvering by Jim Kleinberg. And it galvanized around the black community right there. Could he do it again? So much has changed since 2024, right? The approach the Republican Party has taken towards black people is a very divisive and manipulative approach that might cause the language of Jim Clyburn to backfire. And I'm not saying that Jim Clyburn is a bad person to go out and send for black folks,

but I'm saying if they haven't updated their methodology and their approach to the propaganda, particularly as it comes from the Republican Party towards black people, black men, well, Republicans have set the frame for the type of politics of a Jim Clyburn to not be effective as well as possibly backfiring. So what am I saying? I'm saying they're going to have to update their playbook. What happened and worked in 2024 worked masterfully in 2020, rather. But I don't think it's going to work in 2024. Black folks want to see what folks are going to do for us.

What are you going to actually provide? What are the tangibles? What are the different things? We haven't gotten criminal justice reform. We have the kneeling in the rotunda, but we didn't get any actual things. And so as long as they're not ready to deal with those talking points that are being inflamed by the Republican Party, I'm not sure how effective he can be without an updated playbook. Yeah, well, I guess I say we're along for the ride. So we're going to have to we will see a front row seat. We've got one more story tonight,

and we'll end as pitchers and catchers begin to trickle their way to Florida and Arizona to start the training, spring training for baseball with a story about the great son of Cairo, Georgia, by way of Pasadena, California. That would, of course, be the great Jack Roosevelt Robinson, a Kansas man is in custody for stealing and destroying the Jackie Robinson statue. There he is right there. 45-year-old Ricky Alderette is facing

multiple charges related to the theft of the statue, including felony theft with a value of more than $25,000. And we, of course, know that that's the monetary value, but it's really priceless. He was also charged with aggravated criminal damage to property, identity theft, and making false information. The theft was caught on surveillance video last month when Alderette and two others removed the statue from the base and loaded it onto the back of the truck.

What was left of the statue was found burned in a Wichita park. Ben, what do you make of that, brother? Well, first, did I hear you correct? Did you say he was 45 years old? 45. But you know, age does different things for different people. White supremacy will age you like milk. No question.

Curdled milk, brother. I'm 43. Now, I got a lot of gray hairs coming in, but my God. First of all, this is their response. I think this is the reaction to the Confederate monuments that have been coming down all around the country. And to see that this almost should be expected, right? With every action, there's a negative reaction that we get. And so as we try to make progress, removing the Confederacy, why there's some good white folks who think that their response should be to do the same thing in kind.

And so this is just a tit for tat. But unfortunately, you see, white supremacy doesn't really think well and it doesn't age well either. Indeed. Indeed. Rizzi, you had the last word tonight. I think about our sister, Rachel Annetta Robinson, the widow of Jackie Robinson, the partner of Jack Roosevelt Robinson, still with us at 101, be 102 this year.

Any thoughts about this act of vandalism that is so much more than destroying a statue, but really attacking one of the great human beings of the 20th century. Yeah. First of all, let me say crack is whack, meth, whatever you was on, popping pills. Because like Ben said, I was not giving 42, 45, whatever. But, you know, it's very patronizing to try to sit up there and say that this wasn't racially motivated. I think they tried to say that he was just after the medal.

If that's the case, then why the hell did you burn what was left behind? Right. I mean, what do you think? If people don't put a swastika or, you know, go down there with a tiki torch, then you don't have proof of racial animus? I mean, this is what we see as a result of just the white nationalism and the backlash to the Confederate monuments coming down. You guys have to remember that Donald Trump is out there running, saying that he is going to restore those kinds of monuments.

You have the Republican Party, even Nikki Haley, defending what these monuments mean. And so that is, that's really not surprising that you have crazy-ass people that'll go out there and do this kind of stuff. And the last thing I just want to say is, you know, it's a little bit unrelated, but I saw a post saying, you know, oh, Black History Month seems muted this year. And I want to point back to even Pride last year. These Republicans are winning the war against, you know, corporates, corporations and different corporate social responsibility initiatives that you would normally see funding the kinds of Black History Month campaigns and the kinds of inclusion that we had seen in years past.

They're winning the war against that kind of inclusion and against that kind of amplification of things that are important to our communities. And so I just want people to wake up and realize that every day we have to fight against this, and every day we have to fight for what we want to see amplified, what we want to see put on the forefront, because if we don't, their side is going to win every one of these battles. Absolutely. Absolutely. So well put as always. Reesa Colbert host of the Reesa Colbert Show on SiriusXM.

Benjamin Dixon host of the Benjamin Dixon Show podcast. We are so grateful that we are all together again on Thursday night. It's good to see you all. That's just about it for the Roland Martin Unfiltered broadcast tonight. I do want to mention that today would have been the 94th birthday of Jacob Hudson Carruthers,

Jr., Jetty Shemshu Jehuty, one of the great intellectuals of the 20th century, one of the most important thinkers of the African-centered movement. This weekend in Chicago, the 19th annual Jacob Carruthers Conference will be taking place. I'll be presenting along with a number of others. Y'all can go out there and Google and look for the information. But I just wanted to mention that because we need to talk about our black thinkers

who have been so important. That's it tonight for the Roland Martin Unfiltered Show for Thursday, February 15th. Actually, this is Dr. Carruthers' birthday, as I said. Join us tomorrow and watch all the shows on the Black Star Network and support the network. So as Roland Martin would say, holla.

Folks, Black Star Network is here. Hold no punches. I'm real revolutionary right now. Support this man, Black Media. He makes sure that our stories are told. Thank you for being the voice of Black America, Roller. I love y'all. All momentum

we have now, we have to keep this going. The video looks phenomenal. See, there's a difference between Black Star Network and Black-Owned Media and something like CNN. You can't be Black-Owned Media and be scape. it's time to be smart bring your eyeballs home you dig

pull up a chair take your seat the black tape with me dr greg carr here on the black star network every week we'll take a deeper dive into the world we're living in. Join the conversation only on the Black Star Network. Hi, I'm Dr. Jackie Hood-Martin, and I have a question for you. Ever feel as if your life is teetering and the weight and pressure of the world is consistently on your shoulders?

Well, let me tell you, living a balanced life isn't easy. Join me each Tuesday on Black Star Network for a balanced life with Dr. Jackie. We're all impacted by the culture, whether we know it or not. From politics to music and entertainment, it's a huge part of our lives. And we're going to talk about it every day, right here on The Culture with me, Faraji Muhammad, only on the Black Star Network. I'm Deborah Owens, America's Wealth Coach, and my new show, Get Wealthy, focuses on the things that your financial advisor and bank isn't telling you what you absolutely need to know. So watch Get Wealthy on the Black Star Network. A lot of times, big economic forces show up in our lives in small ways.

Four days a week, I would buy two cups of banana pudding. But the price has gone up, so now I only buy one. Small but important ways. From tech billionaires to the bond market to, yeah, banana pudding. If it's happening in business, our new podcast is on it. I'm Max Chastin. And I'm Stacey Vanek-Smith. So listen to Everybody's Business on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. 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. 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.