#RolandMartinUnfiltered - Federal Court Rejects AL Congressional Map, La Gov. Debate Boycott, Deion's Win, RMU 5th Anniversary

Episode Date: September 6, 2023

9.5.2023 #RolandMartinUnfiltered: Federal Court Rejects AL Congressional Map, La Gov. Debate Boycott, Deion's Win, RMU 5th Anniversary Alabama Republicans just don't know when to quit.  Federal judges struck down the state's new congressional map that includes only one majority-Black district, defying a Supreme Court order.  We'll talk to a fellow from the Legal Defense Fund working closely with the case about what's next.  Tennessee Representative Justin J. Pearson will be here to discuss last week's scuffle with House Speaker Cameron Sexton.  Louisiana Republicans are mad about the Urban League of Louisiana's participation in Thursday's gubernatorial debate.  They are calling for all Republican candidates to boycott the debate because they believe the Urban League's involvement raises questions about impartiality.   And Deion Sanders shut everybody up with Saturday's win over Texas Christian University.  We'll break down why folks are surprised by the defeat.  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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White Republicans in Alabama lose again in the federal court in their bid to deny voting rights to black voters. We'll tell you exactly what happened today and what is next. Tennessee Representative Justin Pearson will be here to discuss last week's scuffle with House Speaker Cameron Sexton,

as well as Republicans' continuing attempt to stifle democracy in that state. Plus, Louisiana Republicans are mad about the Urban League of Louisiana's participation in Thursday's gubernatorial debate. They're calling for all Republican candidates to boycott the debate because they believe the Urban League's involvement raises questions

about impartiality. How? Also, Deion Sanders shuts everybody up with Saturday's upset win over TCU. We'll show you the post-game news conference and break down why folks are surprised by the defeat. Plus, we have some other folks joining us who were with us in our first show five years ago. We'll take a look back and talk about, again, the critical issues we're facing.

And two of the guests, it's amazing, one of the guests is still battling the Texas legal system. It is time to bring the funk. I'm Roland Martin on the filter with the Black Star Network, let's go. He's got it, whatever the piss he's on it. Whatever it is, let's go. Just for kicks he's rollin' Yeah, yeah It's Uncle Roro, yo Yeah, yeah It's Rollin' Martin

Yeah, yeah Rollin' with Rollin' now Yeah, yeah He's funky, he's fresh, he's real the best You know he's Rollin' Martin Now You know he's Roland Martin. Martin. Martin.

All right, folks. Five years ago, we launched Roland Martin Unfiltered. A lot has changed since then, and so we've been taking a look back, including having a couple of guests who were on our first show. Reverend William Barber is going to be here to talk about what upcoming plans they have in Florida, but also, remember the sister out of Texas

who was thrown in jail for illegally voting or trying to vote? She was on our first show, and she is still battling the legal system there. She will be joining us again. Absolutely crazy. But for the lead-off tonight's show, though, what happened in a federal court? The Fifth Circuit, a three-panel, rejected the efforts by Alabama and their new maps. Basically, they were like, what the hell y'all doing? We told y'all to redraw the maps, but since y'all can't redraw them, we're going to appoint a special master to redraw the maps to include

two districts where black voters can elect candidates. Remember, in June, the Supreme Court affirmed the trial court's ruling that struck down Alabama's 2021 map required a new map that would no longer illegally dilute the power of black voters in that state. The initial map denied black voters an opportunity to select elect candidates in all but one of seven districts. Now, right now, there are six Republicans and one Democrat. Congressman Terry Sewell is the only Democrat in the state, the only African-American. Now, mind you, black voters make up 27% of the voting age population in Alabama. So, what do the white Republicans in Alabama do? They

convene in July. We're like, what the hell? We're going to create new maps and still ignore the Supreme Court. Why? Because they're hoping, they're hoping they can pick up one vote that will hear this new case and the Supreme Court will overturn it. That's really what their

plans are. But this three panel said, nah, we're good. And they were not happy at all that they've ignored the courts. The Legal Defense Fund's political participation fellow, sorry, Brittany Carter joins me now. Brittany, glad to have you here. So, again, this is literally White Republicans in Alabama saying, down in the Supreme Court, we're going to just roll this map out and, again, hope to pick up one conservative justice who will agree with them

because they really want to invalidate all of Voting Rights Act. Hi, Roland. Thanks for having me on. I think that the, you know, the framing of what's happened in this case in terms of the history of us bringing this case and us winning in the Supreme Court and us being back here today with another ruling from this three-judge panel, which says the same thing that they affirmed in our favor in January of last year, is exactly right. You have it exactly right. I mean, one of the reasons that we won today is because nothing has changed. We were right in January 2022 when we first won a preliminary injunction and got these racially discriminatory maps thrown out. And we were right when the Supreme Court ruled in our favor in June and said, yes, these maps are in violation of Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act, and we are right today. And so Alabama, as you've mentioned, is going to continue to bring the same argument in hopes that they can arrive at a different outcome.

But I think that the district court's 217-page opinion that they released today essentially saying exactly what you just summarized, which is, hey, you didn't do the exact thing that we told you to do and that the Supreme Court told you to do really exposes what's going on here. So what's next? Because, again, we're talking about the Fifth Circuit. We're not talking about folks who are moderate, very conservative. And Republicans, they're hoping, they're asking for the full Fifth Circuit to hear their appeal. What's the likelihood? Well, actually, you know, we are right. So we're this this panel is the northern district of Alabama.

So it's not the Fifth Circuit. And since it has to do with it's in the Fifth Circuit, but it's not it wasn't heard in the Fifth Circuit appellate. OK, got it. And so what happens next, though, is likely, I mean, Alabama, this is probably breaking news, but Alabama has already filed their notice of appeal to the Supreme Court. And so it will go back to the, well, they're appealing back to the Supreme Court because procedurally, just how it works in terms of Section 2 cases that are heard before three judge panels, they are appealed directly to the Supreme Court. So Alabama is literally seeking the exact same outcome as, not as in June, but as what happened a year and a half ago.

And what we're talking about here, this is not just Alabama. We have the Louisiana case. We have the courts that overturned the Florida case as well. And so, I mean, there's the potential to literally pick up four to five Black seats in the South. Mm-hmm. Right. Right. And I think that that's exactly the...

I think that's exactly the sort of the threat. And I think that that's the thing that we're really defending. You know, at LDF, we are a nonpartisan organization, but what we do care about explicitly and what our mission is about is preserving Black political power and is building Black political power. And something that was really important in this case and that the Supreme Court affirmed

was that the practical reality of Alabama is that voting is intensely racially polarized in Alabama. With the map that the Alabama state legislature drew and passed on July 21st, there is no way that Black voters were going to be able to elect a candidate of their choice in a district that was supposed to remedy the violation, which only allowed for 39.93 percent of Black voting. The court said in that kind of district, it is not reasonable at all that Black voters will ever be able to elect someone of their choice. And so that is really the fight here. And the state legislature was so brazen that in court they said, you know, we don't even think that we had to draw an

additional majority Black district. They didn't try to say that, you know, a district with 40 percent Black voters will perform for black voters in some elections but not others. They said it's really not our responsibility to provide that at all. That's not our reading of the Supreme Court opinion. Us having, you know, white voters having upwards of 80 percent political power in Alabama while only being about, you know, 60-something percent of, you know, the population is just fine. And so I think you're exactly right, that that sort of racial power element is really what's at stake here. Well, again, what gets me is that they pass these maps and they literally thumb their noses. And I'm just hopeful future courts go, hell no, you're just not going to just

disregard a Supreme Court because the reality is what they did harkens back to nullification and other efforts after the Brown versus Board of Education decision. That's right. I mean, they are telling the Supreme Court, you got it wrong. And so we're going to appeal again to give you an opportunity to get it right. I mean, it's just blatant defiance. And so they're going to, their strategy is to defy and defy and defy until somebody changes their mind or until somebody forces them to back down and to say that the defiance will not be tolerated. And that's what happened in the Northern District of Alabama with their ruling today. And that's what we're hopeful is going to happen, you know, with the results of the appeal. All right, then. Well, look, Brittany, we truly appreciate it. Thanks a lot.

Thank you. Folks, got to go to break. We come back. We'll talk about this with my panel. We'll talk about also other news of the day, including one of the Proud Boys. The leader, he's going to be sitting his ass in prison for a long time. Yep, he effed around, now he found out. That and more right here on Roland Martin Unfiltered on the Black Star Network, celebrating five years of the show.

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Dr. Mustafa Santiago Ali, former senior advisor for environmental justice at the EPA, out of D.C. Joe Richardson, civil rights attorney, out of L.A. Randy Bryant, DEI disrupt the EPA out of D.C. Joe Richardson, civil rights attorney out of L.A. Randy Bryant, DEI disruptor out of D.C. as well. Joe, start with you. Courts normally don't take it well when they order something and the folks fighting it goes, y'all can kiss our ass, we just going to ignore you.

Yeah, particularly because now you're getting past the merits. There's the merits of the court may have felt one way or another about something, and it's one thing to agree or disagree with the court, or in principle, or somehow you may have had to follow this precedent or whatever else, but the Supreme Court might not have necessarily been crazy about

this particular case passing muster, but it did as well as the lower court. But now you have specific instructions to do something and you're not doing it. So it's not just a matter of how we may have felt about the previous decisions and the merits of it, and we followed the law to get to a certain place, but now you're in open defiance of us aside from the issue itself. So that doesn't look good. It doesn't sound good. And I would like to think that it's not going to be something that's going to end up benefiting

them. They're going to keep trying to knock on the door, though. There's going to have to be something emphatic said that's going to, at the top, at the Supreme Court, whether it is, it will probably potentially deny hearing this case, right? And then it goes to the next place. They take it wherever they can go. But there's going to have to be something emphatic that lets them know that, no, we've gotten to the end of the road here, and we're going to have to do something that complies, or that what the lower court did, we agree with, and therefore the special master will do what

they need to do, and then we will just go from there. They're getting advice, Mustafa, from conservative lawyers in Virginia area, in the D.C. area, saying, hey, trust me, let's do this. We think we can pick up one. Because remember, if five justices say,

let's hear their case, they got to hear it. That's what they're hoping. Yeah, well, you know, there's a hubris that exists in the Republicans there in Alabama, where they continue to believe that if they ignore, or if they say what you're going to do about it, that they can continue to push the agenda, if you will. In some instances, it's a matter of trying to run out the clock to be able to get more support. On the other side of the equation, they continue to look for the opportunities so that they can move forward with this nonsensical agenda that they currently have. But it goes back to the arrogance that exists inside of the Alabama Republican Party to be able to say, as you mentioned earlier, to thumb their nose at the court.

See, Randy, what happened before, what happened last year, Alabama and Louisiana, it's happened in other places as well, where the court's like, oh, sorry, we've got to stop the legal proceedings. There's no time to redraw the maps. Well, Louisiana, that was an absolute lie. They passed it very early.

They could have redrawn it. So now what this federal panel is saying is, okay, this has to be done now in anticipation of the 2024 election. The Republicans hold a very slim margin in terms of controlling the House. So what's freaking them out, first of all, what's freaking Alabama out

is that right now there are seven congressional seats. Six Republican, one Democrat. They have to do these two. It's a guaranteed Democrat seat. So now you're going to go from six to one to five to two. And the Opportunity District, they could lose that one. So all of a sudden, it could be four-three. So that could be a pickup of two seats for

Democrats. They get those two back in Florida, that's four. They get that fifth in Louisiana, that's five. We're going to see what's happening in New York State. Bottom line is, Dems could very well pick up from five to ten seats just in these four states.

And they're very aware of that. The conversation you just had running through the numbers, the possibilities and how they can lose power is exactly why they are making the moves they're making. And what is sad about it is that they absolutely believe that they may be successful because they have been. They have played these tricks for quite some time. This is the trickery and the fuckery of the party. And they believe that they will be successful again. And so it's important that everyone is paying attention to what they are doing because they could be. And that's what makes me nervous. We have to stay on top of it.

Also, you know, what lawyers always are advising, especially big firm lawyers are always advising people to do is just inundate with so much paperwork and lawsuits that something does slip through and gets lost. So it's concerning, and I'm happy that we're all paying attention to it. And, Joe, look, I mean, you see the constant legal battle. You see, you know, all of these different cases and how Republicans are just driving themselves crazy

because they keep losing. They lose and lose and lose. And so, you know, they can't stand Mark Elias. They can't stand a lot of the rest of these people. We will see what's happening in Wisconsin, where the Republicans are literally threatening to impeach a Supreme Court justice who was just elected, who hasn't ruled on one case because she may rule against them in an abortion case, a gerrymandering case, voting rights case. I mean, these people are sick and demented. And here's what's crazy. All it requires for in the House is a simple majority vote. But what's crazy is they could not even have a trial in the

Senate and leave her in limbo and it'd be 3-3 in Wisconsin Supreme Court. This is how demented they are with using power and folk gotta understand they ain't playing by no rules. Yeah, and that's what

I was getting ready to say. They're not particularly strategic as it pertains to the rules themselves. Arguing the law, et cetera. Right now, where they feel like they have numbers, like the Supreme Court, for instance, they're going to throw everything they can up against the law. And, you know, give them credit.

They've had some success with that, whether they should or not. Then, when you don't have the numbers, you do things to affect the numbers. Voter suppression, telling the woman on the Wisconsin Supreme Court she shouldn't hear a case because there's a potential that she doesn't come out for them. You know, you try to do other things. It's not about actually, you know, if you read the Voting Rights Act, if you read, if you had the background as pertains to these laws, these things that were argued on my very first day here a year ago, we were talking about that case because that Alabama case had gotten argued that day. I believe that that was Katonji Brown Jackson's first day. And so, you know, if you actually read the law,

what it was meant to do or whatever else, they're actually standing, they being, in this case, it was Katonji Brown Jackson, and it ended up being the court majority, standing on the right side of it historically and how the law is broken down and been interpreted. But they're not interested in that. They're interested in driving around that. If we don't have numbers, do what we need to do to have numbers. If we do have numbers, not be specifically strategic about what we throw up against the wall, just throw up against it. That's why they're trying again. And I can't fault them for trying again either, because they've had some success. But ultimately, if they're going to have to be more strategic and

more thoughtful in terms of what the law actually says, then they have the potential to have some problems, potentially in situations where there's potential for them to be outnumbered. And so they're very, very concerned about that. To your point, a seat here, a seat there makes the difference in Congress, and they're already outnumbered as it pertains to people. But they want to make sure that they're ahead in congressional seats, et cetera, and they're redistricting and gerrymandering and things like that are the things that help them to do that. That's why they hold on so tight.

Go to my iPad. Mustafa, this is what Politico wrote. The three judge panels, Circuit Judge Stanley Marcus, who has been appointed to post on the federal bench by both Presidents Ronald Reagan and Bill Clinton and District Judges Anna Monasco and Terry Moore, both appointees

of Donald Trump, rejected the arguments of Alabama. Quote, the law requires the creation of an additional district that affords Black Alabamans, like everyone else, a fair and reasonable opportunity to elect candidates of their choice, the judges ruled. The new map plainly fails to do so.

They also say they do not need to give the legislature another chance to redraw the map, saying there is no need to provide a second bite at the apple after state lawmakers made no effort to comply with the Voting Rights Act. These are three Republican judges that rejected the appeal of these white conservatives in Alabama.

Well, any judge who truly cares about the law, who truly cares about democracy, knows that they have to stand up and push back against the injustice that's happening there in Alabama. So, you know, they're doing the right thing in this particular instance. You know, if the Republican Party had better policies, they wouldn't have to always try and rig the system to move the goalpost, if you will. They would be able to actually compete on a level

field, but they don't have the ability to do that because their policies are out of step with the majority of America. And what we're seeing here, Randy, and I keep but they don't have the ability to do that because their policies are out of step with the majority of America. And what we're seeing here, Randy, and I keep saying Republicans don't give a damn about black people. Go back to my iPad. This week, they're going to be hearing a case in Georgia, a similar lawsuit to the one in Alabama and Louisiana. So we're now talking about, you could see

pick up of black seats in Georgia, Louisiana, Florida, Alabama. White Republicans are going, what the hell happened to us controlling the South? Right. And they do not want us, particularly with the numbers and when we're looking at demographics now, to have a voice. I mean, they make it very clear

that they don't want us to have a voice and they don't want us to be able to vote in our best interest because they certainly have not been. Well, speaking of not having a voice, coming up next, we'll talk to Tennessee Representative Justin Pearson. Republicans have been doing their best

to shut down any dissent in Tennessee. Now, one of the Tennessee Three, she's running against Senator Marsha Blackburn in Tennessee. Now, one of the Tennessee three, she's running against Senator Marsha Blackburn in Tennessee as well. We'll tell you about that as well. We talked to Representative Justin Pearson. Folks, if you're watching on YouTube, hit the like button, okay? So hit the like button. You can keep commenting. Also, download the Blackstar Network app. Of course, we launched Blackstar Network September 4th, 2021. You can get the app, Apple phone, Android phone, Apple TV, Android TV, Roku, Amazon Fire TV, Xbox One, Samsung Smart TV.

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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.

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

I'm Clayton English. I'm Greg Lott. And this is Season 2 of the War on Drugs podcast. Yes, sir. We are back. In a big way. In a very big way. I'm Greg Glott. 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. I think that people often have to learn the truth is most of us are not born with it, and we need to teach common sense, embrace it, and give it to those who need it most, our kids. So I always tell teachers to listen out to what conversations the students are having about what they're getting from social media, and then let's get ahead of it and have the

appropriate conversations with them. On a next A Balanced Life with me, Dr. Jackie, here at Black Star Network. You go into a barbershop in a 700 credit score neighborhood, black or white, they're talking about their ideas and they're talking about how they're going to move on those things. You go to a barbershop at a 500 credit score, equal brilliance, but bad culture, they're talking about other people. You go to a winner's barbershop, here's what I'm doing. You go to the barbershop where people feel defeated, they talk about other people, either celebrities or people they admire.

But also often, I don't like Joe. I don't like Roland Martin. Let me tell you something. I don't understand people. How could you not like anything here you see? You should just be like, this is amazing. It's cool. You may not even like how he does it or how I do it,

but it's like, you know what? They're succeeding. They're killing it. All you should be is, that's fantastic. But if I don't like me, I'm not going to like you. If I don't feel good about me, it's hard for me to feel good about you. If I don't respect me, don't expect me to respect you.

If I don't love me, I don't have a clue how to love you here's the big. If I don't have a purpose in my life, I'm a make your life right living. I am Joe Marie Payton voice voice of Sugar Mama on Disney's Louder and Prouder Disney+. And I'm with Roland Martin on Unfiltered. Martin! All right, folks, the drama continues in Tennessee where Republicans continue to deny black folks the right to speak. Last week, there was a scuffle on the floor of the Tennessee House after Republicans adjourned the special session

leading to this confrontation between Speaker Cameron Sexton and Representative Justin J. Pearson. Now, you can see the video there. One of the security personnel for Sexton put his arm in Pearson's chest, pushing him back. Sexton tried to claim that it was Pearson who started it all

and brushing up on him. Well, joining us right now is Representative Pearson. Glad to have you back on Roland Martin Unfiltered. Boy, they don't like you black folks down there, do you? They ain't fond of y'all. Listen, we are still dealing with the issue of white supremacy and its abuse of power. Congratulations to you for five years

of continuing to elevate the issues of our community and the problems that we are facing. It isn't just policy violence now. We're dealing with physical violence, even with the Speaker of our community and the problems that we are facing. It isn't just policy violence now. We're dealing with physical violence, even with the Speaker of the House. And the reality is we have to do everything that we can to make sure that the voices of our communities are heard and the problems that we care about, like ending gun violence, get prioritized. During that special session, we did absolutely nothing to make our community safer.

We pushed forward bills that would actually incarcerate children more rather than protect children from gun violence. And the reality is we've got to use all the power that we have as elected officials and in our communities to fight back. And if that means holding a sign that says protect kids, not guns, then that's what it takes. But the actions of the speaker show us that they are willing to go to any means to not address the real issues. And as I say, the Speaker, instead of putting his aggressive effort and intention towards me shoving me, he should have put his aggressive attention towards the National Rifle Association and the Tennessee Firearms Association, the American Firearms Association, who didn't allow us to move forward any progressive legislation that would have protected our kids. The Speaker should have put his shoulder into the folks who

want to keep things the same and put his shoulder to the plow of justice. But instead, he wanted to support and propagate white supremacy. He supported and propagated a status quo that is leaving us consistently vulnerable and leaving us with gun violence being the number one killer of our children in the state of Tennessee. This is not a safe place for children. It's not a safe place for our community. And we need everybody to continue to push back against the abuses of power that have shown up in Tennessee with a shove. But it's also shown up in the type of legislation that is getting pushed and passed and the type of actions that this speaker has done, like putting the public in one gallery and saying the gun lobbyists and the media go to another one. The thing that is just so interesting is that

you have this incident, them voting to stop Representative Jones from speaking for the day, saying that he was off topic. You see just the constant attack. I mean, you even had one representative attacking Representative Gloria Johnson for being in, having a chair to assist her walking. I mean, like these people are just cruel. Right. I mean, this is a part of the decorum of this institution. It is not about care. It is not about concern. It is not about helping or supporting our communities. It is a level of cruelty that we have experienced as black people in this country for far too long. The reality is, since its foundations, there's been injustices and a paradox about who deserves liberty and justice for all and who does not. And very often, disabled folks, queer folks, black folks do not fit on the side of white supremacy.

And the indulgence of white supremacy is not something that we are going to do, is not something we are going to support. But because of that, we continue to face resistance in this body and in this institution. And we see the weaponization of that abuse of power consistently in this body. Speaker Cameron Sexton, Leader William Lambert, they talk about, we need to have more conversations. Let's just talk about things. Let's just talk about things. But when it comes time to actually do something, they refuse to do it. When it comes time to actually pass laws that can make our kids safer, they refuse to do it. When it comes time to listen to the voices of grieving mothers and fathers across District 86 and across the state

of Tennessee who have suffered from the issue of gun violence, they refuse to do it. They only listen to the voices of the Tennessee Firearms Association. The values misalignment that are associated with the Tennessee Republican Party are corrosive to democracy and are dangerous for our communities. And we saw that when they banned Representative Jones from speaking and censured him. We saw that when they banned signs, such as having a sign that's 8 1⁄2 by 11 that says one kid is more important than all the guns. They actually dragged mothers out of committee rooms by state troopers just for having that sign.

Same committee rooms where you can have a gun. This is the type of institution that we're dealing with that's an abusive one that is taking away our democracy and is trying to destroy our ability to resist against their oppression. That's what white supremacy is doing in the state of Tennessee, and that is what I believe a lot of the white women who were there also were learning about white patriarchy and the way that it shows up, not only in the legislation that gets passed,

but in the deliberate actions of Cameron Sexton and of the Republican Party's leadership here in Tennessee. And on that point, you've seen a lot of these white women who are pissed off. And tell us what you're seeing. Are these white women mobilizing and organizing? And these are white Republican women in a lot of these cases as well. They now are seeing that the folks who they have been voting for have been voting against their interests all this time. That's exactly right.

I do believe that this movement is building. And I give a lot of credit, first, to the black women, the black women who have suffered from the issue of gun violence by having to bury their loved ones and their children, having to go to the state capitol and be turned around for so many years, for decades even. There have been so many black women who have been organizing, mobilizing, and working to activate the public to the consciousness about the danger of gun violence in our communities, while the NRA kept cutting checks and the Tennessee Firearms Association kept cutting checks to these elected representatives and not hearing them. And as this movement has grown and as through the tragedy, unfortunately, of the Covenant School shooting in Nashville, there has been a moment

where of recognition, I think, for a lot of the wealthier white women in particular who were directly impacted by that tragedy to realize that they have been silent on this issue that has been impacting black communities for a very long time, that has been impacting black mothers for a very long time. And it is now creating what Heather McGhee calls the solidarity dividend, right? Where you are getting a coalition of people

who others might not say should get along, of really wealthy white women who can send their kids to these very expensive private schools, who are saying, now it's time for us to be in this fight of really wealthy white women who can send their kids to these very expensive private schools who are saying, now it's time for us to be in this fight alongside the black community and black mothers who have been grieving, who have been mourning for a long time. And so they are, from over 20 to 30 counties, they showed up at the special session demanding that their leaders do something differently. Not only that, they're raising money. I think over $300,000 has been

raised by Voices for a Safer Tennessee, and they are actively letting representatives know that they're going to have a PAC, and they're coming for seats. And I believe it is because they are seeing how this institution works. And it shouldn't have to take for people to be so proximate to tragedy for them to get involved and to get engaged. And sometimes that is what happens, and that is what it is taking. And in this moment, I really do believe our movement is growing and building a tendency in a way that is going to see change happen. Quick round of questions. I know you don't have much time. Randy, you first go. Thank you for all the work you're doing out there. And I'm sorry that it's almost turned into a WWE and they're not handling you decently.

What now, I mean, what are your next steps to ensure that they are listening to you in this very important issue of gun violence? I mean, we have to continue to build this movement, and that's been our effort since day one. We send everyone to go to VoteJustinJ.com. We send updates and emails, and we'll be building out our district office here over the next several weeks and several months, because January is coming. We're going to be back in session the first week of January, and we're going to see a lot of legislation that I'm going to put forward, my colleagues are going to put forward, to help make our community safer.

You know, gun violence shouldn't be a partisan issue. No one should die from gun violence, whether you're a Republican, whether you're a Democrat. This is just not the world that we should be living in. And it's not the world we should want for our children or grandchildren or our loved ones and relatives to inhabit. And so we're going to continue to build our movement and we're going to continue to get people to go to the Capitol to speak at committee meetings, to show up in the galleries, to show up outside marching and protesting. And we're going to get people to show up to the polls because a lot of these people must go. Mustafa.

Justin, you know, I'm continuing to pray for you. I'm curious, you know, with, they're in Tennessee, the vast majority of people are for red flag laws. They're for making sure that we're doing these background checks. And they're also for raising the age of someone being able to have a gun from 18 to 21. What do folks do who are outside of the state of Tennessee to best support you and the movement that's currently going on there? Thank you, Dr. Mustafa. I appreciate your leadership on so many things, especially the environmental justice movement. But I think we have a lot to learn from that movement in particular, which is that you continue to build solidarity and to win. It isn't just going to take people in Tennessee. It's going

to take the awareness of people like Roland Martin and others from around the country like yourself to keep paying attention. State legislatures are the places where our democracy is dying. They are the places where millions of people's lives are being changed in very dramatic and traumatic ways. And if we stop paying attention, that's going to be how they are able to operate without any accountability. But for folks who are outside of the state, please continue to give money, right? Myself, Representative Jones, Representative Johnson, as was alluded to, is running for U.S. Senate. That's one way to participate. And the other is you can still make phone calls. You can still send emails. You can still be a part of the movement if you are not living in the state of Tennessee. But no one can be on the bench at this moment in time in America's history.

We cannot afford for anyone to be on the bench when it comes to gun violence, killing our children, when it comes to our planet, dying because of climate change. We need everybody to be active and engaged in this moment and in this time. So you can go to votejustinj.com. You can join our team, join our movement as we continue to build and as we continue to fight back against the oppression that we're experiencing here. Joe? Brother Pearson, appreciate the work that you're doing. And even though your focus is local, we clearly have national implications. And this is a rallying cry, becoming a rallying cry, and has been for a long time for a lot of people. So how do you strike that balance between being a local representative,

which you are, but also understanding that this is a moment where every— 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. 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 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. ...one is paying attention and where this is a national issue and because of it, it's going to rally people nationally

and how can they help one another? Yeah, I mean, we have to have this thing be national, right? It has to have implications across the country. Because when you have people who are being oppressed in any part of our states, in any of our states, when you have people who are being oppressed in any parts of our community, when we see democracy being degraded and eroded in place of mobocracy, that is a risk to all of us. It is not just about what is happening to the few folks here in Tennessee and that being a pity for us. The

reality is if it is happening in Tennessee, that means it's on its way to Texas. That means it's on its way to Florida. That means it's on its way across the South, the South where most African Americans in the country live. And so the ramifications of these bad policies and poor decision-making in our state legislatures really do matter. And for the ramifications of these bad policies and poor decision-making in our state legislatures really do matter. And for each and every one of us to be engaged in this movement, to be proximate to the people who are most impacted, means that you care deeply about the future of our country, because the litmus test for the country is not what is happening in the most progressive areas. It's not what is going on in the places that have the Democratic

leadership and are fighting against the NRA. The litmus test for our progress as a country is where the people are most in bondage, where are the people most oppressed, where are the people who are hurting the most, and what are we doing to be of support to them? What are we doing to help them and to lift them up? I believe that is the lesson from this moment, that even though you may not be in Tennessee, even though you may not be in Mississippi, even though you may not be in these states physically, the reality is the progress that you are able to make from

wherever you find yourself is based upon how far the people who are in the most oppressed places are progressing, which is why everybody has to be engaged in this fight. Representative Pearson, always great to have you. Thanks a bunch. Keep up the good fight. I appreciate you. Let's keep going. Yes, sir. Thanks a bunch. Folks, we come back. We're going to talk about the continuing fight for democracy. We're going to talk about the continuing fight for democracy. We're going to show you that ad. Representative Gloria Johnson dropped today. We'll show you a couple of others.

Also, Republicans in Louisiana, they're not happy that an urban leader in Louisiana participated in a gubernatorial debate. What they complying about? Also, we got lots of talk about Leader of the Proud Boy, a Hispanic dude, his punk ass going to prison for a long time you got your wake-up call didn't you also folks i am sick and tired of these damn baby reveal i'm sick of them we're gonna going to show you a video, okay, this gender reveal crap, where a pilot died flying over.

I just got a couple things to say. Plus, Deion Sands had a whole lot to say after his Colorado Buffaloes upset TCU in the opening game of the season on Saturday. We'll have that as well for the post-game news conference. Lots to talk about, plus Reverend William Barber. There's a whole bunch going on on the fifth anniversary show, and plus India Ari. It's this great song.

I loved it, and the words really spoke to really what our mission here is, Roller Martin Unfiltered. I told her I'm going to play that video at the end of today's show. Y'all don't want to miss that as well. Lots to break down. You're watching Roller Martin Unfiltered right here on the Black-owned Black Star Network. We talk about blackness and what happens in black culture. We're about covering these things that matter to us, speaking to our issues and concerns. This is a genuine people powered movement. A lot of stuff that we're not getting, you our issues and concerns. This is a genuine, people-powered movement.

There's a lot of stuff that we're not getting. You get it, and you spread the word. We wish to plead our own cause to long have others spoken for us. We cannot tell our own story if we can't pay for it. This is about covering us. Invest in Black-owned media. Your dollars matter. We don't have to keep asking them to cover our stuff.

So please support us in what we do, folks. We want to hit 2,000 people. $50 this month. Waits $100,000. We're behind $100,000. So we want to hit that. Your money makes this possible. Checks and money orders go to P.O. Box 57196, Washington, D.C., 20037-0196.

The cash app is Dollar Sign RM Unfiltered. PayPal is 20037-0196. The Cash app is DollarSignRMUnfiltered. PayPal is RMartinUnfiltered. Venmo is RMUnfiltered. Zelle is Roland at RolandSMartin.com. Next on The Black Table with me, Greg Carr. Brown versus the Board of Education. The history books call it the court decision that ended racial segregation in American schools. But a brand new book, Jim Crow's Pink Slip, uncovers a devastating unintended consequence of that 1954 Supreme Court decision. We may, if we were lucky, have been the very last generation of Black students to

have experienced these generations of Black teachers who have never been replaced. Dr. Leslie Fenwick joins us to talk about her book and the actions following that landmark decision that dealt a virtual death blow to Black educators. That's next on The Black Table, right here on the Black Star Network. Hey, what's up? Keith Turney in a place where we got kicked out of your mama's university, creator, and executive producer of Fat Tuesdays,

an air hip-hop comedy. But right now, I'm rolling with Roland Martin, unfiltered, uncut, unplugged, and undamned believable. You hear me? Martin! So I told you about this continuing fight for democracy. Gloria Johnson, of course, who was represented there in Tennessee,

announced today that she's running for United States Senate against that nutcase Marsha Blackburn. Here's a video that she dropped. Gunfire from an assault rifle. Yet another horrific story playing out in the South. When will enough be enough? When will we elect leaders with the courage to stand up for us instead of a bunch of bullies and cowards who only do what their party says?

I know fighting for justice has a cost. I learned that firsthand as a little girl when I had to sleep in the hallway instead of my bedroom to avoid being shot because my dad had the courage to bring the KKK to justice. And when my friends and I believed mothers and fathers who'd lost children at Covenant deserved a voice and we fought for it, they expelled them.

My name is Gloria Johnson. I'm not a politician, but I did beat one to become a state house member. Those politicians, they don't like me much because I speak my mind, and when it's bullshit, I call it bullshit. What I do is fight for justice for real people, because that's what Tennessee deserves. We deserve health care and prescriptions that

don't make us go broke. We deserve the freedom to make our own choices with our bodies. And most importantly, we deserve a leader with the courage to stand up to extremists and billionaires that have taken over our system. That person ain't Marsha Blackburn, but it is me. She supports a national ban on abortion and talks about freedom. And she voted against lowering our costs for insulin and prescriptions while taking nearly $2 million from insurance and big pharma. Look, I'm 6'3. I'm not afraid to stand up to anyone when it comes to doing what's right for Tennessee, especially Marsha Blackburn. And that's why I'm running for Senate. I like pissed off white women. All right, fair fight. Drop this video here.

I thought this was really interesting. I want to show y'all this one as well. America was founded on a dream of freedom, one that is yet to come true. It was freedom for some, freedom for the few, until we, the people, rose up and came together. From the Underground Railroad to Standing Rock,

from Stonewall to Selma, we've pushed America towards that dream of freedom again and again and again. But there have always been those who use fear and division to cling to power. Now once again, they are threatening to take away our freedoms, to control our own bodies, to vote and have the will of the people prevail, to love who we love. Progress often seems impossible. The truth is, we decide what's possible.

You decide what's possible. We can build a country where all of us are free to thrive, a place where equality, justice, and liberty are real. And someday, when the next generation justice and liberty are real. And someday, when the next generation asks what we did in this moment to protect our freedoms, we'll be able to say everything we could.

Now, the strong man. Now, Republicans, again, last thing they want is a true democracy in Louisiana. These fools literally are calling for all Republican candidates to boycott the state's first major televised gubernatorial debate on Thursday. Why? Because the chairman of the Republican Party, he's like the Urban League. How dare they be involved? Quote, this debate format is a biased sham that is purposely designed to damage Republicans. No Republican candidate should fall for antics like this. To have the radical Urban League as an outside panelist

and not balance its ultra-liberal viewpoint with a conservative organization is wrong. Joining me from New Orleans is the vice president of the Urban League of Louisiana, Tyrone Walker. So, Tyrone, y'all are radical ultra-liberals down there. Well, look, the Urban League of Louisiana for 85 years have been working to help black people and other underserved communities achieve economic self-reliance, parity, power and civil rights. This is the first time anybody's called the Urban League of Louisiana radical. So what's the deal? Are y'all going to participate? What's happening there? Well, the Urban League of Louisiana has been leading this effort to have the first statewide televised gubernatorial debate. We have four different news stations from across the state partnering with us, and another

independent nonprofit that's a statewide policy organization partnering with us. That debate is going on. All of the other Republican candidates that were invited are participating. And the Democratic candidate, of course, is participating as well. So what's at the heart here? Were you surprised by this attack? Well, look, you know, there's no shortage of times where our people are unfairly attacked. You know, the Urban League of Louisiana is focused every single day on making sure black people are informed, that they're registered and that they mobilize and exercise their voting rights. And conversely, with any candidate, whether they're Republican, Democrat, white or black, male or female,

our focus is making sure that every candidate understands issues that are important to our people and that they lay out policy prescriptions that will make their lives better. And when they get into office, we're in the business of working with them to make sure they make good on those promises. And when they don't, we oppose them. So do you think they're simply afraid of actually having to answer questions that are concerns to Black folks? Well, you know, I'll leave that up for you to determine or to opine about. When I have this Urban League pin on and I'm in this office, I've got to stay nonpartisan. And that's what we do every single year.

I will say this. It is peculiar, though, for a major candidate to skip the very first statewide televised debate when every single other major candidate has said yes, including four other Republicans in the race. I don't know what the motivation of that campaign is, but I can tell you this much. Nothing that any candidate does will provoke us nor deter us from doing what we're supposed to be doing as a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization committed to black people. We're going to stay focused on lifting up the issues that impact our folks, sounding the alarm when individuals are operating not in their best interest, and we're going to fight like hell to make sure that we move policies and systems change that are necessary to make their lives better.

All right, then. Well, Tyrone, we'll certainly be watching to see what happens there in Louisiana if these Republicans actually show up. Thank you, then. Well, Tyrone, we'll certainly be watching to see what happens there in Louisiana if these Republicans actually show up. Thank you, brother. All right. Thanks a bunch. Folks, we come back. Five years ago, we had this sister on the show as she was battling officials in Texas over voting. That's right. Over voting. Crystal Mason is still fighting to be free. She joins us next. Also, the second hour, Reverend William Barber was also on our first show five years ago. He's back to talk about what they have coming up in Florida. Plus, we talk about these ridiculous gender reveal parties. I am sick of all of them. There's a whole bunch of people who have been hating on Deion Sanders who are real sick today

after his Colorado Buffaloes upset TCU Horned Frogs on Saturday. Lots to break down, including Leader of the Proud Boys getting slapped with 22 years in prison. Don't drop the soap, Enrique. We'll be back on Roller Markon Unfiltered 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 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 One, Taser Incorporated. I get right back there and it's bad. It's really, really, really bad. Listen to new episodes of Absolute Season 1, Taser Incorporated on the iHeartRadio app,

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

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

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

It makes it real. Listen to does. It makes it real. Listen to new episodes of the War on Drugs podcast season two on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. And to hear episodes one week early and ad-free with exclusive content, subscribe to Lava for Good Plus on Apple Podcasts. podcast. horrific scene, a white nationalist rally that descended into deadly violence. You will not. White people are losing their damn lives. There's an angry pro-Trump mob storm to the U.S. Capitol. We're about to see the rise of what I call white minority resistance. We have seen white folks in this country who simply cannot tolerate black folks voting. I think what we're seeing is the inevitable result of violent denial.

This is part of American history. Every time that people of color have made progress, whether real or symbolic, there has been what Carol Anderson at Emory University calls white rage as a backlash. This is the wrath of the Proud Boys and the Boogaloo Boys. America, there's going to be more of this. There rise of the Proud Boys and the Boogaloo Boys. America, there's going to be more of this. There's all the Proud Boys. 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 Whitefield. On the next A Balanced Life with me, Dr. Jackie, we're going to be talking about common sense. We think that people have it, know how to use it, but it is something that people often have to learn.

The truth is most of us are not born with it, and we need to teach common sense, embrace it, and give it to those who need it most, our kids. So I always tell teachers to listen out to what conversations the students are having about what they're getting from social media, and then let's get ahead of it and have the appropriate conversations with them.

On a next A Balanced Life with me, Dr. Jackie, about what they're getting from social media, and then let's get ahead of it and have the appropriate conversations with them. On a next A Balanced Life with me, Dr. Jackie, here at Black Star Network. You go into a barbershop in a 700 credit score neighborhood, black or white, they're talking about their ideas and they're talking about how they're gonna move on those things. You go to a barber shop at a 500 credit score, equal brilliance, but bad culture,

they're talking about other people. Go to a winner's barber shop, here's what I'm doing. You go to the barber shop where people feel defeated, they're talking about other people, either celebrities or people they admire. But also often, I don't like Joe. I don't like, you know, I don't like Roland Martin. Let me tell you something.

I don't understand people. How could you not like anything here you see? You should just be like, this is amazing. It's cool. You may not even like how he does it or how I do it, but it's like, you know what? They're succeeding. They're killing it.

All you should be is, that's fantastic. But if I don't like me, I'm not going to like you. If I don't feel good about me, it's hard for me to feel good about you. If I don't respect me, don't expect me to respect you. If I don't love me, I don't have a clue how to love you. And here's the big one. If I don't have a purpose in my life,

I'm going to make your life a living hell. Yo, I'm Devon Franklin. I'm Dr. Robin B., pharmacist and fitness coach, and you're watching Roland Martin Unfiltered. Martin! All right, fam. Five years ago, we launched this show, Roland Martin Unfiltered on the Black Star. Well, actually, Black Star Network didn't exist. Roland Martin Unfiltered. We were literally right across the street. We were sharing a studio, sharing an office space with 50 Can, an education reform group

that I'm on the board of directors. And all we had was three offices, and we had a small room and didn't have much. In fact, y'all rolled a video of that first show. And again, y'all, we had these glass tabletops. Matter of fact, I should have brought one of them out. We still have a couple of them around here and some swivel chairs. But obviously, we've been able to grow the show.

And one of the first guests on that show, y'all roll the video? Y'all have it? Okay, I told y'all to pull it. All right, I'll get it. So we had Vito for the first show, y'all, for five years ago. And Reverend Barber was one of our first guests, and he joins us now. He is traveling, still on the front lines, fighting the good

fight. Reverend Barber, always glad to chat with you. It's been, a lot has happened the last five years, Frat. What you talking? Can I be unfiltered for a minute? Of course. Damn, I love Roland Martin. You know how it is, frat.

But I mean, man, you know, you've been really dropping it, brother. Keeping us informed, doing what others, and treading in waters others have feared to tread. And I told you some time ago, one of the great quotes that I remember in my own life is the most revolutionary thing you can do in a season of lies is be a truth teller yes sir you know that in itself is revolutionary and uh you can tell the truth I don't care if it's Republican Democrat me anybody you know I love it when you and I are talking and you'll say well they're about Raven Raven let's think about this let's think about this and see that's what real brotherhood and real friendship, you know, is all about. And so, man, I say congratulations more so to all the people you have touched.

We are better because of this show. Thank you, God, for your team. You know, they catch me anywhere and can say, look, we can get you on. We can get you on because no man is an island unto himself. But, brother, thank you. And like I said, damn, I love the Roland Martin show. I hope you do too. Sir, I appreciate it. Thank you so very much.

Florida, we saw what happened. Black folks there shot and killed at a family dollar store. This was, of course, a year after what took place in Buffalo. And pastors there don't want this thing to simply go away

because the level of hate that's being projected at black folks, not just by these white domestic terrorists who are taking up arms, this racist who killed these black folks and tried to go to HBCU first, we see the same political terrorists in the legislature, in the governor's mansion, who are targeting black people everywhere. Exactly. And, you know, I'm a pastor and a pastor 40 years. And we need to funeralize the folk. And the funerals need to be focused on the people who died, their lives, who they were. You know, that's what a eulogy is. But the funeral, after the funeral, we need a movement.

And that's what Dr. King did. He utilized those four little girls. He talked about them, who they were, and what they said to us. And afterwards, they built the movement. And so what has happened is, I've talked to Frank Reed, who called me the dean of the Episcopal Church down there, who's white, the people

Latino, Jews, Muslims, Christians, others are coming together this Thursday to have a take back the mic, call for a time of fasting, confession, repentance, and then calling on DeSantis and other leaders who are spewing all this hate against black people, hate against trans people, hate against women, hate against black history, hate against immigrants, to cease and desist or resign, and then making a commitment, not as Democrats or Republicans, but as moral agents, that we're going to let our voice and our votes be heard. We're going to mobilize a massive Love Truth Army, and not just for a day, not just for a moment, but for a movement.

Because, you know, Rob, Roland, this has a through line in history. If you look at 1898, the Wilmington riots in Wilmington, but how did that start? A year of racist rhetoric coming from Charles B. Acott, who would become the governor of the state. And then all these black folk get killed. Same thing happened in Tulsa. Same thing happened in 1919 with Red Summer. It was Woodrow Wilson spewing racist hatred, lifting up the Birth of a Nation movie,

saying it was a great movie. Then out of it came the deaths of black men all over the country. Emmett Till was killed out of all of the racist rhetoric that was spewed after the Brown decision. You had four little girls killed 17 days after the march on Washington, and children had had dogs sick on them in Birmingham. What was in Birmingham, Alabama? What was in Alabama? Governor who said segregation yesterday, today, and tomorrow, spewing all of this rhetoric. And last year, for Florida, people need to know it was August 27, 1960, when the racist legislature was spewing all kinds of ugly rhetoric. A so-called moderate

governor named Collins still called the Supreme Court decision bad. And out of that rhetoric came the axe handle riots, where white men with axe handles came into Jacksonville, beat black men, black women. The cops watched it. And then when the black men started fighting back, then they joined the side of the mob. So this stuff has a history. Racist cultural wars lead to division, divisiveness, and creates an ethos and a pathology in the atmosphere that gives license to craziness. It's not to say DeSantis pulled the trigger, but you create him, Trump, all these others.

You create an atmosphere of othering, an atmosphere of hatred. And it's time for us to take back the mic, Roland. And so on Thursday, the press conference, the next week,, students on the 15th, the anniversary of when those four girls were killed, black and white are going to deliver cease and desist letters to the government's office. And then on the 16th, 60 years and one day

after that, we're having a massive call to action in Jacksonville at 10 o'clock a.m. And you're going to hear more about it, more about it. We want people to join us because we cannot afford to have just a moment. We've got to have a movement. And that's the thing right there. First of all, the video that we're showing,

we were there with you, Beto O'Rourke, last year in Austin, Texas. We were, of course, covering the events here in Washington, D.C., when, of course, when the marches were taking place. And that's the thing that I keep trying to say. I'm sick and tired of gatherings and commemorations that are only there as a gathering and a commemoration. That's the thing that's driving me crazy because there has to be an agenda attached to it. You don't just go out there and march and protest just to take a walk. No, you can't.

Well, I'll tell you what, they'll laugh at you for doing it. You might get a headline, but you won't make headway. And right now we're not making headway because we have a commemoration, but we still don't have a Voting Rights Act passed. We still don't have a living wage passed that would lift 42 percent of black folk out of poverty and over 50 million Americans. Listen, look at what's happening even in Florida. Now, they are engaging in division and deception. They attack black history.

Now, guess what? DeSantis wants that fight alone. He wants us to come back, call him racist, and then know what he's going to do? He's going to pull out the two or three black scholars that he had write the program and say, why are you calling me racist? Even black people agree with this. That's the fight he wants. What he doesn't want is for us to unite together, challenge his rhetoric, and then also point out, Mr., you are a failed governor because you got nine million plus poor people in your state. You haven't done anything to address it. You've got four million people in your state who work for less than a living wage,

you haven't done anything to address it. You have 2.5 million people in your state without health insurance, you haven't done anything to address it. Life expectancy in Florida has gone down, you haven't done anything to address it. And when we start connecting the dots to show that the dissent, the divisionists are also those who are promoting violent public policy. And we see poor people dying. Poverty is the fourth leading cause of death now, Roland, in America, higher than homicide, higher than respiratory disease. So if you're not addressing poverty and not addressing living wages and not addressing health care, you are, in fact, engaging in a form of political murder and political violence.

We have to connect that and then say to folk, let's build a movement. We're not just going to get upset when somebody attacks a black history court. We're going to get upset because of that and because of all the other policies they're not engaging in, how they're blocking voting rights. And we're going to raise up, rise up, stand up, organize and mobilize around the agenda. Because listen, Roland, DeSantis only won about 1.5 percent of the vote when he ran the first time. He only won by about 4 percent of the vote when he won the second time. Living wages got more votes than him in his state. So if you organize around

agenda, it wouldn't take but three to four percent of poor low wealth voters to organize around agenda and just say bye. Go home. Take your rhetoric and go home. You know, you can have your opinion, but you can't have the mic anymore. Go home. That's what we're going to have to do in this moment. Mustafa, question to you first. Reverend Barber, always thank you for everything that you do. You know, immorality, racism is like cancer. If you don't completely eliminate it, then it's going to continue to spread through the body. With the moral movement that you have been successful at moving forward, how do we make sure that we are

weeding out, if you will, this immorality that continues to pop its head up, not just on every election season, but it seems like almost every week? Yeah. Well, you know, thank you, brother, for that question. One of the ways we got to do it is we can't just get upset when somebody is what I call obviously racist. You know what I mean? Like, for instance, when DeSantis called for, you know, changing the black history curriculum and changing the courses, a lot of folks got upset and said, he's wrong. I did several speeches in Florida, one to the Black Caucus, and said, I'm a little concerned that we didn't get upset until then, because he was racist before then. They said, mean I said racism is about policy this man blocked living wages in Florida that's racism because

you block living wages you are you are blocking over 54% of the black folk in Florida that would come up out of poverty if they had a living wage you see what I'm saying if you block healthcare, that's a form of racism. Because when you disaggregate the numbers, black folk are more likely not to have healthcare than other people. So if we're going to deal with racism,

let's deal with it in its fullness, not just when somebody calls you the N-word or somebody goes after a black history court. You know, Ibram Kendi said in his book, Scant from the Beginning, we have to understand race is the child of racism, not vice versa.

It wasn't that folks woke up one morning and decided they wanted to hate black people. They woke up and decided they wanted all the money. They woke up and decided they wanted all the power. They woke up and decided they wanted to get resources free. And then they came up with a system of race in order to have a people that they could suppress, oppress in order for economic power.

We have to make sure that we root it out in every area, not just in the obvious. And we have the power to do it because we build fusion coalitions. That's what I keep trying to say to folk, is if we build an agenda that's an anti-racist, anti-poverty agenda, and we say here are five areas, poverty, racism, environmental devastation, denial of health care, the war economy, the false modernized religious nationalism.

And we all gather around there and call everybody, whoever you are. We don't lessen the race critique. We broaden the race critique. Then we can build what Dr. King said in 65. He said the greatest fear of the racist Southern oligarchy was for the masses of poor Negroes, the masses of poor white folk, to find a way to come together and build a political voting bloc that could shift the economic architecture of the nation.

We have that power in our hands right now. That's why we can't just have moments anymore. We've got to build movement. Randy? It's such an honor to be talking with you and learning from you. I wanted to know what would you say to the people that say really the moral thing to do

is stop talking about race altogether and just focus on the poverty issue. They say instead of being anti-racist let's just not talk about or point out race whatsoever. They actually think that it's racist to talk about racism. Well, that's not moral. That would actually be immoral because see, racism is a form of heretical ontology. That is, racism suggests that God created things this

way. And if you don't talk about it and challenge it, then you're agreeing with, God created things to be like this. You don't have to say race or class. You can say race and class. It's a false dichotomy, because you can build the coalition, the master coalition, I found out, let me tell you something, when I go to eastern Kentucky that's predominantly white, I say the same thing I say in Harlem,

or the same thing I say in Mississippi, and I'm telling you, we get an audience up there. People mobilize. I watch what happens when people start seeing that they're being bamboozled, that they're being used against one another. I was in eastern Kentucky teaching a whole room full of white folk what their legislature did. And I put up the maps on who was claiming they were for voting rights, but they really were suppressing the vote. I put up a map on who was against gay people. Then I put up the map of who was against giving wages, who was against minors, and who was against health care. And one of the white guys stood up and said, I will be damned. We are being played

against each other. I said, that's my point. And now what are you going to do about it? And we worked in eight counties, and five of them flipped, flipped from so-called red counties to more blue counties. And they sent home an extremist Republican governor in Kentucky and elected a new governor. This works, but you've got to work it, work it, work it, work it. So, no, I don't agree that you've got to stop talking about race. You've got to connect the dots. That's why Dr. King, before he died, he said three things, poverty, racism, militarism. You have to address those triune evils together and not separately. We say racism, poverty, ecological devastation, denial of health care, the war economy,

and the false moral and anti-religious nationalism. Those are the five interlocking injustices we must build a multiracial fusion coalition around. And guess what? It doesn't take everybody. There's not a state in the South where if you mobilize 20 percent of poor and low-wealth voters who have not voted, you can't change and control elections. It's 19% in North Carolina. It's 12% in South Carolina. It's 8%, 9% in Georgia. It's 4% in Florida. It's 1% in Michigan. Come on, y'all. We have the numbers and the power. We've just got to stop having, just having commemoration and start having movements. Joe, it's an honor to be on with you, Dr. Barber. Appreciate you so greatly for so many reasons and for so many years.

As we know, the North Carolina legislature is now a supermajority Republican. And even though people point to, as you said in an article recently, the woman who won for office as a Democrat and then she flipped to Republican to create that supermajority. You pointed back to some things before, including the approval of a gerrymander by Attorney General Eric Holder that you called a betrayal of representative democracy. Looking at where we are now and what it is that we need to accomplish, what can this administration, what this administration, it's the Justice Department, do to avoid similar portrayals? Well, I said, that's right. In 2010, we said that was a racist, gerrymandering map. It got approved, and even when pre-cancellation was in place, it took a...

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

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subscribe to Lava for Good Plus on Apple Podcasts. Eight years in the court, we beat them, we overturned it. Now what we see is because of one vote switching, the North Carolina legislature has a supermajority again. And what are they doing? Trying to go back to the well, and they're trying to go back to the foul water that we've already poured out before. We've already beat them. So we're going to have to continue to fight in court.

But here's my concern. Now, I supported the Infrastructure Act. I supported inflation reduction, certain parts of it. Some of it, I thought that we needed to do more when it came to poor and low-wealth people. But how did living wages get off the table? How did voting rights get off the table when Democrats had both the Senate and the House? Now, we heard that Manchin got what he wanted because he was promised that he would get a pipeline, a deal was cut, he'd get a pipeline, he'd get an electricity grid. Well, where was the deal for voting rights? Where was the deal for living wages? Why did certain groups agree in the civil

rights community to stop pushing for those things, get infrastructure, and then try to come back later and bring it back? Why didn't we say we want it all? Why couldn't the Black Caucus say we're not casting our votes until we get it all? Other people do that. Why is it that we have to keep saying we'll take what they want and then come back and try to get what we want? We're talking about fundamental voting rights. We're talking about living wages, that if we had passed that

and Vice President Kamala Harris had been allowed to sign that deciding vote, 43 percent of African-Americans would have been lifted out of poverty. 50 million Americans. If we had passed the John Lewis bill and the Voting Rights Act and demanded that we'll do infrastructure and those bills, but we're not going to do it without those bills, 50 million Americans who have been facing voter suppression would have been alleviated of that. We have to begin to make sure that what folks run on, because everybody, the Democrats ran

on living wages and voting rights. And then two Democrats, there were 49 Republicans that said no. But my concern is, did the Dems really do everything they could to hold Manchin and Sinema to account? I don't believe if their feet had been held to the fire, they would have voted against infrastructure just because they would have had to pass voting rights. But did we stay focused? Did we unify?

Or were there deals cut that undermined us accomplishing those realities? So now we need to come together and say, here are five things that we want done in the first 50 days. We'll turn this vote out one more time, massively. But in the first 50 days, this better happen. Don't you run on it and then change your mind if you get both sides of the house. In North Carolina, we have to admit, it was not just what the extremists did. The Democratic Party did not work hard enough to turn out the vote.

We had the lowest turnout of the black vote. The consultants told the candidate running for U.S. Senate, who was a black woman, run on law and order. Don't run on living wages. Don't run on health care, even though 49 percent of North Carolinians make less than a living wage. That's black and white and Latino and Asian. And over a million people in North Carolina still don't have health care.

These consultants that are consulting our U.S. Senate candidates to run on law and order, to run to the suburbs and not run and organize and mobilize the most powerful sleeping giant in the country, which is poor and low-wealth voters, are killing us when it comes to electoral policy. They all need to be thrown out, and we need to mobilize poor and low-wealth people who now make up 30 percent of the electorate in regular states and 42 percent of the electorate in battleground states. That's the sleeping giant. You mobilize that with everybody else, you can

win and win big. Extremists know it. That's why they keep us focused on cultural wars because they do not want the public to know that they are failing on all the other things that matter in their real lives. Reverend William Barber, I appreciate it, Frat. Thank you so

very much for joining us. Take care, my brother. Damn, I appreciate it, Frat. Thank you so very much for joining us. Take care, my brother. Damn, I love Roland Martin's show. I appreciate it, Frat. Thanks so much. We'll keep fighting. Thank you. Folks, when we come back, another guest who was here five years ago. Why is Crystal Mason

still fighting for her freedom? We'll talk to her and her attorney next on Roland Martin Unfiltered. We'll also talk her and her attorney next on Rolling Mark Unfiltered. We'll also talk about the leader of the Proud Boys. His ass going to prison for a long time. Deion Sanders shocks the college football world, and I am sick and tired of these gender reveal parties.

Just tell everybody your ass having a boy or girl. Damn. Also, played this great song by India Arie. Lot more to cover on Roller Mark Unfiltered on the Blackstar Network. ... ... ...

... ... ... ...... On the next Get Wealthy with me, Deborah Owens, America's Wealth Coach, Black women are starting businesses at the fastest rate than any other segment. However, finding the funding to build them is challenging. On our next Get Wealthy, we're going to talk with author Catherine Finney,

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You heard and what it means to see that's right here on get wealthy only on Blackstar Network. Up next on The Frequency with me, Dee Barnes, we're going to talk to Leslie Segar, a.k.a. Big Les, and talk about her incredible career as a dancer, choreographer, and VJ of Rap City.

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versus the Board of Education. The history books call it the court decision that ended racial segregation in American schools. But a brand new book, Jim Crow's Pink Slip, uncovers a devastating devastating unintended consequence of that 1954 Supreme Court decision. We may, if we were lucky, have been the very last generation of black students to have experienced these generations of black teachers who have never been. Dr. Leslie Fenwick joins us to talk about her book and the

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Five years ago, Crystal Mason was on this show. She, of course, is a sister out of Texas who voted, cast a provisional ballot. They came after her saying she violated her probation. I mean, folks, it's just absolutely crazy. And so Tarrant County is still going after Crystal Mason. They, of course, she had to go back to prison, violated federal. I mean, talk about a huge mess. And so here we are celebrating five years of this show,

and Crystal Mason is still not free of the legal system. She joins us now along with her attorney, Kim Cole. First of all, it's good to see both of you. I hate that we have to see you talking about this. It makes no sense. And it was, Crystal, it was crazy. So when I was going through the video of our first show, I was shocked to see you in our first show.

And then it hit me. I was like, she is still dealing with this crap five years later. Yes. For folks who don't know, just explain to people the ordeal that you've had to go through. Like, when did this start?

When did you vote? What election, what year was it that you voted or got a provisional ballot because you thought you could vote? When was that? This was 2016. So that was seven years ago. Yes. And then what happened? I filled out a provisional ballot and was arrested for it and sentenced to five years for illegally voting. So you were sentenced in the state, and didn't that violate your federal case that you had to go back to federal prison? I had 10 months left on my federal supervised release case, and I had to go to prison for 10 months.

And they gave me another two and a half years on supervised release. So you had 10 months left supervised release. You were out. And because of this, you had to go back to federal prison and they tacked on another two and a half years of supervised release. Yes. So are you now free of the federal supervision?

I am, yes. All right, but you're still dealing with the state. Kim, this thing is going back and forth. Where's the state case now? Because Tarrant County DA, they're spending thousands of dollars

to pursue this woman in a seven-year-old case, and it was a provisional ballot that, what, didn't count? Never count? Exactly. Exactly. Um, right now the case is back with the, um, second court of appeals. We, it's been there before and they upheld Crystal's conviction. And then we appealed that to the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals. The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals sent the case back to the second court of appeals and said,

y'all might want to take another look at this because you seem to have misinterpreted the law. Because the law requires that Crystal know that she was not eligible to vote. It's not enough that she cast a provisional ballot. She had to have known at that time that it was not told by anyone that was nothing given to her in writing that she could not vote. Correct. That's absolutely true. The supervisor of this district testified that they don't even have any type of process in place to advise any of the federal inmates as to their voting rights. So they didn't even have a process in place at that time. Since Crystal's conviction, I might add, they did create a form that tells people that they may not be eligible to vote. And so again, we're talking about a provisional ballot,

wasn't counted. The PO says she did not know, yet the Tarrant County District Attorney's Office, they are continuing to pursue her. Absolutely. And we're here at the Second Court of Appeals. Like I said,

they got a ruling from the Court of Criminal Appeals that told them they might want to take a second look at this. The judge in our oral argument asked the state where on this provisional ballot does it say that if she's a felon,

she's not eligible to vote? And the state just kind of, you know, started fumbling through papers and the judge was like, let me help you out. It's not in there. It's not even on the provisional ballot. Nowhere on that ballot does it say that if you are a felon, you are not eligible to vote. Crystal didn't know. Hopefully the second court of appeals gets it right this time. She had no clue she couldn't vote. Okay, but

the crazy thing here is literally the DA's office could say we're dropping the case. This has gone on for seven years, we're dropping the case. This has gone on for seven years. We're dropping the case. But they refuse to do so. As of this point, absolutely.

They have stuck with this and they are still pursuing that line. You know what it is, Roland. There's the narrative out there that there's all of this rampant voter fraud and it hasn't come to fruition yet. And so there's still, in Crystal's original case, the DA said that he wanted to send a message to voters and that's, they're sticking with that. Crystal, for, again, for the folks who this may be new to them, I mean, this has completely upended your life because before you had a job, then when you go back in, did you lose that job?

I definitely did. I lost the job and I lost the insurance. Did you also have issues with your home? I did, yes. So what's now? Are you in a new home? Is it a new job? And again, when this thing is playing out, I mean, if the courts don't do right,

you may have to literally serve time in Texas prison. Correct. Right now it's been rolling, it's been five years, and I've been out on the appeal bun fighting to stay free. I've been out on the appeal bun for five years. Joe?

You know, I'm so flabbergasted. And I was going to ask, and maybe you've already answered it. It's like, my gosh, what could be behind this whole thing? Do you believe it's the larger narrative about people not voting? Just the whole idea that they can drag this out as long as they can with this sister here, then perhaps it will make some people that could otherwise find out that they're eligible to vote scared to vote, not want to pay attention, not want to figure out that they actually can vote,

or whatever the case may be. Do you think it's really just about supporting this big, larger narrative, or is it about something else? It is my firm belief that this is much larger than Crystal Mason. The DA, in their closing argument, specifically urged the judge to send a message to the voters of Tarrant County to sentence Crystal to a quote-unquote stern prison sentence. This was all in the narrative of rampant voter fraud, and nothing about Crystal's followed the standard operating procedures, the precinct judge at the polling place personally called the DA. Instead of, from my understanding, the normal process, if there is voter fraud suspected, you hand that over to the county voting, the county elections board.

And that didn't happen here. The election judge there at the precinct specifically called the DA personally and reported Crystal. And let me mention that that election judge was her neighbor. My God.

Randy? I can't talk. I mean, this is devastating and just disgusting. Where to begin? I mean, I'm sorry, Roland, I can't even, this is horrible. Crystal, I'm just so sorry that this has happened to you. What would you, I mean, do you feel as if you've personally been targeted or do you feel as if this is a bigger message to go against people? And do you

advise the people around you to vote in spite of everything? I definitely do. And I do feel like this is way bigger than me. This is pretty much to send a message to the black or brown that if you vote, this can happen to you. So the organization that I started, Crystal Mason, the fight against voter suppression, I have like over 17 members of my family that are VRs. So we're out in the neighborhood encouraging people how important it is to vote. I share my story to a lot of people, letting them know if you're off, if you've done time, you're off parole, then let's check your status so we can see if you're eligible to vote because we definitely need these people to get out here and vote. Mustafa? You are.

Sister Mason, you know, I apologize. I don't apologize. It's a shame that both your state and this country has failed you. And it is a shame also that Republicans continue to spout these lies about voter suppression and fraud happening when we know where it is actually going on at. You know, I'm curious, in all the time that has now transpired, how has this helped to transform the way that you look at the need for a stronger democracy and for, you know, the ability for folks? 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. Bone Valley comes a story about what happened when a multi-billion dollar company dedicated itself to one visionary mission. This is Absolute Season 1, Taser Incorporated. I get right back there and it's bad. It's really, really, really bad. Listen to new episodes of Absolute Season 1, Taser Incorporated, on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

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

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

of what this quote-unquote drug man. Benny the Butcher. Brent Smith from 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. Actually be able to vote to change things. This has, this impact on my life has pretty much played a large part of my family life, too. So we are out here as a team just encouraging people. And just, again, like I said, sharing my story on how important it is because you've got to realize the judge, the DA, the prosecutor, they're all elected officials. And these are the people that did this to me. Absolutely stunning. Well, Kim, Crystal, look, keep up the fight.

Keep us abreast. Anything that happens in this case, and we certainly are standing right there with you. Thank you, Roland, for following this and keeping this story in the forefront. I appreciate it. Not a problem. Thank you so very much. Thanks a lot. Folks you so very much. Thanks a lot.

Folks, we come back. The leader of the Proud Boys slapped with 22 years in prison. We'll discuss that next. Also, Deion Sanders got folks tongues wagging in college football, and we'll chat about that as well. Plus, I am sick and tired of these gender reveal parties. Literally. I'm sick of them.

We'll talk about that as well. Folks, you're watching Rolling Modern on YouTube. Hit the like button, y'all. We should easily go over 2,000 likes. Easy, okay? Also, download the Black Star Network app, Apple Phone, Android Phone, Apple TV, Android TV, Roku, Amazon Fire TV,

Xbox One, Samsung Smart TV, and support us in what we do. Your contributions are critically important, folks, so please donate to the cause. You can join our Bring the Funk fan club, send check and money orders to PO Box 57196, Washington, D.C., 20037-0196, Cash App, Dollar Sign, RM Unfiltered. PayPal, RMartin Unfiltered. Venmo is RM Unfiltered. Zelle, Roland at RolandSMartin.com. Roland at RolandMartinUnfiltered.com. And be sure to get a copy of my book,

White Fear, How the Brownie of America is Making White Folks Lose Their Minds. We'll be right back. I'm your host, I'm your host, I'm your host, I'm your host, I'm your host, I'm your host, I'm your host, I'm your host, I'm your host, I'm your host, I'm your host, I'm your host, I'm your host, I'm your host, I'm your host, I'm your host, I'm your host, I'm your host, I'm your host, I'm your host, I'm your host, I'm your host, I'm your host, I'm your host, I'm your host, I'm your host, I'm your host, I'm your host, I'm your host, I'm your host, I'm your host, I'm your host, I'm your host, I'm your host, I'm your host, I'm your host, I'm your host, I'm your host, I'm your host, I'm your host, I'm your host, I'm your host, I'm your host, I'm your host, I'm your host, I'm your host, I'm your host, I'm your host, I'm your host, I'm your host, I'm your host, I'm your host, I'm your host, I'm your host,

I'm your host, I'm your host, I'm your host, I'm your host, I'm your host, I'm your host, I'm your host, I'm your host,

I'm your host, You will not be replaced. White people are losing their damn minds. There's an angry pro-Trump mob storm to the U.S. Capitol. We're about to see the rise of what I call white minority resistance. We have seen white folks in this country who simply cannot tolerate black folks voting. I think what we're seeing is the inevitable result of violent denial. This is part of American history. Every time that people of color have made progress, whether real or symbolic, there has been what Carol Anderson at Emory University

calls white rage as a backlash. This is the rise of the Proud Boys and the Boogaloo Boys. America, there's going to be more of this. There's all the Proud Boys. 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. On the next A Balanced Life with me, Dr. Jackie, we're going to be talking about common sense. We think that people have it, know how to use it, but it is something that people often have to learn. The truth is most of us are not born with it and we need to teach common sense,

embrace it and give it to those who need it most, our kids. So I always tell teachers to listen out to what conversations the students are having about what they're getting from social media and then let's get ahead of it and have the appropriate conversations with them. On a next A Balanced Life with me, Dr. Jackie here at Black Star Network.

-♪ -♪ Me Sherri Sheppard, and you know what you're watching, Roland Martin unfiltered. -♪ -♪ -♪ -♪

-♪ -♪ A whole bunch of people were not happy Saturday after Deion Sanders and his debut as head coach of the Colorado Buffaloes. They upset 17-ranked Texas Christian University in Fort Worth. His son threw for more than 500 yards. Four players with 100 yards receiving. They were a 20-point underdog. And again, the haters were hating like crazy. They was talking about how awful the team was,

the number of new players that Deion brought in. Folks said, how dare Deion make comments such as, oh, you know, I don't care about culture. I mean, they were just sitting here again, just lighting him up left and right. And one of the folks who really got a lot of this stuff started was Yahoo analyst Tom Luggenbill. Tom Luggenbill, he also is with Yahoo, college football analyst. And so this is what Tom said, y'all, a few days before the game. Check this out right here. We're going to finally see for all the hoopla and all the game. Check this out right here. We're going to,

we're going to finally see for all the hoopla and all of the hype going into the off season with the on Sanders in Colorado. It does not mask the fact that they don't have any players on that roster. And you think you thought UMass was the worst roster in college football. It may be Colorado's. Now I say that, do they have a quarterback? Yes. Do they have two starting corners? was the worst roster in college football, it may be Colorado's. Now, I say that. Do they have a quarterback?

Yes. Do they have two starting corners that could be NFL guys and one of them plays both ways? Yes. They are so devoid of talent up front on both sides of the ball, I don't know how they're going to keep their quarterback upright.

I think we're going to finally see for all the hoopla and all the hype going into the offseason with Deion Sanders in Colorado, it does not mask the fact that they don't have any players. All right, so that's what Tom said. So let me – so this is what Tom said after the game. Give me a second.

He actually tweeted after the game. I can't – I'm trying to find it. When he said, basically, he was like, I got to take this ass whooping. Y'all go ahead and bring it. Out of Dallas, joining us is the president of JJT Media Group, Gene Jock Taylor. But if he was in Louisiana, they'd be like, Jean Jock Taylor. Gene Jock, what's happening? First of all, man, Dion, first of all, after the game, Dion was really, really Dion after the game.

And you know he was waiting for this post-game news conference. Roll it. What's up, boss? You believe that? Hold on. Hold on. Hold on. Oh, no. Do you believe that? You, you, hold on, hold on, hold on, oh no.

Do you believe that? Huh? Oh no, no, no, I read through that bull junk you wrote. I read through that, I sifted through all that. Yeah! Oh no, come on. Do you believe? You don't believe?

You just answered it. You don't believe? Next question. You don't believe? You don't believe. You just answered it. You don't believe. Next question. You don't believe. I tell him to turn on the film. We're going to continuously be questioned because we do things that have never been done. That's the way our life has presented themselves. We do things that have never been done,

and that makes people uncomfortable. When you see a confident black man sitting up here talking his talk walking his walk coaching 75 african-americans in the locker room that's kind of threatening oh they don't like that but guess what we're gonna consistently do what we do because i'm here and ain't going nowhere and i'm about to get comfortable in a minute i'm about to get comfortable in a minute. I'm about to get comfortable in a minute. Because guess what? These young men in there right now, they believe. Not

all of them believed before. But right now, they came up one by one, twos by twos. Coach, we believe. Now they believe. Now Boulder believes. People in the front office, people in the building, the fans, the students. Now everybody want to believe. Now Boulder believes. People in the front office, people in the building, the fans,

the students. Now everybody want to believe. I'm good with that. We got room. We're not vindictive like that. I just like them to know that I know that you really ain't with me. You really ain't with us. You really don't believe. You really don't want to see me win. You don't want to see me in victory or at peace and have joy. I know you don't want to see that, victory or at peace and have joy. I know you don't want to see that, but I love it. It ain't nothing different. Why would I expect something different? It was like that when I played, right?

So I'm just playing another game. I'm just off the field. I'm not on the field now, but I can affect what's on the field, and I'm thankful for that. I really am. Well, they went 1-1 last year after one week. They are now number 22 in the Associated Press poll, and then

this is the USA Today coaches poll, number 25. Gene Jocks, it's some sports writers like, damn it, that damn Dion. Well, I think it's, man, I think it's what he said, which is he's the same dude as a coach that he was as a player.

He's unapologetically himself. And that's what's hard for people to deal with. Dion doesn't dance to anybody's beat but his own. He's a creative mind. He doesn't care about tradition. He knows a way to win. And he puts it in motion. And he doesn't care whether you. He knows a way to win. And he puts it in motion. And he doesn't care whether you think it's good or bad

because ultimately, everything he's ever touched, he's won. But here's the thing that's crazy. And you followed him when he was at Jackson State. You have a book coming out September 10th. If y'all have the book cover, please show it. You don't have the book cover? Okay, I'll go ahead and pull it up. And here's what people don't realize.

He got some dogs coaching. They act like he's got some major coaches on his roster who know football. I think that's a great point, man. I think what people don't understand is that Deion is somebody who attracts greatness, whether we're talking about players or whether we're talking about coaches, because he's such a charismatic individual. And here's the other thing. He's a very demanding coach.

And so he will not just bring you on. He pulls the best out of you. Now, that's a little different than pushing you. He pulls the best out of his players. He pulls the best out of his coaches. He pulls the best out of his coaches. But a great example is this. Dennis Thurman was a defensive coordinator in the National Football League for the Jets

and the Bills. He's now a quality control coach working on goal line and short yardages and red zone. That's what he does. He's got Vincent Dancy, head coach at Mississippi Valley State last year in the SWAT. He's also a quality control coach, helping with the defense.

He's got Alabama, former Alabama defense coordinator Charles Kelly as his defensive coordinator. Sean Lewis is the offensive coordinator. Kent State is a match school, but they have one of the most explosive offenses in the country. And he was a head coach. He was the head coach at Kent State. A head coach who became an got a terrific state. He was the head coach at Kent State. A head coach who became

an assistant under Deion. Why? He wanted to figure out what makes this dude so special. Why does he win everywhere he goes? And a lot of cats are like that, man. They want to just touch the hem of the garment, as Sam Cook used to say, just to get a feel for what makes Deion special.

But the thing that, first of all, he comes in, he turns over the roster. They were all mad when he said, look, some of y'all, he said, look, I'm bringing my luggage. I'm bringing Louie. And there were people who also said, man, how you going to make your son the starting quarterback? And again, you heard all the stuff last year.

Yeah, these guys are good, but it's Jackson State. And as Shadu was like, and that Lugganville comment is interesting. Did they sack Shadu one time on Saturday? No, they got him four times. But the bigger picture is he wasn't under constant pressure. Right. And they had a quick passing game where he got the ball out. And the thing about Shadu, one of the things that makes him special is

that he plays the game at his pace. He's very calm. He's very poised. He never panics. He's never in a hurry. It's always at his pace. And as long as he continues to do that, he's going to have success. Because remember, he was a top-rated quarterback in the country. He was a legitimate four-star quarterback. He had a lot

of opportunities to go elsewhere and play. His whole thing, though, was I want to play as a freshman. And so that's why I was going to Florida Atlantic, because he wanted to play as a freshman. He had no interest in sitting. And so he ended up at Jackson State. And he did, realistically, he and Travis Hunter did what elite athletes should do at SWAC schools.

They should dominate. But another thing, before I go to my panel here, the thing for me is, and this is just real simple, Deion's deal is, I'm going to do what I do. And here's the reality that when you're that type of player

and then now you become that coach, other folk want to be around you, not just coaches but also players, and they bring a level of energy that's needed to a more bond program. Remember, the AD said when they signed Deion, they did not have the

money to pay Deion Sanders. They didn't have the money. He got it not. The alumni, first of all, the alumni gave $28 million, salary covered, but the thing is, what he has done, season tickets, suites.

I've even been told that business leaders in the state of Colorado are seeing a positive impact on him as the head coach. We ain't even talking football. We're not talking about business in the state of Colorado. Dude, it's what he did in Jackson, where economic development improved by 30 or 40 million in the two years he was there each year. That's what he does. It's, you know, it's because he's so charismatic.

And here's the other thing, man. Deion, you can touch Deion. And what I mean is he not only coaches the football team, he gets out in whatever community he's in. Even in Dallas, he lives about 60 miles outside of Dallas in a small town, but he gets out in the town. He gets out in Boulder. He's at restaurants. He's going to field hockey games. He's going to volleyball games. He's getting out in the community so that you can feel and touch him. And the other thing he does, which is really smart, is the more you're available, the more people see you. Guess what they do, Roe?

They allow you to be you out in public because they see you all the time. So it's not whoosh, let's run and get an autograph, let's run and get a picture. It's, oh, that's Coach Prime again. And so he's kind of mastered that. But he makes himself part of every community he goes to. And I think that's one of the reasons people gravitate towards him. So smart with what he's done, how he

also shows up to other sports at a school, shows them love as well. You and I know a whole bunch of college football coaches who don't give a damn about nobody but the football program. No, it's absolutely true. And it's all done with a purpose. He wants everybody to win.

Because guess what? When a women's basketball team wins, that's good for Colorado. When a football team wins, it's good for Colorado. When a basketball team wins, it's good for Colorado. Everybody who's winning is good because when you have a winning culture throughout the university, it's just good for everything. It's good for enrollment. It's good for students.'s just good for everything. It's good for enrollment. It's good for students.

It's good for professors. It's good for coaches. Atmosphere is great when everybody's winning. Mustafa, you're up first. Yeah, so first of all, Deion, it's the truth. We've always known that. When will we know? You know, there's some tough games on the schedule.

How far do we have to go into the schedule before we give that validation that, yes, this is one of the top teams in the country? Oh, it'll come up real soon. They play Oregon in week four. They play USC in week five. I don't think that they're, nah, I could be eating my words in a few weeks. I don't think they're ready to beat Oregon, although maybe they will. I don't think they're ready to beat USC just yet. But what they are ready to do is compete. And if you play something less than your A game, you might get beat. And so to me, he's still building a roster, man.

This is not a team that's ready to compete for a national championship yet. This is a team that most people thought would win two or three or four games. Deion had much higher expectations. Deion had much higher expectations. His coaches had much higher expectations. And as he pointed out, the deal now is the players believe. And anybody who's ever played sports or anybody who's ever had any success understands that confidence and belief in yourself is half the battle. Once you believe that you are good enough to stay on the field with some elite teams,

then you play at a higher level. Randy? I can't lie. I was one of those people who was quite upset when Deion left Jackson State, you know, being a HBCU graduate, and I just was amazed. I just wanted him to do all the great things that he did do and that he's doing right now. I would love to see HBCU getting

that funding, but I'm seeing what the brother is doing and how he is helping Black people as a whole. So I wondered if you could speak on that a little bit, how his accomplishments is really helping our community. I think if you, one of the things he did, one of the reasons he brought Vincent Dancy with him from Mississippi Valley State, again, another head coach who's not an assistant on his staff, is because he viewed him as a guy who was a grinder, a worker, a guy who wanted to be the best he could be. And in Mississippi Valley State, he was going to get trapped there

because he's going to be a really good coach with a bad record because they don't have enough funding, they don't have enough money to pump into the, into the program to really make it be a consistent winner. And so he said, before he gets trapped there, let me pull him with me. Let me take him to Colorado. Let us have success here. And when you have success here, people are going to come get the man next to the man at some point,

whether it's as a defensive coordinator, as a defensive line coach, whatever, but you're going to have opportunities because you're here with me. That's the kind of thing he does on a regular basis for all types of coaches and all types of people. Joe? Give me a sense. Give me your theory on how the University of Colorado football program was so bad for so long.

Because they have had some good days as a football program was so bad for so long because they have had some good days as a football program. They've had I think Brother Salam came from there won the Heisman. I mean, they accomplished a lot. They were a big time program at one time. How did it fall away so tough for Deion

to bring him back? And hopefully he does. But the Colorado Buffaloes were once a very, very good at times program. When Bill Clinton was president. Hey, Joe, that's when Bill Clinton was president. Yeah, but it didn't seem like that long ago to me, Roland.

It was a long damn time ago. It was a long time ago. It was a long damn time ago, player. Go ahead. Go ahead. And Gene Jock. Gene Jock. And they had like two or three black coaches in the last several years.

So it's not like what Deion is like. They hired black coaches. Their previous two coaches had both been black. Yep. Carl Durrell didn't work out. Mel Tucker ended up at Michigan State. Why? Because he did a good job in Colorado.

So they were good just a few years ago, but it wasn't something that was sustained. Here's the deal, man. This is all about recruiting. College football is all about recruiting and a quarterback. Deion, the reason why he will ultimately be successful, he's a terrific recruiter. Okay? Secondly, right now he's got a quarterback. And he's developed him, and he's turned into a terrific player.

But the reason Colorado fell is it's kind of a multitude of problems. They didn't have enough money to pump into the athletic program to keep up with the big boys of college football. Two, Colorado is not a state that produces a lot of athletes, and so you got to go get your athletes elsewhere. And number three, when you don't make the right hire, it sets your program back years and years and years. And when you make a couple of bad hires in a row, you can find yourself in a situation, especially if you don't have a long tradition of how are we ever going to get it back? And the way they get it back is they went and did a bold move, hired the most effervescent coach in college football and said, we're going to give you the keys to the car, stay out the way, and let you do what you do.

Well, in fact, of the last five coaches, four of them, if you include Deion, have been African-American. You had Carl Durrell, Mel Tucker, and John Embry. But to your point, you could be a brother, but if you can't recruit the talent, it's not going to play well. And hell, you look at schools like Nebraska,

who Colorado's playing this week. Nebraska was a powerhouse for 30 years. They've sucked the last seven, eight years. For the same reason. And why did they go hire Matt Rule? He's a proven program builder. He's a guy who's gone at several different places, Temple, Baylor, left it much better than he found it because he has a process

for building winners out of bad programs. Deion has his own process. He likes graduate students. He likes transfers, guys who already know how to play. Why? Ain't nobody giving Deion time to lose. And so he's got to come in, hit the ground running, because we know if he has a bad season,

they don't look like they're well-prepared. The arrows and slings that will come at him will be too many to count. Indeed. Gene, Doc, Taylor, folks, all of the upcoming book, pull it up right here, Coach Prime, Deion Sanders, and the Making of Men. It's available, drops September 10th. October 10th, but you can pre-order right now.

Amazon, Walmart, Target, Barnes & Noble, wherever you get your books. There you go. October 10th, it drops. Pre-order right now. Gene Johnson, I appreciate it, brother. Thanks a lot. Roland, I appreciate you, man.

Folks, we come back. One of the Proud Boy leaders, his ass going to prison for a long time. And I got to talk about this damn gender reveal party. They really getting on my nerves. That's next on Rollerback Unf 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 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 iHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Binge episodes one, two, and three

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

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

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

It makes it real. Listen to new episodes of the War on Drugs podcast season two on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. And to hear episodes one week early and ad-free with exclusive content, subscribe to Lava for Good Plus on Apple Podcasts. We talk about blackness and what happens in black culture. We're about covering these things that matter to us, speaking to our issues and concerns. This is a genuine people powered movement. A lot of stuff that we're not getting.

You get it and you spread the word. We wish to plead our own cause to long have others spoken for us. We cannot tell our own story if we can't pay for it. This is about covering us. Invest in black-owned media. Your dollars matter. We don't have to keep asking them to cover our stuff. So please support us in what we do, folks.

We want to hit 2,000 people. $50 this month. Rates $100,000. We're behind $100,000 people. $50 this month. Waits $100,000. We're behind $100,000. So we want to hit that. Your money makes this possible. Checks and money orders go to P.O. Box 57196, Washington, D.C., 20037-0196. The Cash App is $RM Unfiltered.

PayPal is RMartin Unfiltered. Venmo is RM Unfiltered. Zelle is Roland at rollinsmartin.com next on the black table with me greg carr brown versus the board of education the history books call it the court decision that ended racial segregation in american schools. But a brand new book, Jim Crow's Pink Slip, uncovers a devastating unintended consequence of that 1954 Supreme Court decision. We may, if we were lucky, have been the very last generation

of black students to have experienced these generations of black teachers who have never been replaced. Dr. Leslie Fenwick joins us to talk about her book and the actions following that landmark decision that dealt a virtual death blow to black educators. That's next on The Black Table, right here on the Black Star Network. Hello, I'm Paula J. Parker. Trudy Proud on The Proud Family. Louder and Prouder on Disney+.

And you're watching Roland Martin Unfiltered. Unfiltered. Martin! Jaleah Franklin disappeared from her Houston home on August 17th. The 15-year-old is 5 feet 4 inches tall, weighs 100 pounds, with black hair and brown eyes. She was last seen wearing a gray hooded coat with light blue jeans. Anyone with information about Jaleah Franklin is urged to call the Houston Police Department Missing Persons Unit at 832-394-1840. 832-394-1840. Proud boy Enrique Tarrio, hit with 22 years in prison for leading the effort

on that day. His was on January 6th. His was crazy. He wasn't even in the cap on January 6th because he got arrested on January 4th when he led the effort to tear down that Black Lives Matter flag at a black church and so they arrested him, sent him out of the city. He went to Baltimore, but he stayed

in contact with folks that day. He got the longest sentence out of everybody associated that day. He effed around and found out, Joe. And here's what the federal judge said. Mr. Tarrio was the ultimate leader of the conspiracy. Mr. Tarrio was the ultimate leader, the ultimate person who organized, who was motivated by revolutionary zeal. This is U.S. District Court Judge Timothy Kelly. That conspiracy ended up with about 200 million amped up for battle encircling the Capitol. He got a long time, Joe, to think about that day. No doubt about it. I mean, you know, there's a whole lot of time to sit and think and reflect. And, you know, when you get lawless, you know, there can be consequences. And this is a reminder.

And, you know, there's been a lot of pretty severe sentences handed down lately, and rightfully so. That's where we need to be. Hopefully there's a thought about this and people are looking at this and we're looking ahead to 2024 because some people are thinking, you know, what they're thinking and how they're going to come off or how they're going to react to the election not going the way that they want it to. And so hopefully this would give them pause because he deserved to get a whole lot of time. And, you know, Fed side, he's going to do most of that time. So, you know, that's the way it goes. And it's certainly the right decision. Well, Randy, this follows one of the Oath Keepers getting 18 years in prison and another guy, one getting 10 years.

And so they've been hitting the Proud Boys and the Oath Keepers big time. And I'm and I'm enjoying it. I'm enjoying it. And this this one, Tarrio, he ain't a proud boy. He's a lost boy. He sit up there. Did you see he had the Malcolm X shirt on? But at the same time, he's tearing down Black Lives Matters flags and things and signs and sitting up there looking black. But I'm always tripped out by these people who really think they're different. Like, he really thought that he was different. And most of the people who were pro and at january 6th would elevate him and see him as a brother i mean yes they're going to let him lead and help but you see what he's getting the

longest sentence i mean he's a lost boy he ain't proud um but they ain't done mustafa the feds are still looking for people who were involved on january 6th yeah and rightly so we know that these hate crimes, these organizations continue to grow and attract new folks. And that's why you got to have significant enforcement actions to let people know that this is not a game.

So now Enrique will find out 264 months, 8,035 days, 19,720 hours is what he's currently got. And we got to stay focused on these issues because this stuff is getting out of control with the hate crimes in these organizations that continue to try and destabilize our government. Well, and again, you also saw a report that Jack Smith is even looking at different states where these people try to take advantage of voting machines. And so they are not done. so folks are certainly being held accountable. Alright. Did y'all see this video over the weekend,

folks? Anytime I see some kind of video of a gender reveal, it gets on my damn nerves, okay? It used to be, if your ass was having a boy or a girl, you would just tell your family,

but no. Now we got to have all of these damn theatrics. We got to have these big elaborate events where folk reveal what kind of damn baby they gonna have. It literally

is getting on my nerves, and so this recently happened where there was a gender reveal. Y'all, where was this? Where was this? I mean, it was just, okay, this happened in Mexico, y'all. They have an agenda reveal. Here, play. Now all them people out there

yelling and howling and screaming, they firing off fireworks and everything. The pilot dead. Yes, the plane crashed. The pilot dies in the crash. This is not the first time The plane crashed. The pilot dies in the crash. This is not the first time a gender reveal has gone off the rails. Y'all remember two or three years ago when it had the massive damn fires in California?

Do you know what happened? A dumbass gender reveal party. I'm serious, y'all. I am sick. Listen, if anybody invites me to a gender reveal party, I'm going to say up front, y'all can kiss my ass. I'm sick and tired. We've had people injured. We've had people injured from fireworks, hands blown off, folk having to go to a damn hospital because gender reveals get out of hand. Just tell everybody you ain't having a boy or girl. But I've seen some of the dumbest shit, you know, just, I mean, all kind of ridiculous ways

and it's just dumb. Okay, you having a baby, fine, we got it. But I'm like, literally, we have gone so overboard where people today are doing too much of this bullshit for Instagram and social media when it's utterly ridiculous. Stop it. I'm sick of him. I really am. It's getting on my damn nerves. Randy, where do you come down on this?

Well, you know, it does seem a little bit outrageous to me. I do think it's fueled by social media. Everybody's trying to top everyone else. But I got to say, if I were probably having a great, if one of my sons told me that I was going to be a grandmother, then I'd probably get into it at that moment. So everybody else, it seems ridiculous. But if it were me, all of a sudden, I think'd probably get into it at that moment. So everybody else, it seems ridiculous, but if it were me, all of a sudden,

I think I'd get into it and think it was exciting. I don't know. Damn that shit. Just tell it. Look, what the hell happened to blue teddy bear, pink teddy bear? Why do we have to have the explosions and all this other stuff just to tell everybody

y'all asses having a boy or girl mustafa go ahead well you know me i'd love to see people actually focus their energy on making sure that whatever the child is a boy or a girl is actually going to be able to you know be raised in a in a communal way where everybody is looking out for them. So I hope we use as much energy on that as we do these extravagant sort of reveal parties. All right. Here's a perfect example. All right. Let me see. I thought I had it up. Here are nine examples, y'all, of stuck on stupid. Uh, yes, I said it stuck on stupid, uh, gender reveal parties. Um, that's just, so let's see here. Um, here's one couple paints, a waterfall blue in Brazil

to make a gender reveal environmental department is investigating the case. Y'all asses had to, you had to put some blue damn paint in the waterfall to let everybody know y'all asses are having a boy. See, this is the stupid shit I'm talking about, y'all, right here. Okay? It's just stupid.

Okay? Let's see. How about, a recent wildfire in Alberta, Canada was caused by an exploding target during a gender reveal party. You need written permission from a force officer before detonating any exploding targets. Hmm, look at this here.

Explosion in New Hampshire. 80 pounds of explosives were detonated. 80 pounds were detonated at a gender reveal party in Kingston, New Hampshire. No one was injured, but the explosion caused the foundation of neighboring homes to shake and form cracks in a wall. Just because your ass won't tell everybody you having a kid, Mustafa. Yeah, I mean, that part's ridiculous. You're putting a lot of people's lives in danger. You know, we live in a society now where everybody got to have everything on Twitter or Instagram or TikTok and everybody has to outdo each other. So I think there's a danger in continuing to

escalate that. But again, it is really about making sure that we are showing the same love and energy and raising the kids once they get here. Oh, Joe, we ain't done, Joe. When a father-to-be and his brother were building an explosive device

to be used at the gender-revealed party for his new baby, it malfunctioned. This was in New York. The father was killed. His brother sustained serious injuries. So now baby ain't got no grandfather because y'all asses were building a bomb to explode

to tell everybody y'all... You know, when I went to school, junior high school, I went to junior high school out in West L.A., Paul Revere, and you know, there were some kids out there that are a little different when you get to talk about fireworks and stuff like that. Their eyes got big, you know. They got excited.

I don't understand people's fascination with setting things aflame. Okay? Because there's so much at stake if you miss. If there's a problem. I'm not big on flying

puddle jumper planes either. I wouldn't want biplanes in the air. I would want to avoid them being in the air if I could. Why use this as an occasion to risk life and limb to do something that's risky if it goes wrong? Okay, have a cake

or something like that. Now, Joe, we ain't done. Cancun, 2021. A plane flew above the water trailing a sign saying, it's a girl. Guess what happened? It nosedived into the ocean.

The plane and the co-pilot, both of them killed. See, you know, we've got to stop that. We've really got to stop doing these things that risk life and limb to celebrate something. It's kind of, you know, it takes things out of order, you know, trying to keep up with the Joneses, trying to style and profile, trying to show people what it is that you have. You know, we really have to get out of that. You know, we've got some misdirected priorities here. And it's sad. It's very tragic, of course, that someone would die or that someone's house would be burned down. My office was actually looking at that case,

that one that was out here in California all that time ago. It's just a big, big problem. And any time you do something risky to celebrate the bringing along of human life, which is a new thing and which has its risks, but is a risk worth taking, that's a risk worth taking. Flying a plane right over the ocean to let folk know about it is not a risk worth taking. Mustafa, look, you concerned about the environment?

Check this out. This is, again, this is 2020. El Dorado, California. 22,000 acres of acres in California were burned. Firefighter was killed when a pyrotechnic device being used for the gender reveal led to this explosion. The couple, they asked to have a gender reveal party. They faced one charge each of involuntary manslaughter. the couple, they ask to have an agenda reveal party,

they face one charge each of involuntary manslaughter. Well, we know when those 22,000 acres actually burned that there's also a lot of pollution that came off that will therefore also impact a whole lot of folks. That's where legislation comes in. If people don't want to have common sense and stay safe, then you have to legislate and you have to put things on the state level

that stop folks from being able to do these types of things. And hopefully, since we can't evolve as humans and use our brains, then sometimes we have to have these guardrails put in place for us. How about this right here? Okay. Family inadvertently creates pipe bomb and agenda reveal. Hit one of the guests, killed her. Grandmama dead. Agenda reveal,

agenda reveal, it exploded, the explosion sent metal pieces Flying in the air Which tragically hit one of the guests And killed her instantly Y'all This shit is stupid

It's just stupid I can go on and on Wildfires in Tucson, Arizona 45,000 acres of land Burned up In Australia Car explosion 45,000 acres of land burned up in Australia. Car explosion. A car exploded, y'all.

Police released video of gender-revealed burnout going wrong. A car... Randy, I don't give a damn. I'm not risking my life or the lives of folks I invited because some dumbass want to sit here and have some shit with some blue smoke or some pink smoke.

Yeah, no, no. When I was talking about a gender reveal, I was talking about maybe we cut a cake and it would be a certain color. All of this mess is outrageous and really shows that people should just take a test before they're even allowed to become parents.

Because this is ridiculous. And it shows people's need for attention. That's all it is. Yes. That's all it is. That's all it is. I'm just, it's just getting on my nerves, y'all. It's stupid to me.

And so I'm telling y'all right now, don't invite me no gender reveal party. I'm just letting y'all. It's stupid to me. And so I'm telling y'all right now, don't invite me no gender reveal party. I'm just letting y'all know right now. Because see, I'm going to tell you right now, if you start pulling some shit out and you start trying to blow some shit up, I'm going to cuss everybody out. I'm going to cuss everybody out

before you like the match. Then I'm walking the hell out because I ain't going to... And then I'm going to be the one to say, hey, Mr. Mark, what happened? I'm going to be the eyewitness with a dumb ass is in there. We're blowing some shit up. We're not just simply telling us blue pink boy girl.

It's just stupid. Let me go. Let me go to a final break. Then we come back. Final words about our anniversary show. I'm going to play this video. I'm a girl, India. I read.

I love this video. She put out. I thought I thought the words were perfect to what we do right here. So I want to close the show with that next. I'm Roland Martin Unfil 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 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. 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 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 Corps vet. MMA fighter Liz Karamush. What we're doing now isn't working,

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

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$50 this month. Waits $100,000. We're behind $100,000, so we want to hit that. Y'all money makes this possible. Checks and money orders go to P.O. Box 57196, Washington, D.C., 20037-0196. The Cash App is Dollar Sign RM Unfiltered. PayPal is R. Martin Unfiltered. Venmo is RM Unfiltered. Zelle is Rolandin, unfiltered. Venmo is rm, unfiltered. Zelle is roland at rolandsmartin.com. On a next A Balanced Life with me, Dr. Jackie, we're going to be talking about common sense. We think that people have it, know how to use it, but it is something that people often have to learn. The truth is most of us are not born with it and we need to teach common sense, embrace it and give it to those who need it most, our kids.

So I always tell teachers to listen out to what conversations the students are having about what they're getting from social media and then let's get ahead of it and have the appropriate conversations with them. On a next A Balanced Life with me, Dr. Jackie, here at Black Star Network. Farquhar, executive producer of Proud Family.

You're watching Roland Martin Unfiltered. Brett Kavanaugh, Christian Clark, the Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, who was in the hearing room, will join us live. A black woman who has mistakenly voted in Texas and headed to prison. Yes, prison. She and her attorney are going to join us live as well. He has picked up the mantle of Dr. King's Poor People's Campaign. Reverend Dr. William Barber will join us live to discuss that and why it's time to end voter apathy. It was open to Roland Martin Unfiltered five years ago. Man, a whole lot has changed in those five years. We've covered so many different

stories all across this country. In fact, we've covered around the world, of course. Been to Ghana, we've been to Liberia, been to so many different places. And really, and understand, folks, what really happened here. Remember, TV One canceled my show News One Now in December 2017. A lot of people were really upset. They were angry. People really loved the show. But his was interesting.

I was never angry or upset. Literally, as Alfred Liggins was telling me that they were canceling the show, I didn't flinch. I didn't move. I didn't feel like it was a punch in the gut. I literally was thinking, like, as he was talking, like, I can see it right now. I'm sitting on his couch. He's sitting right here.

And as he's telling me the show is canceled, I'm already planning on this, what we're doing right here. That's literally where I was. And there were people who were fighting to keep the show alive, but I knew they were not going to bring it back. But I also knew where we were going. And so technology

was changing. We were going into a whole different world with streaming. And there were people who told me I was crazy to launch a streaming show. In fact, I remember our executive producer, Jay Feldman. Jay worked with Jay for years at TV One. Jay said, bro, we got to do a podcast. I said, no. And the reason I wasn't interested in the podcast, because I launched the first black news source podcast when I ran the Chicago Defender in 2005. Then I came back in 2006 and launched a video podcast. So literally, I had done that already, and I really wasn't interested in doing it again. And so I knew where we were going, and Tom Joyner was retiring in December 2019, I knew we needed to have a news show, a dedicated news show focused on news and

issues that impacts African Americans for the 2020 election. And so that's why I launched it. And in fact, it was interesting that, because when I was at Susan Taylor's National Care's Mentoring Gala, I think it was February 2018, Justice Smollett said, man, please tell me that you're working on something. I was like, matter of fact, I am. And then we did this special called the State of Our Union. And some of you may remember that. And that was interesting because we did it at Antioch here in Washington, D.C. And while we were preparing, I was in the makeup chair and I was in the makeup chair. All of a sudden my phone rings and it said no caller ID. And it actually, so I answered the phone and on the other end was Tyler Perry. And Tyler Perry said, man, I'm sitting here watching your YouTube videos, man.

You're our only voice out here. He said, please tell me that you were planning something, that you're doing something. I was like, well, as a matter of fact, Tyler, I am. And I then began to tell Tyler about what we were planning and what we were working on. And he encouraged me. He said, I love the fact that it's going to be independent. And what's interesting, a lot of people who told me I was crazy to launch this, a year later they realized when CBS began to expand their digital operations,

ABC, when Fox launched Fox Nation, when NBC launched, I then said, was I still crazy? But I also understood that we, as African Americans, we needed something that told our story. Because with the cancellation of TV One's News One Now, there literally was no daily news and information show on a black-owned platform anywhere in this country. Not TV One. BET is black-targeted. There was nothing there. There was nothing on Revolt. There was nothing on Aspire. There was nothing on Bounce. There was nothing on Aspire. There was nothing on Bounce. There was nothing on the Griot. There was nothing on Essence.

There was nothing on Black Enterprise. There was nothing on Blavity. And other than a couple of shows on Byron Adams and the Griot, that's it. But the reality is we have now five hours of original content per day. And so it's important for people to understand that when you look at that mural that's in that office there from the nation's first black newspaper, Freedom's Journal, where it says, we wish to plead our own cause

to long have others spoken for us. That's why we do what we do. And so we talk about the environmental issues. The reality is what Mustafa does every single day, folks, literally, he has to go to mainstream platforms to have a conversation about the environment. You do not have a lot of black-owned places where they are consistently discussing the environment. Randy is talking about DEI, exact same thing. Joe, civil rights attorney, the reality is, unless a case rises to become major,

that's when mainstream media pays attention. But the fact of the matter is, there's stories that happen every single day that we cover that get no attention whatsoever on the other platforms. But the other thing is this here, the importance of hearing other black voices. Because, see, if you don't have a platform, you can't showcase other voices.

So when you turn on right now MSNBC, CNN, Fox News, other networks, you're going to see a whole bunch of black people who came through platforms that I control. They came through TV One's Washington Watch. They came through News One Now. And even now, there are folks, when they turn on television, people who came through this show who you're now seeing appearing other places as well. So I hope people now understand why Black-owned medias matter. Black-owned media matters. And I also hope, Mustafa, people understand

why we have to have our own platforms because if we're not telling our story, then we're simply leaving it up to somebody else to, frankly, control our narrative. False one will not be beneficial to our communities. Roland, just let me say, Roland knows I text him all the time. And no matter where I am in the world, it's amazing how so many folks will come up and say how much they appreciate this show

and also appreciate the Black Star Network. And that's because they get to see themselves reflected both in the stories that are told and by the individuals and the expertise that are coming from our community. So, you know, I know people appreciate what you've done. I know it has not been always easy. And I also know that if we want this to continue to grow, then that means that we have to fund our own movement. So, thank you for allowing me to not just be able to talk about environmental and climate issues, but all the various issues that impact

our communities and that I've worked on for years. Didn't I say he's gotten a hookup about being on the show as well? Folks allow him to skip lines. I crack up whenever he's like, yeah, man, it was a long line at Home Depot. But the sister was like, ain't you the brother on Rolling Show?

She's like, come on up here. It happens all the time, whether at the airport or, like you said, at Home Depot or the grocery store. You go to the grocery store, people tell how much they love the show and how much they love the issues that we talk about. So I know you appreciate that. And once again, if you truly love this network and you love this show, make sure that you are also translating that into those contributions that help it to grow. Randy. You know how much I love what you're doing here. It takes a real courageous

person because we know that we're not given the same monies. The advertising dollars are not out there for our networks. And no one is talking about the stories that matter to us. I mean, when you speak on something, it is a call for all of us to act and to act on behalf of our community. And we know that other networks are not covering the stories that you cover. I'm grateful that you give me the opportunity to be on here regularly and to talk about diversity, equity, and inclusion issues from a real and candid perspective in a way that I would not be allowed to do it someplace else, because I believe that you can't change things

unless you talk about it in a real way. So congratulations on five years and thank you. Just thank you so much. You know how much I respect you and what you do day to day. Joe. You know, it's important to be able to kind of see where we're going around the corner and then to get there in whatever area. And in you going digital, not only are you a free man, but you are a forward-thinking man looking at what's next. Even for us, you know, COVID reminded us, black folks, we had to be Internet savvy. We have to be online. We have to, you know, there's a lot of things that we weren't doing before COVID.

We're paying more attention to now. And my mom got on Facebook Live for the first time to follow her church. She got on YouTube for the first time herself to watch her baby on Roland Martin. So I want to let you know that I appreciate you. You know, we met about a year ago with the Robinson family in Houston. Shouts out to them. And walked up and asked for your contact, folks. And we've done some television and some other things. But this is where I feel the most free.

This is where we talk about everything. I've always wanted to use the law, the window of the law, to get into the whole house of pop culture, religion, and everything else. So we get to bring what happened today and yesterday. And we also get to bring our common sense and yesterday, and we also get to bring our common sense and what our mamas taught us and what our daddies taught us. And so when we're here, it feels like home. So I want to appreciate you for that openly,

give you your flowers on that, and tell you to keep going and thrilled to be a part. Well, the thing that people have to understand, look, when we launched this show, folks, we literally had one sponsor. That's it. We had one sponsor.

The American Federation of State County Municipal Employees. Lee Saunders, an alpha brother. He's the president and CEO. And I can tell you all what happened was the last day of News 1 Now. The last day of News 1 Now. We had, it was a Thursday. And we wrapped up and we sat there and I left I left that wrap party and then went to their offices pitched this concept 24 hours later at the wash. I'm at DCA flying flying out and I get a phone call. They said hey we're in. And so we have had one sponsor we're in at quarter of a million dollars that money allowed us to get the office space buy equipment and it really allowed us to really get

through the first three three months or so did we did not have any other sponsors that first year I used three hundred ninety one thousand dollars of my speaking money to make sure that we paid for stuff the staff got paid. Not one time in five years has this staff ever gotten paid late by even 30 seconds or one minute. That was always something that was critically important to me. And that don't happen in a whole bunch of startups. I can tell you that right now. And so the thing that I need people to understand is that when we talk about what you have to do to build something, you have to have a focus and a passion and a purpose in doing so. There's another mural that's in his office.

It's Joshua 24, 15. As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord. And so God has governed us accordingly. I can tell you the things that have happened to us have been unbelievable in terms of how we've been able to not just survive but also thrive. And so we weathered that first year. And I knew we were not going to get any advertising in 2019. I knew we were not going to get any advertising in 2018 or 19 because we had to prove ourselves. Everyone told me, yeah, Rolla, we know you, but we got to see proof of concept. After the first year, remember, we launched, we started with 157,000 YouTube subscribers. Today, we got 1.1 million. Our OTT app, about 75,000 downloads. We've had 24,000

people contribute as donors of our show. My fan base has given in excess of $2 million since we launched this show. Without our fan base, we literally do not survive. The first check came from a 92-year-old black woman in Long Island, New York, who said that I watch you on TV One, my daughter follows you on Facebook, she loves golf, and your voice is needed. So she sent the, she was the first donor that we had, and we've had many people, they've sent a dollar and five and 10, 20. Now, I can tell y'all, I've traveled around this country. People have literally walked up to me and put money in my hand, put checks in my hand, put cash in my hand because they said, hey, I want to make sure that I contribute to the Bring the Funk fan club. And so the audience understands the purpose as well. So this is not just what my vision was, but it also was understanding what we needed to build. And

you've heard me talk about this beforehand. And the reality is the concept of building something that's for the purpose of our community really is biblical. It comes from Nehemiah chapter four, where Nehemiah had a vision and Nehemiah then said, he then surveyed the wall and then went to the people and said, gave them a vision. The people said, let us rebuild. And so it was Nehemiah's vision leading them, but the people also are part of this. And so our fan base has been a part of this. The folks who I've never met, the people who are contributing, the people who are online, people have been giving during this show as well. And then you have the haters out there. And it's also great because if you read Nehemiah 4 and 5 and 6, Nehemiah talked about the haters. Literally, people said, oh, they can't rebuild that wall.

There are people who said, they can't do this show. There are people who I know personally who said, oh, there's no way they can be successful. And I said, yeah, we're going to keep building. So we totally ignored the haters. We didn't care what the haters had to say. Now, what's interesting is that if you keep reading Nehemiah, as they were showing success, the haters said, oh, now,

we now have to attack them because they now are succeeding. And there have been folks who tried to attack me. And all I said was, bring it. Because if you read Nehemiah, it says, keep building with one hand, keep your other hand on your weapon. So the reality is we never lost sight of what we were doing here. So we stayed focused on the vision and focused on what we were building and how we were trying to build this. And so we remained steadfast. I won't do gossip. I won't allow reality people on my show. I don't give a shit about what reality person calls somebody this name or that name, who

it is, because you know what? If you want that stuff, go watch somebody else's show. If you want that reality mess, go somewhere else. If you want to hear sports talked all day, you have to go somewhere else. If you want to hear sports talked all day, you have to go somewhere else. I understand and know that black people, we need to have an information source that puts news information first and foremost. Otherwise, we are not going

to be able to survive. We are dealing with stuff every single day. To have a Crystal Mason on five years later when she was going through this five years ago, guess what? MSNBC ain't calling Crystal Mason five years later when she was going through this five years ago, guess what? MSNBC ain't calling Crystal Mason five years later. CNN is not calling Crystal Mason five years later. The families who have people who were shot and killed, they're not getting those calls five

years later. MSNBC is not letting Reverend Barber come on whenever he wants to come on about the issues they're dealing with, only when it is something that they actually like, that they actually appreciate. Linda Sarsour was also on that first show and the thing that she was dealing with as well. What I'm trying to say is, folks, we should never be in a position where we are asking somebody else to tell our story. You've heard me say this repeatedly. That simply cannot happen. And we've got to have a place where new black talent can be heard, can be seen. Not everybody is trained to do this. And y'all, I spent six years at CNN. It took me four and a half years to get to CNN.

And I know the hell that I went through, the hoops that I had to jump through to actually get hired at CNN. So when you see me picking out young folks and lawyers and other folks, we put them on this show, that's all by design because I understand that people need a shot. And I can tell you for a fact that bookers at other networks, they watch this show. Because it's amazing when somebody you ain't never seen ever, except when they come on this show, start appearing on other networks. Because they actually have to have a place and a shot to do it.

And so we appreciate all of y'all who have supported us. We're going to keep going. We got more great things planned. The election, obviously, is next year. And so we're fighting a good fight when it comes to advertising. In a couple of weeks, I'm going to have a whole two-hour special giving you an update on the last show we did.

And we're going to call out ad agencies who have been paying us lip service and then not providing anything. We're going to be calling out companies who want you to keep buying their products but don't support black-owned media. Because, see, Joe said it.

He said, I'm over here, I'm free. And understand, I own this 100%. The only person above me is God. And so, I don't ask anybody permission to do what we do. I'm not scared to say what I need to say out of fear that, oh, somebody may fire me. I can't be fired. Only God can fire me. And when you have that level of freedom and that flexibility,

then you can truly speak for your people and be unwilling to stand down and say what's necessary. And so if you want to support us in what we do, first and foremost, we want you to contribute to our Bring the Funk fan club. Folks, this matters because, trust me, I cannot tell you enough how important your $50 contribution, some have given less, some people have given up as a $5,000, $6,000. We had one

business out of California that dedicated their receipts that day to our show. I think they sent us a $1,600 check. And so understand, and I'm transparent, I show you what your money is being spent on. And so you're seeing it every single day. So check your money order. Go to PO Box 57196, Washington, D.C., 20037-0196. Cash App is DallasSign, RM Unfiltered.

PayPal, R. Martin Unfiltered. Venmo is RM Unfiltered. Zelle is Roland at RolandSMartin.com. Roland at RolandMartinUnfiltered.com. And see, R. Martin, unfiltered. Venmo is R.M. unfiltered. Zelle is Roland at Roland S. Martin dot com. Roland at Roland Martin unfiltered dot com. And see, understand, folks, we ain't got billionaires and millionaires supporting this show. We don't have celebrities sending us checks. I appreciate En Vogue because you know what? They gifted me that intro song. They did. TV One didn't want that intro song. We launched News One Now. They said it was dated. I'm like, nah, I like it. And so they get to me that particular song, and they've actually contributed to our show.

And I appreciate that. And so we've had people, folks, who are celebrities, who are non-celebrities, but most people who support this show are regular, ordinary folk who say, hey, that's all I got. Like that black woman in Atlanta Airport. She said, all I got is this dollar. She said, but I want you to have it because we need folks like you. And so India Irie posted this video over the weekend. And she was, her mom told her to record this. And it's got nearly a million plays on Instagram. When I heard this song, I said,

the words of this song speaks directly to why I created this show and what our mission is. So I want to close out our anniversary show by playing this song. And so I know she's watching, too. I sent her a text. She said she's watching. And so to all of you, I appreciate y'all watching. I appreciate your support.

We have built something that others said could not work. Literally, the people at YouTube in their news area told us black people do not watch news. They turned us down for funding because they said black folks do not watch news. And I said, watch me work. And today, that's why we have that plaque down there because we surpassed a million subscribers on YouTube. They say, oh, black men, they don't watch. 65% of the people who watch us on YouTube are black men. Black women, they not watch it.

56% of the people who follow me on Instagram who watch are black women. We reach black people. 18, 65 plus. They want to hear the truth. So, folks, we appreciate it. We got five more, ten more years. We're going to keep going. We're going to keep building.. So folks we appreciate it. We got five more ten more years. We're gonna keep going We're gonna keep building. We thank you for your support in the I read take us home me I took a mission to be who I was born to be. That's me. That's me.

Born to walk through the fire. My mama raised me up. And if you knew my grandmas, you'd understand why I'm free I was born for a mission I do not need your permission To be who I was born to be That's me, that's me Born to walk through the fire

My mama raised me. And if you knew my grandmas, you'd understand what I mean. I was born for this mission. I do not need your permission to be who I was born to be. That's me. That's me. Born to walk through the fire. My mama raised me up. And if you knew my grandma's name, you'd understand why I be. I was born for this mission. I had your permission to be who I was born to be.

That's me. That's me. Born to walk through the fire. My mama raised me, and thank you, my grandmothers. You'd understand why I'm free. I was born for the mission I do not need your permission

To be who I was born to be That's me, that's me Born to walk through the fire My mama raised me And if you knew my grandmas, you'd understand why I sing. I was born

for this mission. I could not afford permission to be who I was born to be. That's me. That's me. That's me. Born to walk through the fire. That's me. That's me.

Mama raised me. Me. That's me. That's me. Understand who I be. I was born for this mission. I do not need no permission to be who I was born for this mission. I do not know the mission. She knew I was going to be. That's me. That's me.

Marta! 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 Lott. And this is Season 2 of the War on Drugs podcast. Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. We met them at the 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.