#RolandMartinUnfiltered - Former Coach Sues NFL for Discrimination, LA Gov. & Ronald Green's death; Handling Life Pressures

Episode Date: February 2, 2022

2.1.2022 #RolandMartinUnfiltered: Former Coach Sues NFL for Discrimination, LA Gov. & Ronald Green's death; Handling Life Pressures Brian Flores has filed a discrimination lawsuit against the NFL, Miami Dolphins, New York Giants, and Denver Broncos, alleging the organization's racist hiring policies.An Associated Press report claims Democratic Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards received a text message about Ronald Greene's death within hours of the deadly encounter but kept quiet as he was in the middle of his reelection campaign. Today, the Louisiana Legislative Black Caucus members met with the governor to determine what he knew and when he knew it. We'll have one of those lawmakers who attended that meeting here on the show.Rep. Al Green from Texas is dropping by to talk about how he thinks President Joe Biden should pick the next Supreme Court Justice and tell us what else is happening on capitol hill.The Georgia Sheriff who said there was nothing criminal in the Kendrick Johnson case after a second investigation is now offering half of a million dollars for information that will lead to a conviction.A Houston man we featured in our Black and Missing segment was found in the trunk of his car at an impound lot hundreds of miles away.For the second day in a row, several HBCUs are targeted with bomb threats.Last year, Cheslie Kryst penned an article about her approaching 30 and the pressures of that milestone. Tonight we'll talk to two professionals about overcoming the pressures to achieve.Plus, in our Marketplace segment, we'll introduce to you a sister from Houston who is killing the construction game. Her company has done about 90-percent of the work needed by the Houston School District.#RolandMartinUnfiltered partners:Verizon | Verizon 5G Ultra Wideband, now available in 50+ cities, is the fastest 5G in the world.* That means that downloads that used to take minutes now take seconds. 👉🏾 https://bit.ly/3zSXx0NNissan | Check out the ALL NEW 2022 Nissan Frontier! As Efficient As It Is Powerful! 👉🏾 https://bit.ly/3FqR7bPSupport #RolandMartinUnfiltered and #BlackStarNetwork via the Cash App ☛ https://cash.app/$rmunfiltered or via PayPal ☛ https://www.paypal.me/rmartinunfilteredDownload the #BlackStarNetwork app on iOS, AppleTV, Android, Android TV, Roku, FireTV, SamsungTV and XBox 👉🏾 http://www.blackstarnetwork.com#RolandMartinUnfiltered and the #BlackStarNetwork are news reporting platforms covered under Copyright Disclaimer Under Section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976, allowance is made for "fair use" for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This is an iHeart Podcast. I'm real revolutionary right now. Black media, he makes sure that our stories are told. Thank you for being the voice of Black America, Roland. I love y'all. All momentum we have now, we have to keep this going. The video looks phenomenal. See, there's a difference between Black Star Network and Black-owned media and something like CNN. You can't be Black on media and be scared. It's time to be smart.

Bring your eyeballs home. You dig? Today is Tuesday, February 1st, 2022. Coming up on Roland Martin, I'm Martin on Filter on the Black Star Network, the first day of black history. We do black history every day. Folks, huge story out of Louisiana. State lawmakers, black state lawmakers,

are demanding answers from the Democratic governor, John Bill Edwards, regarding a case that, as we've been talking about for quite some time, dealing with the death of Ronald Green, where state troopers lied about how he was actually killed. We'll talk with two of those lawmakers next. Also, an explosive lawsuit filed moments ago by Brian Flores, the fired head coach of the Miami Dolphins. He is hitting all 32 NFL teams with a racism lawsuit,

specifically pointing out three teams that he said conducted sham interviews with him. Folks, when you see the allegations in here, clearly he said enough is enough. We'll be joined by Texas Congressman Al Green about a variety of issues, including President Joe Biden's pick for the Supreme Court and voting reform and voter suppression in Texas.

The Georgia sheriff who said there was nothing criminal in the Kendrick Johnson case after a second investigation is now offering a half a million dollars for information that will lead to a conviction. What's up with that? A Houston man we feature in our Black and Missing segment, folks, unfortunately found dead in the trunk of his car at an impound four hours away in Dallas.

What's going on? And also, for the second day in a row, bomb threats fall into several HBCUs. Folks, we're going to continue talking about suicide and African Americans, but also, we're going to discuss this article that Chesley Crist wrote last year as she was approaching 30

about the pressures of that milestone and not having enough time to accomplish her life goals. By 30, we'll talk with two professionals, including America's psychologist, Dr. Jeff Gardier, about the pressures to achieve. Plus, in our Marketplace segment, I brought to you by Verizon, we'll introduce you to a sister from Houston who is killing the construction game.

Her company has done about 90% of the work needed by the Houston Independent School District. Folks, it is time to bring the funk. I'm Roland Martin, unfiltered, streaming live on the Black Star Network. Let's go. He's got it. Whatever the go. He's got it. Whatever the biz, he's on it.

Whatever it is, he's got the scoop, the fact, the fine. And when it breaks, he's right on time. And it's rolling. Best belief he's knowing. Putting it down from sports to news to politics. With entertainment just for kicks, he's rolling. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. It's Uncle Roro, y'all. to politics with entertainment just for kicks he's rolling he's funky fresh he's real, he's real, the best, you know he's rolling, Martin. Martin. Associated Press, folks, released a damning report claiming that Louisiana Democratic Governor John Bel Edwards knew about the deadly arrest of Ronald Greene in 2019,

hours after it happened. Here's the text message Edwards received on May 10, 2019. Good morning and FYI, early this morning, troopers attempted to stop a vehicle in Ochita Parish. The driver fled through two parishes in excess of 110 miles an hour, eventually crashing. Troopers attempted to place the driver under arrest, but a violent, lengthy struggle took place. After some time struggling with the suspect, troopers were joined by a Union Parish deputy and were able to take the suspect into custody. The suspect remained, of course, combative but became unresponsive shortly before EMS arrived. The suspect was later pronounced dead at the hospital.

We are investigating the suspect's death. Well, today the Black Caucus of Louisiana met with the governor to get some answers. Joining us right now from Baton Rouge is State Senator Katrina Jackson, who was in that meeting, and also Vincent Pierre, who is the chair of the Black Caucus. Folks, glad to have you here on Rolling Mark Unfiltered. Let's start here, okay? We now know that they lied about how Ronald Greene died, correct? That's correct, yes.

So the initial reports that they said that he crashed into... Was it crashed into a tree? The initial report says that he crashed into a tree, and he died from that crash. Um, the videos did show that he crashed into a tree, but there were some incidents of tasing, and, um, also one state trooper hit him over the head with a, um, an object, and they horse-tied him, the head with an object and they horse tied him,

is what I call it, when they tie your hands and your feet together and put him face down while he had already sustained injuries from a car accident. So none of that, of course, was in the text message to the governor. And again, what they text the governor differs from what they initially said publicly about what happened. Well, they text the governor, then made a public statement that somewhat differed. You know, it's been arguable, but they basically covered it up. Let me say that the Green family has been screaming for justice. And as my chairman can tell you, this was a major cover-up. When the family finally had an opportunity to review the tapes, members of the Black Caucus had arranged it and were there. And it showed something grossly

different from what the state police had said. Now, had the governor previously commented on this case about how he found out about it? I did. I think he did, if I'm not mistaken. He had commented right after the video was leaked. And what he said was that the case initially he heard about in 2019 was an FYI that he receives regarding all in-custody deaths or shootings regarding an officer. So his comments, which he will be more pointed to speak to, were basically that he had just found out in 2020 that the text he received was not what really happened. Vincent, people have been very critical that this Democratic governor has not done enough to get to the truth of this matter. State troopers have been covering up evidence. There have been numerous reports about their conduct.

Did that come up in the meeting? And what did the governor say? Well, we said that he could have handled it differently. And we spoke to him in great terms that the things that took place between he and the department was handled wrong. And he understood that he did make some mistakes. And if he was to do it again, he would ensure that that doesn't happen. But he's very remorseful of those decisions and what he's done. And we understood and we made sure that he understands where we are. But, you know, at the end of the day, it's a family that lost their child, the Green family. And we're really, really and truly concerned that that family has not had the situation resolved.

And that is our job as caucus members to ensure that that family gets the answers that they need. So, okay, so what is next? Because, again, look, you can't trust the state troopers. We can't trust them to investigate this, to come to the truth, because they repeatedly lied. And the evidence is there. The AP and others have been doing various investigations showing how they lied, how they covered up the lie and continue to do so.

Well, the Black Caucus some months ago, when we realized that this incident had occurred, called on the federal government to come in and investigate. So I want to say about four or five months ago, the federal government is now investigating it as of that time frame that we asked them to come in. Because as you said, Mr. Martin, we could not trust the state police to investigate themselves. That's what happened initially. And the reports they put out showed something grossly different from what happened. So that's what we are now. The federal government is investigating this matter and we are waiting to see what they come up with. We know something happened. We've seen the videos. We all have, you, your audience, and everyone,

what the federal government does next and the federal prosecutors do next and who they charge is going to be vitally important. And so, again, in terms of the next steps, is there still a gag order? Because we tried to have the family attorneys on. Is there still a gag order in place for the family members of Ronald Green and those involved with the case? Well, to the extent that there are sensitive matters going on during the criminal

investigation, as you know, there are always going to be some gag orders in criminal investigation. We can't fully expound on what the attorneys have agreed to. The family is represented legally. What we are now standing in place in a gap for the family is what we've always done and make sure that justice occurs. And that's where we are. We will continue as a black caucus to speak out against it. We will continue to ask for reforms. There's a Senate select committee on the state police, and we're asking for certain reforms that happen. You may see some legislation coming forward. The Families Legal Council is handling the legal matters. That gag order exists for them and not us. All right, then. We certainly appreciate y'all joining us to talk about this case. It certainly

is sad that this family did not, was not told exactly what happened, and that, again, like all the other stories we've been dealing with, that we have to deal with police abuse and cover-ups to get to the simple truth of what happened. Thank you. Thank you, and let me tell you,

we were in the room, I was in the room when the family viewed the tape. It was something egregious, and to leave out of the room and find out later that another tape existed that even the district attorney didn't have, and how this thing has continued to perpetuate, I believe at some point justice will be served because voices are fighting with that family. But I need to commend that family. For a year and a half, two years, they didn't get any results, and they kept fighting. And this would have quietly went by, this cover-up would have

quietly happened with no attention if that mother, Ms. Mona, wouldn't have spoke up and wouldn't have continued to come and fly into Baton Rouge. And so I tell you that this family has fought for their loved one. Have y' all been in contact with the family? Has there someone apprised them of your meeting with the governor? No, we were just coming out of that meeting and jumping on a call with you. Like Representative Pierre, our chairman, said, the governor said he wished he would have been informed more, would have taken more of a lead in communication with his superintendent. We cannot substantiate the allegations of our other colleagues who are

saying that he participated in the cover-up. I think today or yesterday, the federal investigators and the federal prosecutor put out a statement that he was not under investigation for the cover-up, but he shows remorse. and we will talk to the family about what happened in that meeting. They deserve it. We are not being clandestine at all with the family. Every meeting we have, everything that's discussed, we share it with them so they can understand what's happening on the ground here.

All right, then. We certainly appreciate both of you joining us on the show. Thank you. Thanks a bunch. I want to bring in my panel right now. Mustafa Santiago Ali, former senior advisor for environmental justice at the EPA. Theresa Lundy, founder of TML Communications. Demario Solomon-Simmons, civil rights attorney.

Founder of Justice for Greenwood. Demario, I want to start with you again. We discussed this yesterday and it's a continuing deal. In order for us to get justice, we've got to yell, holler, scream, kick, sue, threaten folks, and protest. Some say riot to get justice. And that, unfortunately, continues to happen. Pick a state. Oklahoma, Texas, Louisiana, New York State, New Jersey, California, Florida, Mississippi, Alabama.

It goes on and on and on. Well, I think Brother Malcolm said it best. If you're below the Canadian border, you're in the South America. And that's exactly what it is. As I'm listening to that lady, your last guest talk, I just think about the hundreds of cases I personally have been involved in, and it's just the thousands of cases like you hear about every year. We have to push, fight just to get the most basic level of fairness, right?

They're not even talking about actually getting these people convicted. Like, can we just get these folks to be investigated the correct way? So it's frustrating, man. It's the black tax that we live with each and every day. There's no way around it. I think that's why it's important for us to, as we talk to our next generations coming up, they understand what they're really up against here in America. We have to be two times better. We have to always be stronger, always be faster, always be smarter, always have great credentials. And we're talking about that with the Supreme

Court. That is unfair. It's tiring. It's taxing on our mental. It's all of that. So I think we have to be real realistic of where we are in this country. That's what it is. And we have to be giving ourselves even more grace to each other because we're all dealing with that system. I really hate what happened to Brother Green and the Brother Greens that happened all over this country. But you're right, Roland. I'm dealing with this every single day with my clients, and you see

it every single day with people from all around this nation. It doesn't matter how, if you're light skinned or dark skinned, right? That brother's a light skinned brother. It doesn't matter if you have a great job or no job. It doesn't matter if you are prominent or unprominent in the community. This can happen to you. This is why we must have systematic

change here in America. Teresa, it is and the thing here, how this was so egregious because the state troopers, I mean, were very, very clear about the efforts to cover this thing up. I mean, this wasn't just the troopers on the scene. It also was higher-ups. Yeah, I think we've seen countless times where we see the brotherhood of the FOP stick together,

especially when some of their stories involving some black and brown people start to dissipate in what the actual facts are. And so it's obviously beyond concerning, but it's also a relevant pattern that has continued to happen. And I think, you know, the governor was on the right track in Louisiana when he said, you know, these actions are disturbing, you know, we need to look into it and there's going to be a further investigation. But going back into the earlier point is if we didn't have these videos,

if we weren't able to capture some of these horrific moments that are happening to these people, what is the narrative that is going to be given to these families in order for them to get justice? And so, again, if the FOP doesn't change, if the union doesn't change, if the arbitration doesn't change, then we will still keep getting these cases that will receive, unfortunately, no justice until proof is actually delivered. Mustafa.

Hold tight one second. Are we having some issues with all of your folks? All right, then. So, Mustafa, we're going to hang up with you and call you right back to fix your audio. So, guys, let me know when he's back. Can I say something on what my sister just said about if we didn't have these videos? She's so correct about that, if we didn't have these videos, because they just blatantly lie all the time.

Listen, it is a corrupt police system across this nation. They teach these people how to lie on police reports. They give them the phrases to say. They give them what the language to write. In fact, I have had case after case where supervisors have actually helped the police officer change their narrative and say, no, you need to say it this

way and use this language so it can make it seem like what we did was justified. They put bogus charges on people all the time. Anytime, almost 99 percent of the time when you see obstruction of officer or assault on a police officer, that's usually made up. That's a way to justify the corruption that they have. I mean, just like the Terrence Crutcher case here in Tulsa, when they first talked about that Terrence was was trying to attack the officer. And then you get the video and he's shot in the back with his hands up in the air. This happens countless, countless times. This is not about bad apples. It's about a bad system and bad policies, as my sister said on the panel.

Arbitration, these police unions, all of this needs to be reformed completely. Mustafa, you're back. Hopefully your audio is straight, your comment. Yeah, no, I agree with my fellow panelists. It is a systemic set of issues, you know, and it runs all the way from, you know, the patrolman all the way up throughout the system, really all the way up to the governor also. So I appreciate, you know, the basic words of the governor's share, but I want to know how you're going to change the system. What are the different things that are going to be in place to make sure that these types of dynamics don't continue to play out time and time again? Because, you know, we're paying with our lives. So we expect to see real change happen.

And speaking of real change, folks, an explosive lawsuit came out, you know, a couple of hours ago. Brian Flores, who was fired earlier, who was fired late last year as the head coach of the Miami Dolphins, dropped a discrimination lawsuit against the National Football League. In this 58-page lawsuit, he says that the NFL is practicing racism against black coaches, conducting sham interviews with these black coaches. He specifically calls out three NFL teams for their actions.

Not only that, in his lawsuit, he claims that Stephen Ross, the owner of the Miami Dolphins, offered to pay him $100,000 for every game the Dolphins lost to essentially tank to improve their draft position. In this lawsuit, he says that when he began to win late in the season, he began to find out that Ross was miffed at him and angry at him. He also claims that Ross wanted him to recruit a top quality

quarterback which was against the NFL rules. It was tampering. Flores says he refused to do so. Folks, in this lawsuit filed in Manhattan federal court, he also claims that when he interviewed with the Denver Broncos at the Denver Broncos brass, including Hall of Famer John Elway, who runs personnel for the team, came to the meeting an hour late and they all admitted they were hungover because they'd

out been drinking the previous night. He also blasted the New York Giants for giving him a sham interview. He includes in his lawsuit text messages between him and Bill Belichick, his former coach at the New England Patriots, where Flores used to be

on staff, where he says that Belichick told him that word out of Buffalo and New York that Brian was the guy. But he texts him back, it was the other Brian who was hired by the Giants and not Brian Flores. And then Belichick said, sorry, I effed up. I effed this up, double-checked and misread the text. I think they are naming Brian Dable.

I'm sorry about that. And again, he blasts them. So he's specifically blasting the Giants, the Dolphins, and the Broncos. The Giants say they are pleased with the process, pleased and confident with their process. They say that Brian Flores was a candidate up until the 11th hour. But he's saying no. This is, again, a huge, huge interview. Now, the Broncos, they claim the interview with Brian Flores lasted three and a half hours

and was conducted by five team executives. This is the statement that they sent. It's on ESPN. Pages of detailed notes, analysis, and evaluations from our interview demonstrate the depth of our conversation and sincere interest in Mr. Flores as a head coaching candidate. Our

process was thorough and fair to determine the most qualified candidate for our head coaching position. The Broncos will vigorously defend the integrity and values of our organization and its employees from such baseless and disparaging claims. Of course, and then, of course, Denver, they hired Vic Fangio for the job. And so the law firm he's working with, Wigdor Law LLP, they say they want this lawsuit to, quote,

shine a light on the racial injustices that take place inside the NFL. There are a number of things that Flores wants to see happen, which include increasing influences of black individuals in hiring, increasing the objectivity of hiring and terminating GMs, head coaches, and coordinators, increasing the number of black coordinators, also incentivizing the hiring and retention of black coaches and GMs and coordinators, transparency of pay for GMs, head coaches and coordinators, and other issues as well. It seeks unspecified damages from the NFL.

This is a significant lawsuit, DeMario, because, first off, there are four positions still available. One of them is, of course, Miami Dolphins, where he was fired from. There are three other head coaching jobs that are still available. One of them is, of course, Miami Dolphins, where he was fired from. There are three other head coaching jobs that are still available. Houston Texans, where Brian Floyd was interviewed, Jacksonville Jaguars, Minnesota Vikings. And so

he's not even waiting for this process to play out. I mean, for him to file this lawsuit, what this says is I'm burning all the boats. Anybody knows, look, if you file a lawsuit against the NFL alleging racism They ain't gonna consider you for another hire another head coaching job I would be absolutely shocked if one of these teams hires him this sounds like he wants to go forward. He wants discovery

He wants depositions to expose what's happening in the NFL Man, I only wish I was the lawyer that he called to file this lawsuit. As you know, I'm suing the University of Iowa football team right as we speak for 13 black football players, and it's the same thing that Brian Florence is saying. I don't care what the repercussions gonna be. No surrender, no retreat. I respect this brother for doing this,

because as you stated, he's gonna be blackballed from anything to do with the NFL, but we know what he's saying is true. And we've been waiting for so long for someone to stand up who's on the inside, speak the truth, and use the law. Title VII is a powerful, powerful employment law that can be utilized the way it's being utilized. Also, he's probably utilizing 1981, Section 1991. I haven't had a chance to review the lawsuit yet. I know what he's saying

is accurate because I've been in this industry for a long time, been around sports at a high level for a long time as you know, Roland. And so this is just a powerful, powerful, powerful lawsuit to bring it this time right before the Super Bowl and with the text message. I did see the front page

of the lawsuit when I sat down right before we came on. The first thing they have is the text from Belichick saying, hey, they're going to hire this other guy. Yes, what you have on the screen right now. So if he's saying that he already received this text right before they actually interviewed him, they have some big problems. I salute this brother. I hope he has plenty of money in the bank. I hope he's prayed up. I hope his law firm is

rocked and ready to roll because the NFL will do everything they can to defend themselves. And I hope all the other Black coaches who have been discriminated against, Black GMs, will come out to Woodworks. And let me say one other thing about it, Roland. We need so much more than just more Black coaches and Black

GMs. And you say it all the time, Roland. We need Black ownership. We need so much more than just more black coaches and black GMs. And you say it all the time, Roe. We need black ownership. We need black ownership. That's the thing. It's not about diversity. It's about equity. And equity is we built the league. We sustained the league as black players, over 35% black players.

There should be black ownership and black people making those decisions. And hopefully this lawsuit can have a better ending for the totality than the Colin Kaepernick situation had for how the NFL actually does stuff on a substantive level. Well, on that particular point there, Teresa, Colin Kaepernick sued the NFL as well, eventually settling for $8 million. There were a lot of people who were very frustrated by that because they thought that his whole goal was to expose the NFL. Well, you don't do that when you settle. For what Brian Flores is doing is huge. I mean, he is literally putting his career on the line.

In fact, in the ESPN story, this is what he said. Now, mind you, Flores is 41 years old, okay? Many could say that he was going to get another shot in the NFL. This was his quote, God has gifted me with a special talent to coach the game of football, but the need for change is bigger than my personal goals. In making the decision to file the class action complaint today, I understand that I may be risking coaching the game that I love

and that has done so much for my family and me My sincere hope is that by standing up against systemic racism in the NFL Others will join me to ensure that positive change is made for generations to come Absolutely, I mean look, you know Brian, Brian is setting a precedent that is very necessary during these times. Obviously, there needs to be more and more individuals like him, but we also need to stand with him. And part of it is people know that there has been an ongoing problem within the NFL for decades. And for you to have someone with his, Brian's type of background, his acumen, his experience and knowing what it takes to move up the level to where he is, and then to identify the issues, even on a broader scale.

I think when we start to look at the Rooney rule of the compliance that the NFL has charged for, you know, social equity across the board and to make sure that best practices are actually held with black and brown people for hiring, we still have these issues where it's still not being uphold. And since it's not being upholded, we need someone like Brian. We need other, you know, not just black and brown coaches. We need white coaches to stand up for that same rule because, again, we are a part of the overall and us as in black

and brown people who are playing the game, who are getting injured by the game. We are seeing so many players step up ever since George Floyd and the rest. I think the pandemic has woken everybody up to some of the injustices that are happening. But I think overall, you know, like Colin, like Brian, and like many others that will come after them, change will happen as long as we stand with these good brothers and also take, you know, just take charge against the system that is essentially making money off of us.

Mustafa, after Brian Floyd was fired, Troy Vincent, former NFL player who actually is a VP for the NFL, said this. He said there's a double standard when it comes to the black coaches keeping their jobs. This is what he said in this article that was in the Washington Post. He said that they can't shy away from how the league treats black coaches after they only coach for a few short years or even they have short tenures. He cites Tony Dungy, Jim Caldwell, Steve Wilkes, Tyrone Willingham, even when he was at Notre Dame. He said there there's a double standard and we've seen that. And you talk about the appetite for what's acceptable.

Let's go back to Tyrone Willingham at Notre Dame who was fired after a winning season. Coach Dungy was let go in Tampa Bay after a winning season. So we have seen this. Coach Wilkes, just a few years prior, was let go after one year. And then the things that happened Monday. There's a double standard. I then the things that happened Monday.

There's a double standard. I don't think that that is something that we should shy away from. But that is all part of some of the things that we need to fix in the system. We want to hold everyone to why does one, let's say, get the benefit of the doubt to be able to bill or take bumps and bruises in this process of getting a franchise turned around when others are not afforded that latitude. We see at the collegiate level, and we've seen that in the history at the professional level. We'll look at the fact that the Cincinnati Bengals, Zach Taylor is their head coach. The Bengals did not fire him after two losing seasons. Year three, they're going to the Super Bowl.

But here's the deal that people have to understand. Troy Vincent works for the NFL. When you say work for the NFL, he doesn't work for Roger Goodell. Yes, he reports to Roger Goodell. Roger Goodell works for the owners. The NFL is owned by 32 people. All white men except one, Pakistani-American Shahid Khan,

the owner of the Jacksonville Jaguars. That is the reaction. They run the NFL. They control the NFL. They sign off on who gets to be the head coach, team president, general manager. We've seen this cycle. Two black GMs have been hired.

You have, of course, the brother, Jason, with Jason Wright with the Washington football team. He is the team president, first time in history. The NFL, when it comes to the executive suite, it is essentially white men only. I mean, the owners can make the change. They can almost overnight make the change that they decided to because, you know, they're signing the checks

and people are going to follow their lead. It's really that simple. You know, we may not find that in lots of other spaces, but when it comes to the NFL, there's a very clear line of how change can actually happen. So if they wanted to have, you know, more Black coaches, it could happen pretty much, you know, overnight. Yeah, of course, there has to be a process that folks go through

where interviewing, those types of things. We want to have more GMs. They could make that happen. They have no problem in going out and finding Black bodies to be on the football field, catching the football, sometimes now throwing the football or running the football field, catching the football, sometimes now throwing the football, um, or running the football. But, you know, when it comes to giving the opportunity for folks to actually use their mental capabilities

as a head coach has to do, then they have a more difficult time in being able to evolve and to accept that as a part of a 21st century NFL. And, you know, we have some responsibility also because we have to continue to push to hold people accountable. And look, here's the deal. One of the things that I said with Colin Kaepernick,

you sort of had this loose confederation of people who were calling for a boycott, don't watch NFL games, don't buy jerseys, don't wear them as well. Well, here's one of the things, DeMario. It was never organized. Now, you had some pockets, some cities, but you did not have a consistent effort to boycott. So what Brian Flores is going to need, he's going to need backup. The question is, will he get backup from the players?

Will he get backup from other black coaches? Will he get backup up from the players? Will he get back up from other black coaches? Will he get back up from white coaches? And how is the black community also going to respond? Also, the Latino community, because he's Afro-Latino, how are they going to respond as well? I mean, you really hit it on the nail right there, Roland. Boycotts and all that stuff. That's great. But the NFL players have a union.

Now, we talk a lot on this show about the power of police unions. We just talked about it in that segment and how police unions are able to control police departments and cities. Well, you have an NFL union that is filled with black NFL players, that they should be in better control of the NFL's policies, in my opinion. I got some good friends that work over at the NFLPA, and I know they're doing hard work each and every day.

But I would like to see the black players be stronger on these issues. And then the black coaches, they don't have as much leverage as those Black players. But I definitely want to see the Black players be stronger and the union be stronger on these issues. Because as Brother Mustafa stated, these owners, they have all the power. The only people that can really check them are the players. Yes.

People are going to go to football games people going to football games are going to be packed it's just what it's going to be but people going to watch football on tv that's what it's going to be it's the greatest live entertainment shows in the world the most drama filled unscripted in the world. It's football. It is the passion of America. But the NFL black players have the leverage. We need to get to our players, educate them, work with

them. For instance, I've seen some of you have seen during the football games, these commercials where they're talking about inequality and they got a brother dancing and the music. They also have a painting in the end zone in racism. What is that? That is not moving the Dow. It takes all of us, putting a decal on the back of the helmet.

We need to be able to... our brothers to be able to say, that is not enough, that is not moving the Dow, that is not improving the lives of my community, giving our people better equity and opportunities that we deserve. That's the type of conversations we need to have with the NFLPA. That's the type of conversations we need to have for people to have influence over the NFL.

It is quite interesting, Mustafa, that you have this lawsuit filed. And again, this season, this is what you saw all throughout the NFL right here in racism in the end zone. But then they get hit with a racism lawsuit by the by one of their black coaches. I mean, come on now. We know that that's window dressing. That's exactly what it is. Because when you peel it back and when you find, you know, one Black coach,

or maybe we'll be blessed to have two or three, and then we start to go throughout all these positions of power and influence that actually can make real change happen, then what we find is that they have not yet ended racism. So I'm very thankful to Brother Flores for on the beginning of Black History Month

to make sure that an institution as large and as economically influential as the NFL is being called out, a spotlight placed on them, and saying that if you truly want to end racism, then let's get down to the hard work. Teresa, the thing that we got to think about here is that folks talk about the Rooney rule, which calls for the NFL, for NFL team to interview at least one minority candidate. What folks don't realize is that it was Johnny Cochran and attorney Cyrus Meary.

They were the ones who threatened to sue the NFL as a result. So this goes back to almost two decades. Now, many people have complained that these teams have gotten around the rule by having these sham interviews. Brian Flores has talked about that. Okay, fine, just throw in a black candidate and we'll deal with that. The Fritz Pollard Alliance, which is tasked with trying to help these teams with it, they've complained about teams

circumventing this. We've had examples where I remember when Jerry Jones was hiring a head coach, he already knew he was going to hire Bill Parcells. And they did this sham interview with different coaches. And then they brought in Sherman Lewis who was the offensive coordinator of the Green Bay Packers and, you know, a bright mind, you know, star. They came in.

Oh, he had an amazing interview. Oh my God, it was wonderful. Sherman Lewis never became a head coach in the NFL. White boys who were offensive coordinators, left and right, were becoming head coaches. That brother never got a shot. And so, now Johnny Cochran has since passed away. Cyrus Meary is still alive.

I called him and texted him coming into the show today. He hit me back. Hopefully I can try to connect with him because what he said then was, it's clear they're not going to move without a lawsuit. And this is the thing that I keep trying to tell African Americans. People were complaining

about, you know, again, us going after advertisers. People complaining in other fields. Theresa, you can't show me an example in American history where black people got stuff just because. The fact of the matter is, we've had to shout, yell, scream, threaten lawsuits, act a fool to get white folks to do what's right in America.

And that's what Brian Flores is here saying. I got to sue y'all, because otherwise, you ain't going to do right by us. And honestly, it looks like that's the American way to do it. I mean, if we have to be the Brian Flores, the Martin Luther Kings, the Malcolm X of past and present time, we have to look at, you know, some of the systematic issues that has caused us to even get to this place

of where we are continuously fighting for position, fighting for business, fighting for contracting. It's like, unfortunately, with black and brown communities and individuals that are trying to even flourish their businesses, they have to almost be like crabs in a barrel in order to get something done. Or it's almost like we're begging or we have to have a reduced rate in order for our business to be on the same level as everything else. It's interesting that we still have to, again, have these conversations going into probably when we started the new millennium, and then now we're in 2020, well, 2022. But again, it takes the leaders that nobody is really, you know,

they're thinking everything is great. And I see, like, you know, when we start looking at some of these interviews that are taking place from the organizations and some of the statements that are going out, like, oh, we went through the process. But then we hear a man like Brian Flores, who's like, I went to dinner, you know, and, you know, I had to do the dog and pony show. And they've already made their decision. And, you know, it's disheartening because it's like you prepare, you prepare. And it is assumingly, you know, we're hoping for a fair and just process, but it still doesn't work. So overall, it just has to be

a better system, but knowing that the system that we're in is America, and then that system is essentially if they don't want to hear us, then probably just put us in our right and just position without all the fanfare.

And the people who are now also going to be on front and center, Mario, are players. What you going to do? Are you going to say something? Or are you going to say, hey man, ain't my thing? You know, I think it just really depends who the player is. In my experience

working with players for almost 20 years, many of them was just really focused on their craft. You can't blame anybody for being focused on their craft. But now they got more information, have more exposure. I think you will see more players step up. Now, what's interesting about the blind floor, uh, Florida's case also is this guy was a systems guy. Okay. You got to understand to be a young brother, to get where he's going. I mean, he was doing everything that the NFL wanted him to do.

He was doing everything that coaches wanted him to do to get where he's going. I mean, he was doing everything that the NFL wanted him to do. He was doing everything the coaches wanted him to do to get to that particular level. This means he did all of that. He still got treated like that Jay-Z song about O.J. So, it's just a good lesson that we all can learn and remember to make sure that we are

crossing our I's, dying our I's, crossing our T's, keeping the receipts, as he's done with emails and text messages, and don't be afraid to push the envelope. And understand that, unfortunately, it may cost you some type of retaliation. You will probably suffer some consequences, but it may be necessary for the greater good.

So not everybody is set up to be on the front line. Everybody is set up to be able to take all the arrows and the shots that's going to come their way. But he hopefully has some players in his corner that can stand with him and hopefully that law firm, which the little bit of the complaint that I've seen so far

is written tremendously. I've applauded the law firm and again I'm looking to get the next phone call to bring the next historic case. All right, folks. Hold tight one second. Got to go to a break. We come back.

We'll talk with Texas Congressman Al Green about a variety of issues, including President Joe Biden's pick of a black woman to the Supreme Court. That and more right here on Roland Martin Unfiltered on the Black Star Network. Don't forget, download the app, folks. All platforms, of course, Apple phone, Android phone, Apple TV, Android TV, Roku, Amazon Fire, X-Box One and Samsung Smart TV. Be sure to support us as well with your resources. Of course, you can join, support us via Cash App,

dollar sign RM Unfiltered. Venmo is RM Unfiltered. PayPal is R Martin Unfiltered. Zelle is Roland at Roland S Martin dot com. Roland at Roland Martin. Cash App, dollar sign RM Unfiltered. Venmo is RM Unfiltered. PayPal is RMartin Unfiltered. Zale is Roland at RolandSMartin.com. Roland at RolandMartinUnfiltered.com. Folks, I'll be back in a moment. Norske kveldsforskning ТРЕВОЖНАЯ МУЗЫКА Don't you think it's time to get wealthy? I'm Deborah Owens, America's Wealth Coach,

and my new show on the Black Star Network focuses on the things your financial advisor or bank isn't telling you. So watch Get Wealthy on the Black Star Network. Pull up a chair, take your seat. The Black Tape with me, Dr. Greg Carr, here on the Black Star Network. Every week, we'll take a deeper dive into the world we're living in.

Join the conversation only on the Black Star Network. We're all impacted by the culture, whether we know it or not. From politics to music and entertainment, it's a huge part of our lives, and we're gonna talk about it every day right here on The Culture with me, Faraji Muhammad, only on the Black Star Network. Hi, I'm Dr. Jackie Hood-Martin, and I have a question for you.

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

Civil rights activist Fannie Lou Hamer. Well, I'm sure a family will be saying she's sick and tired of not seeing a black woman appointed to the Supreme Court. Boy, these white conservatives are just beside themselves because President Joe Biden made it clear he is going to appoint one. And they say a damn thing when Ronald Reagan said in 1980 he was going to appoint a woman to the Supreme Court, probably because they knew it was going to be a white woman. And then, of course, they ain't say nothing when Donald Trump said in 2020 he was going to appoint a woman to replace Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who passed away in September of 2020, probably because they knew it was going to be a white woman. But that is the reality in America.

Joining us right now is Texas Congressman Al Green, my frat brother from Houston. Congressman, you've got to just laugh at these folks for showing who they really are by being so upset by the fact that 115 Supreme

Court justices, 108 have been white men. Absolutely. I absolutely agree with your refrain. They didn't say anything. We have seen what I call exclusionary affirmative action. And that means that for some 200 plus years, we have had affirmative action for white males used to exclude others. We have had in the United States Senate, for example, a number of senators, including 1,944. And of that 1,944, 1,886 have been men. The number just staggers and blows my mind. 58 women. Now, I mention the Senate because this shows you who selects these judges over these years.

The presidents have all been men, all white, but one. Forty-five presidents, only one Black male, no women. So the numbers speak for themselves. Over the years, we've had affirmative action for white males. Now we're getting inclusionary affirmative action. And the inclusionary affirmative action is something that seems to be repulsive to some people because we are trying now to bring about some degree of equity in the system. And I'm just pleased that I have lived long enough to see representational diversity become an issue on the Supreme Court. It is time for a black woman to be appointed. And so certainly the Senate is going to take that up. And so hopefully, President Biden has

already said he will pick someone by the end of this month. And Senator Chuck Schumer said we'll confirm that person in about a month. So we'll see what happens there. Of course, the Build Back Better bill by President Biden went down in flames because of Arizona Senator Kristen Sinema and Joe Manchin. President said they're going to break that up into smaller pieces.

There was a lot of money in that bill for HBCUs and other things of interest to African-Americans. And so what do you say? What's moving forward? How is this going to actually happen? Is it going to be breaking it up? What's first? Well, I hear more talk about breaking it up currently than I've heard before. There seems to be a desire to make sure that we take care of

children, make sure that we have universal pre-K for all of these children who are three or four years of age. There seems to be a real desire to make sure that we get people covered. In the state of Texas, for example, we had $100 billion that was available to us that we did not take for Medicaid. So there's a desire to make sure that we don't have people without insurance in this country. These things are important, but I still would like to see us take up the bill in its entirety. And my hope is, and you can't plan on hope, but my hope is that these two senators will rethink their positions. After all, President Biden at one time was opposed to the elimination of the filibuster, but he has changed his position.

It's not unusual for people to change their positions in politics. My hope is that the two senators will so that we can move forward because there's much more in the bill of benefit as well. Last question I have for you deals with the issue of voting rights. It continues to be a battle. Lawsuits are taking place all across the country, including ones happening there in Texas. What is your thoughts about this retiring Republican in Texas who has come forward to say the GOP

absolutely, deliberately violated the Voting Rights Act when they were redrawing districts? My hope is that we can get that type of testimony in court. I'm one of the litigants. I believe that the state of Texas has not treated persons of Hispanic ancestry fairly. Most of the growth was in the Latino community. Ninety-five percent of the growth was among persons of color. And I think that we need that kind of testimony in court. I appreciate what people say to us by way of the airwaves, but if we can get it in court, I think that we can get these lines redrawn such that Texas will have a representation that matches the citizenry,

the people who actually live in the state of Texas. All right, Congressman Al Green, always good to see you. Thanks a bunch for joining us. Thank you. All right, folks, going to go to a quick break. We come back. We're going to talk about young folks under massive pressure to achieve life's goals.

That was one of the things that Chesley, under massive pressure to achieve life's goals. That was one of the things that Chesley, of course Chris, talked about in a piece she wrote last year. She jumped off a building, killing herself on Sunday. We're gonna talk to two experts about this. It's something that we're seeing a lot in young folks today. That is next on Roland Martin Unfiltered on the Black Star Network. We're seeing a lot in young folks today. That is next on Roland Martin Unfiltered

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

on Black Star Network, A Balanced Life with Dr. Jackie. Hello, everyone. It's Kiera Sheard. Hey, I'm Taj. I'm Coco. And I'm Lili. And we're SWB. What's Kiara Sheard. Hey, I'm Taj. I'm Coco. And I'm Lili. And we're SWB. What's up, y'all? It's Ryan Destiny.

And you're watching Roland Martin Unfiltered. Last year, Miss USA 2019 TV correspondent and lawyer Chesley Crist, who died Sunday after jumping from a New York high-rise building, penned this article in Allure. In the piece, she described the pressures she felt to achieve. She wrote, When I graduated from college and opted to continue my studies at Wake Forest University, I decided I'd earn a law degree and an MBA at the same time. Why stop at two degrees when you can have three?

I joined the trial team at school and won a national championship. I competed in moot court, won essay competitions, and earned local, regional, and national executive board positions. I nearly worked myself to death, literally, until an eight-day stint in a local hospital sparked the development of a new perspective. She continued, I discovered that the world's most important question, especially when asked repeatedly and answered frankly, is why?

Why earn more achievements just to collect another win? Why pursue another plaque or medal or line item on my resume if it's for vanity's sake rather than out of passion? Why work so hard to capture the dreams I've been taught by society to want when I continue to find only emptiness? Folks, as I said, she died at the age of 30. She left a note. In the note, she asked that all of her belongings be given to

her mother. This is something that we have seen from a variety of folks. We've seen this take place all across the country. Joining us right now is psychologist Dr. Jeffrey Gardier and also licensed professional counselor Robin May. My panel is still with me as well. I mean, this is the reason I want to have this conversation that first off, first off, we do not know why. What took place? We don't know that. We haven't heard from her family. We haven't heard from anyone talk about what she had been dealing with yesterday. We had Dr. Troy Byron talking about people who do commit suicide. She talked about typically how we don't hear from them for a

couple of weeks between that period when they make that decision. And one of the things that Chesley said in her last Instagram post, and apparently it was posted around 630 Sunday morning and police say it was around 815 when she jumped from the 29th floor. She posted this where she said, may this day bring you rest in peace. Jeff, I'm going to start with you because, again, let me be clear, we do not know why this decision was made. But for her to write that piece, talking about these pressures,

talking about how she felt as she approached 30, that her life was ending. We're talking 30. We're talking about a person and many people who are part of that profile of being told by society that they need to achieve, achieve, achieve, achieve. They need to prove all of these things

in order to be able to keep up with everyone else and to be eligible for these accolades that they need to give of themselves one million percent. But what we're not telling them is that they need a work-life balance. What we're not telling them is the importance of happiness and being connected to family and taking care of oneself. And once you get certain accolades, making sure that you have built in a system where you can decompress, de-stress, and take care of yourself, mind, body, and spirit.

Robin, she also talked about bullying. How she had to deal with people who were coming on her pages who felt that her physique was too muscular when she won Miss USA, who talked about her hair, her skin tone. Serena Williams has had to deal with that, and Venus. People have been critical of them.

Oh, my goodness, you look like men as well. And she talked about how that had an impact on her, those comments from people. And so here you have this incredibly gorgeous woman, extremely smart, extremely talented, who is talking about how that even was taking a toll on her, someone who we would think is supremely confident? Yeah. So let me say this. Our soul has a capacity. Let's just sit right there. Our soul has a capacity.

There's only so much our soul can take. And we were not created to be able to handle the critique of the entire world. And that is what social media has created, where we can literally, particularly when you're someone like this beautiful young woman who has been elevated into a position

where people around the world see her, the critique of the world would be daunting for someone who is 60. Surely it's daunting for someone who is 60. Surely it's daunting for someone who is 30. And so I can absolutely understand how what we know are trolls can over time have an impact. You know, one of the things people who are often in the public eye are told by those who have been there much longer, stay out of your comments. Because over time, it can be exhausting and literally, Roland, it is heartbreaking. But it is not uncommon. I have often young women who

sit in my office at 25 and 30 and feel that if they have not hit a certain level of success, then they are already a failure. And so I believe this conversation is really about us redefining what winning means, redefining what success means, but more importantly, learning to reevaluate our expectations and how much access we give others to us. To the specific point about comments as it relates to women.

Because frankly, how women deal with that is far differently than how men deal with it. But on this particular point of the pressure, the pressure to succeed, I mean, we're seeing this, and speak to this if you can, we're seeing this showing up in junior high and high school. We're seeing it in elementary school. Look, my six nieces were with us. My wife told them point blank, y'all got one activity a year. I'm sorry, a semester.

It's six of y'all. Ain't no way in hell you're going to be doing five different things individually. We ain't going from soccer to basketball to ballet to band. No, we ain't doing all that. Roland, can I just jump in? Because let me tell you, I'm living that right. I have three daughters. I am literally living that right now. I have a 7-year-old.

I have a 12-year-old. And I have a 14-year-old. I have a 12-year-old. And I have a 14-year-old. Roland, right now at this moment, my husband just ran from the school to take my 12-year-old to gymnastics. He had to go back and pick her up after gymnastics to take her to track. And so I think really even you saying that, yes, I had to sit my 12-year-old down

and explain to her, listen, you literally felt like you were overwhelmed carrying all of this stuff last year. And so it is our responsibility to jump in and help you understand that at 12 years old, you don't have to carry all of that. But again, it goes back to the expectation that is put on not only adults, to your point, but to children. So that's why I said this is a conversation about redefining what success looks like. And success is not, hear me, this is very important, because I believe what has happened is that success

is linked to status and what's in your checking account. Oh, yeah. Instead of success being linked to who you are as a person. And Jeff, before you even get to the status of the checking account, it's, look, you got to get that scholarship. You got to get that full ride. You got to go to the Ivy League school. You got to go to that top school.

And so if you're at elementary school, junior high, and high school, you're like, damn! Yeah, and that's part of the issue. This is absolutely correct, what we're hearing. This is a problem where we are, in many ways, programming our kids towards success, success, success, but we're not working with them around their mental wellness. If there's one thing we've learned about COVID

is that children have psychology, children have personality, children have emotions. And if we're not addressing those things with regard to all of the activities, with regard to all of the academics, and we're just loading them up for success, but not addressing how they feel about certain things or talking about that, then those things become internalized. and as they grow up, there's a profound sadness and anger and instability that can then put them at risk for serious emotional, uh, issues,

as well as even suicide. Uh, Jeff, I know you have to go, so I want to ask you this before you leave. That is, all right, somebody's watching. They're a parent or they're someone who is thinking the same way what Chesley is saying. What do you tell them to do right now, how they can sort of slow themselves down?

I think it's absolutely important to sit down with your child through a series of conversations and listen to what they have to say. Listen to what their dreams are. Listen to the things that may be bothering them, the things that are causing them any kind of stress, and then address that with them

as to how you can find more of a balance with them. Children have a lot to say. Out of the mouth of babes. I think we've forgotten that, but I think we have to learn about that all over again. Jeff Gard, Dr. Jeff Gard here. I appreciate it. Thanks a lot. Look forward to having you back.

We're gonna keep the conversation going here with Robin bringing my panel in as well. So again, Jeff, thanks a lot. Safe travels to you. This is, it was so heartbreaking to see this story because again, you're looking at all of, you're looking at, on the outside looking in, what you're seeing is this young lady, again, 30, lawyer, MBA, Miss USA, correspondent on Extra, and you're sitting there going, oh my God, you've got all, so much ahead of you. You look at these photos and you look at there going, oh, my God, you've got so much ahead of you.

You look at these photos and you look at her laugh and her smile, but the reality is she was carrying around something that was so heavy, that was so difficult. She talked about often several times dealing with anxiety, where for her, Robin, the only escape from it was death, jumping 29 floors off of a building. You know, when I look, I'm going to be honest, Roland, I do this for a living. And when I found out about this, I literally went down a spiral. I went down a rabbit hole on her Instagram. And I almost found myself doing the very thing that many of the people in the comments were doing, which was,

it looks like everything is fine. She looks like she's okay. And I do this. And I literally had that thought come up as well. And what I want anybody listening is to understand that what we see, what we present is just the picture we want you to see. And you know, if we're honest, we're not to put all of our business on social media. Anybody that has a little bit of maturity knows that social media is not to pour all of that. So it's just a glimpse. And we want to make sense of it, Roland. That's what's up. We want to sense of it. But the truth is, when the pain is to that level, once the pain is triggered to that level, in the midst of that moment, trying to make sense of it is not the answer. I truly believe that this idea of perfection, this idea of having it all becomes

a weight to the very point we made. It becomes a weight that is entirely too heavy for someone to carry. And so the hidden pain, the unspoken pain, the heavy weight is what we didn't see on social media. She was trained, hear this, she was trained to turn on. So that's what she did on Instagram we don't know what was going on when the phone was down to that point in terms of how we deal

with it it's very interesting when you tell people kiss my ass I have people sit here, go on social media, I crack up to people. Man, you need to just go ahead and cut all your hair off. And I tell them, I give no shits about what you think about my hair.

I get up in the morning, I brush it, I walk out. I don't care. I'm not caught up in, oh my God, I don't have a full head of hair. Folks will comment on your weight, on your clothes, they'll comment on your height, they'll comment on, and I'm literally like, mm, I don't give a shit what y'all think. And I've actually had that attitude my entire life.

I really don't. And I'm thankful for that because I know other people who they get so, oh my God, did you see what they said about my clothes? I'm like, I don't care what they said about your clothes. And to me, I think we have to be fortifying young people very early on and listening and watching out where they're not so locked into this designer clothes. What are you wearing?

I remember being in junior high school, kids were laughing at my shoes, and I'm like, y'all didn't pay for them. And so there was a level of training, of education that I got from my parents and from my grandparents, where I was conditioned not to be so concerned of what people were saying externally about me.

It allowed me not to sit here and fall into those peer pressure traps. And I think part of the deal is we have to be very conscious as adults, but we're not passing that thing on to our children based upon our insatiable desire for the material. Robin, your thoughts on that? Okay, because I said I'll jump in for sure.

So, Roland, first of all, I want you to understand that that ability that you have to not be triggered by public opinion is a gift. Quite frankly, it's a gift that you and my husband Lee may have, very, very similar. And so I will be honest with you. I'm just going to go. I tell people I share my stuff so you don't have to share yours. I don't have that trait.

I absolutely do care. It absolutely does bother me. And I'm a grown 47-year-old woman who has had to learn to put the boundaries in place, to put the filters in place, and to teach myself not to be consumed by it. I cannot, I have not, I'll say I have not gotten to the point where I just don't care. Where I have gotten now is that I'm not consumed by it. But what you're talking about is the importance of two characteristics, understanding resilience and building up your own self-confidence. Resilience and self-confidence,

I think, is a skill or emotional intelligence that we can teach our children. But the truth is, everyone does not have that. And let's say this, let me just say this also, there is an aspect of wanting to, of us needing to be considerate and intentional about not living a life where we don't listen to opinion at all. So this is how I teach my children. I tell them to identify who their advisory board is. Who are the two or three, maybe three or four vetted people? I hope my husband and I are on that list, but who are four vetted people? I hope my husband and I are on that list. But who are the vetted people that you will listen to because you know they have your best interest? And then you can silence out the rest of the noise.

And so I think definitely it is a skill. It is something that we have to teach our children. For a lot of us, Roland, it does not come naturally. No, I understand. And even those two or three people, whatever. But again, the thing that I am, as I look at this, and I'm going to go to Teresa first, the reason why, to me, this is so critically important,

because I remember being in, I was a freshman. And I was at Yates High School. I'm in the band. And we had these battles because I came in as a freshman first chair. And folks were mad as hell at me because it was like this whole deal. You can't be a freshman first chair. And I'm kind of like, all deal, you can't be a freshman in the first year. And I'm kind of like, all right, what a competition that.

I mean, in band, you have to beat me out or you don't. They actually brought some former people, former students who were in the band at TSU to try out against me. And I was like, bring your ass. Was not concerned. And it was a trip because they were like, why are you so cocky? Like, I'm not cocky.

I was trained. Now, if you want to beat me, put the music on the stand and let's go. And folks were, and it was like this whole, they like really were pissed off because I wasn't buckling to you can't do this because you're a freshman. The reason that is important is because, again, it's how we deal with things in life when we're in competition, when we're battling with people, and when you don't let someone intimidate you, punk you, beat you down, and cause you to start doubting yourself.

To me, arrogance was thinking you first chair, but you don't prepare to be first chair. Confidence was, I put in the work, y'all wanna take it from me, let's go. And I look at how, I look at nieces and nephews, I look at other people, I look at how parents talk to their kids and what they say and do, and I just think for a lot of us, we're not paying attention to folks early on in terms of how they need to be dealing with what's going to be thrown at them in life.

Teresa, your thoughts on this subject, even a question for Robin, if you have one. Well, one, thank you, Robin, for literally that entire approach. I didn't have a point in your dialogue where I didn't disagree. So I thank you for that. I don't necessarily have a question for you, but to the topic that we're talking about right now is dealing with the pressures that we need to succeed. Look, I think there is a whole bunch of opportunities where parents need to kind of step up, right? I think we have a lot of young parents that hasn't really fully grown themselves. I'm not a young parent myself, but I have a lot of friends who are.

And I think a lot of it is that growth period, not just having the kid that makes you an adult and makes you grown, but it's about the teachings, it's about the advisors, it's about those who are giving you that positive energy and that positive network to really allow that kid to be who they want. And so because we're living in a society where anytime you make a post, it can be shared and retweeted and social media is, when it first started, was causing so much havoc. And now we have cyber bullying. We have a hotline for that. We're now seeing that once you put yourself out there, you can't take it back. And so some of those pressures are even, you know, in relationships. And I have a nephew, he's 16.

So I'm constantly telling him whatever picture that you take and whatever you do and everything you post will be watched and will be shown to you in the future. So be very careful about it. But I think like, again, like you said, the advisors are something that is necessary. Obviously, everybody's not going to be so confident and so independent early on, but it also depends on where you come from. And so, you know, I think, you know, even if I look at myself or I look at my friends, again, the company you keep will absolutely pave the way for your destination. Is it parents should step up?

Is it parents should step up or should some of them step back? I think it can be a combination of both. And you guys, I want us to really consider this. This is so interesting to me. As I parent and my husband and I parent our three daughters, y'all, it is literally getting a PhD

in each of their individual personalities. My oldest daughter, I promise you, she has all of my husband. She does not care. She is not moved and she is not bothered. But baby, that middle daughter of mine is. And so that baby of mine thinks the world wakes up when she wakes up.

And so we have to really understand our individual child, their makeup. And if there are a parent who's listening right now, one of the first things you can do, I tell people all the time, education is extremely important to me. As a mother, these children and their grades are very important. I got an email from the teacher today that said one of my daughters didn't do her homework. She's going to get the business. But more important to me than their academics, and this is going to be surprising when my husband and I both have higher degrees, more important to me is their emotional intelligence. Emotional intelligence

is really the factor that will help you stay safe and continue to develop fully as an adult. And so if there's a parent listening who is into this conversation, one of the first things I want you to do is go on Amazon or just Google a feelings chart, order the feelings chart and put it on your child's wall and teach your child how to identify what they feel. You hear young people say all the time, I just feel some kind of way. Well, no. What is the feeling? Because it's very important that we are able to process what we are experiencing so that somebody can help us come to some resolve. And so if there's a parent, that's your first takeaway. Order you a feelings chart,

put it on your child's wall, and low-key, you might need to put it on your wall so you can understand feelings yourself. See, I was about to tell a story when I was at TV One where I had to call FYF, but I'm going to deal with that one later. Mustafa! Go ahead.

Thank you so much for being here. You know, I struggle with this particular topic. When I was in college, a good friend and teammate, um, actually took his life. And, you know, it was like folks only talked about it for a day, and then it was like he didn't really exist anymore. And I know for communities of color,

we often don't want to have to deal with that. Um, and I carried a lot of, uh, anger for a long time because I was mad at myself for not seeing that he was in that much pain, um, and for not asking or knowing what the questions were to ask. So, I know there's so many people watching. How do we make sure that we are staying connected to folks, um, even though folks sometimes, you know, they have these veneers on where we think everything is all right, but it's not. And I just want to make sure that that never happens again. And I know I need emotional intelligence to be able to navigate and to let go of some of the things. You know, I want to first tell you, I'm so sorry

that that was an experience for you. And I can totally imagine how, can only, I'm sorry, imagine how devastating it was. And you know, this is going to be really tough, but I'm going to go here. One of the things I saw a lot, particularly after this, and I've seen it many times before you've seen the memes that says check on your strong friends and I understand the sentiment behind that and we should we should we should check on all of our friends but the idea of that almost places the blame on everybody else when what we need to do and this is what i do for a living i create safe spaces for tough conversations what we want to be able to do with the people in our life is to make sure that we have created spaces where we can really go there where i can ask you no girl i saw that

you said you were okay on facebook but i know'm a girl. You've been isolating a little bit. Or being able to say, now, girl, I know we've been enjoying ourselves, but you didn't have one too many drinks, girl. That's not your normal pattern. Creating those safe spaces, and here's the deal. Those safe spaces have to be continuously created. Now, you may not be able to do that

with all 50 of your friends, but you may make a pact. Somebody listening right now. You may make a pact with about five of your friends, but you may make a pact. Somebody listening right now, you may make a pact with about five of your closest friends, and you're going to say, we're going to be each other's safe space, and we're going to have the courage to ask each other the hard questions. And if you're not answering the call, girl, after about three days, you already know we're going to show up on your doorstep. I want us to make intentional efforts to have safe spaces so that we can dialogue. And then make sure that you're normalizing, even in your own circle, normalizing

therapy, saying it is nothing wrong. Be careful of using the crazy word or dismissing or minimizing people who get help. Encourage it. Talk about it. Even if you yourself have to have a list of therapists in your phone that you just send to people, hey, girl, I know you may need some help, or I'm talking to you, so you might say, hey, bruh, I guess that's what y'all say. You might say, hey, bruh, I want to make sure you know that we can chat. And so what we want to do is not take on the response. If my heart breaks for her family. My heart literally breaks for her family because I know the journey they're going to go on. And I know that there is going to be so much questioning that they're going to have. And so unfortunately, I can't keep them from that. But

hopefully we can help someone who's watching now create safe spaces, encourage those you love to seek help. But if you are the person who is hurting, if you are the person in pain, I want you to make sure, I always leave Roland with three things that I want you to know. I want, if you're the one hurting, I want you to first admit it. I want you to make sure you ask for help. And then I want you to accept the help. If you're watching me right now and you know you're in despair and you know you're heavy, that's what I want you to do.

I want you to admit it. I want you to ask for help and then I want you to accept the help. Mr. Mario. Man, it's one of the most powerful conversations I've been involved in on this show. I really appreciate it. This is a very, very personal situation or topic for me when I learned about this young lady dying and then

learned about her background. All the things she named off before 30, you know, I've been on that track. You know, I've been at the law school. I got also the master's degree. I did the national executive board stuff. I did all the accolades and being a shining star for my hood and all that stuff. Built my law firm 2007 to 2012, 13. We were just flying high. Everything was great. Hit a bad spell.

Things was just really going bad. And, yeah, I can have the exterior outside like, man, I'm the man. I'm the Mario, whatever. But internally, as my sister just said, hey, man, I was struggling. I kept that so strong inside of myself that out in Los Angeles, California, my wife, she's filming something. I wake up one morning, I got Bell's palsy. And for those who don't know what Bell's palsy is, it's twisted my face over. I couldn't talk.

That's what I did for a living. I talked. I couldn't talk. I thought I had a stroke. Luckily, I didn't have a stroke. It was like this, or like Bell's palsy for about two and a half months, almost three months. I wouldn't have told you I had Bell's palsy. You wouldn't know. I was positive for about two and a half months, almost three months. I wouldn't have told you I had Bell's palsy. You wouldn't know. I was very fortunate to have full recovery. But it was stress. It was the lack of getting counseling because at that time,

I didn't think brothers got counseling. I thought that was somebody, if you were crazy or you were weak, you had to get therapy or counseling. And then, you know, just still come a few years later, my wife and I struggling with infertility for over 10 years finally brought me to the point of, man, I need it. I can't do all this by myself. And I've been in therapy now long on three years, and it's been the best decision of

my life. I go mostly weekly. Shout out to Dr. Siri, my therapist. And so, you know, if you need help, as the sister just stated, get the help you need.

This is real. This will cause you to break down your families, break down your bodies. And as we saw with the good sister who appears to have committed suicide, you know, she lost her, she took a life. And men in America, what we deal with as Black people is serious each and every day.

It is an attack on every facet of our emotional, physical, and spiritual beings. It is not enough just to pray. It is not enough just to hang out. It is not enough just to pray. It is not enough just to hang out. It is not enough just to say, I'm going to be cool. You have to get the help you need. And I know, Roland, you had it on the hotline if somebody's having suicide prevention.

I think this sister, Dr. May, her numbers should be up and other therapists' numbers should be up and normalize what you said, uh, Dr. May. I can... I'm proud of my boys now. We talk about therapy all the time. We have a safe space on our WhatsApp app. It is something that we can talk to. And I still got people in my family.

It's not just young parents. It's not just young people. In fact, for most... I'm 45, so most Black people older than us, you talk about a therapist, you say, hey, I ain't crazy. We gotta have those conversations with our parents, our grandparents, our uncles,

and make them understand the things that we're holding on to, that trauma that we're holding on to is really causing us problems. So I just really appreciate this segment because it's real. It don't matter who you are, how tough you think you are. We all need help. We all need to have better emotional opportunities to express ourselves,

get stronger. So I appreciate this segment, Roland, and I appreciate Dr. May and the doctor that was on earlier that had to get off earlier. Appreciate it. Robin? You know, I want you to know very clearly I had chills listening to you and I truly believe that that, what you

just said, almost needs to be put into a bite and blasted around because you as a black male saying that so confidently and so boldly, I truly believe you just changed some lives. And so thank you for that. And absolutely what I want us to understand, and this, this is so important because you talked about the stress you were carrying and, and being on the same track

that she was. And what I want us to understand that you might've been listening to him and you might've said, well, that's not my thing. I don't have that kind of pressure. Whatever your weight is, here's the deal. If I go to the gym, okay, I don't go to the gym. But if I were to go to the gym, let's say I'm lifting. Let's just say I don't even know. I don't know. Can I lift 100 pounds?

Let's say I'm lifting 100 pounds. You're like, if I go to the gym, let me stop lying. I don't go to the gym. Let me go. I ain't going to even lie. I'm a first lady. First ladies ain't gonna lie. So, if I'm at the gym and I'm lifting 100 pounds, and this woman next to me is lifting 200 pounds,

she can look at me and think that I'm not doing anything. But this 100 pound is heavy for me. Why am I saying that? Just because it's not heavy for you doesn't mean it's not heavy for the next person. You don't have to minimize what you are carrying. So while his story may not have been your story, while my story may not be your story, whatever you're carrying is heavy. And I want everybody to know, I say this just about every time I'm on Roland Martin, but what I want all of us to understand that what all of us have been carrying collectively,

not only with the pandemic, but definitely with the pandemic, but also with the social and civil unrest that has been going on now for just about two years to a higher level than it has in our lifetime, those two things alone rise to the level of a trauma. If you watched any of the videos with the brutality that has occurred, it rises to the level of a trauma. That alone is worth seeking help. And then I wanted to say this as we begin to close, Roland, and to everyone on the panel.

We talk about expectations and we talk about this beautiful young woman, the expectations she carried, but we have to realize she was in an industry filled with expectation. She was in an industry that was all about what you look like and how you present. And so one of the things I want us to make sure that we're doing is that we are teaching others and that we're teaching young people and that we ourselves understand. I know it can sound like fluff, but we really need to understand values-based living. Who are you really? What do you really desire?

What do you really long for? What really matters to you? If you are all about the Benjamins, do people still say the Benjamins? If you're all about the Benjamins, I want you to peel back the layers and figure out why. What is the value? Why is that important? Because when you're very clear on your values and you're living according to your values, your values can serve as a blockade, as a block, as a filter from all the noise around you. It's just one of the strategies that can help you build resilience. You know,

I don't want her life to be in vain. So if anything we can do, we can all decide today that we're going to do one thing to care for our souls, one thing to make sure we're building up our mental health, making sure we're reaching out to somebody that we love. That's how we can honor her life, by doing one thing differently than we did before. So I'm going to close with this. And I need people to understand in terms of how, again, how you must change your thinking. Trolls, my haters, They love to say stuff like,

oh, uh, you just sitting here, uh, saying this stuff for the white man to get a job back on a network television. Nah, I'm good. See, what they don't understand is I'm happy for brothers and sisters who are at those places, but that ain't me.

Because what people don't understand, and again, what I'm trying to get people to understand is how do you measure yourself? I don't go, ooh, so-and-so got this, so-and-so got this. No, I've always measured myself by me. See, when your expectation is your own personal expectation, then you're not driven by what other people have,

what other people are driving. You know, when we did, when we, I said this before, when we, back in December 2020, when I purchased our Mercedes Sprinter for the show for us to be able to broadcast across the country, the next month I said, damn, this for the show for us to be able to broadcast across the country. The next month, I said, damn, this is the first Mercedes I ever owned. I started laughing in my driveway.

Now, why did I laugh? Because I grew up with people who were fixated. It was like, oh, my God, I got to get this car, I got to get this car. I ain't never really give a damn about a car. Seriously. I could not watch my Navigator for a year and really wouldn't care as long as it keep running. I never really give a damn about a car. Seriously, I could not watch my navigator for a year

and really wouldn't care as long as it keep running. See, again, it's when you aren't so concerned and you don't allow the external forces to drive this. It's when you allow this to say, this what makes me happy, this what makes me feel good, and I am measuring myself by this. So for me, when I look at this studio, I look at staff, when I look at places we're going,

we're covering, I'm perfectly happy. I'm good. I'm not worried about somebody who's making $10 million. I shout out my girl Angela Rye, go to my computer, she just signed a deal with a special correspondent at ESPN for the next year. Congratulated her. I don't feel as if, oh, my God, why did they call me?

I'm glad they called her. Great. But a lot of people continue to measure themselves by what their friends have, their frat brothers, their sorority sisters, their church members, and their colleagues, as opposed to saying, what makes me happy? What makes me content? And so I think a lot of folks, again, who are,

no matter, I'm 53, Damar, you talked about it. A lot of us need to be looking at ourselves a lot differently in terms of what do we value? Because oftentimes that stress and anxiety is really from that external stuff that in the end, you can't take that shit with you anyway. So why are you letting it drive your ass crazy now? We have to also encourage therapy.

There's a brother who on the channel says, ooh, therapy is for rich folks. No, it's not. We had the brother on the show with the coffee shop in Chicago where proceeds are going to support mental health. There are resources that are out there.

We have churches. We have community centers. We have different avenues that people are providing the necessary services. So for us, let's stop making excuses that say we can't afford it or people in the hood can't afford it. What we should be doing is letting the folks in the hood know

where to get it. That's what we should be doing. Robert, Robin May, we appreciate it. Thanks a lot. Folks are asking how can they reach you? Do you have a website, anything like that? Yes, it's RobinMay online.com. And I just have to say to the brother who said therapy is too expensive, listen,

clinicians of color, that's a whole group called clinicians of color, but clinicians of color, most of us do something to provide low-cost therapy. So don't let that be an excuse. Again, my website is robinmayonline.com. All right, Robin, tell them kids they're doing

too damn much. I am. I'm going to tell them, uncle. I'm going to tell them my frat brother. Tell them they're doing too much. Look, I ain't like, hey, y'all nice. I'm like, look, my parents had five kids in four different schools. My dad was like, look, I ain't doing all this damn driving around. He hated to pick me up From school of communication events

When he was like You gotta stay late I was like look man this is gonna set me up He cool now Cause all that picking up He benefiting from that But the point is he was like Y'all got one activity each

Five kids One activity each You Five kids, one activity each. You don't get more than that. Uh-uh, that's too much. I'm going to tell him Uncle Roland said it. DeMario, go real quick. I just want to say it's clear that you didn't listen to any advisors because you pledged out for so. You didn't have to tell everybody you don't listen to anyone.

He did right. He did right. Ski-fi, he did right. If you didn't listen to some better advisors, right. He did right. He did right. You know, I didn't need advisors because all I did was read. And I read Thurgood Marshall. And I read Dr. King.

And I read Duke Ellington. And I read, I'm not done. I'm not done. And I'm not done. And I read Jesse Owens. And I read Ralph Metcalf. and I read and I read Jesse Owens and I read Ralph Metcalf and I read John A. Johnson. So if you would like for me to continue reciting all the names of prominent alpha men, we don't have that much time in the day to do so. I'm just letting you know.

And yes, we know that Omega created Black History Month, but Alpha, we celebrate Black History 365. Robin, thanks a bunch. I appreciate it. And Mustafa... Thank y'all for having me. Bye-bye. And you notice I even asked for backup because Mustafa's also an Alpha. So just sit there and be quiet

to Mario. All right, y'all, when we come back, our Marketplace segment, a sister, black-owned construction company. Her and her dad started, he passed away, but she is continuing the vision. Y'all don't want to turn, y'all don't want to miss this, because we're talking about black folks who own, not those who are waiting on a check from somebody else.

You're watching Roland Martin Unfiltered on the Black Star Network. 100% Black-owned. Storbritannia ДИНАМИЧНАЯ МУЗЫКА Nettopp på en viss måte. We're all impacted by the culture, whether we know it or not. From politics to music and entertainment, it's a huge part of our lives. And we're going to talk about it every day right here on The Culture with me, Faraji Muhammad, only on the Black Star Network. Hi, I'm Dr. Jackie Hood-Martin, and I have a question for you. Ever feel as if your life is teetering and the weight and pressure of the world is consistently on your shoulders? Well, let me tell you, living a balanced life isn't easy.

Join me each Tuesday on Black Star Network for Balanced Life with Dr. Jackie. We'll laugh together, cry together, pull ourselves together, and cheer each other on. So join me for new shows each Tuesday on Black Star Network. A Balanced Life with Dr. Jackie. Hello, everyone. I'm Godfrey, and you're watching... Roland Martin Unfiltered. And while he's doing Unfiltered, I'm practicing the wobble. All right, folks. I want you to stick around to the end of the show because first of all, I'm going to give you all a sneak peek into the ten-part docu-series that we are doing on the 16-19, 2019 year of return.

You all get to see that. So you all want to stick around for that also after the show. We'll be streaming, of course, Balanced Life with Dr. Jackie Hood-Martin. The conversation we just had, well, we have a weekly show that's all about that, helping you live a balanced life. And so again, you want to stick around for that

because we got some great content. And that's what we're doing here on the Black Star Network. So some phenomenal stuff. Of course, we launched Debra Owen's show on Monday. Yesterday, of course we also launched today Dr. Jackie Hood-Martin's show. Tomorrow we got our next Rolling with Roland with Director Bill Duke. Y'all remember him from Menace to Society?

Yeah, y'all remember. Yeah, yeah, you remember that. Then also today we kicked off Farraji Muhammad's daily show. And then on Thursday, Thursday or Friday, tell me which one, Kenan, we're dropping Dr. Gregg Carr's show The Black Table. And so, again, fantastic roll Friday, tell me which one, Kenan, we're dropping out the grid cars, show the black table. And so, again, fantastic rollout of the new shows this week.

And so, it's great. Alright, we often talk about home ownership. We often talk about, of course, construction in terms of us getting businesses and leasing. But what happens when we actually are on the building side? Well, S&R Construction is a black-owned pre-stop shop based in Houston, Texas.

That's right, folks. Services include project management, of course, sheeting, painting, and clearing as well. Saqqara Ross, she's the president of SNR Construction. She joins us right now from the greatest city in the world, my hometown, Houston, Texas. How you doing? Oh, wow, Houston's your hometown. Hello, guys. Houston, Texas. How you doing? Oh, wow. Houston's your hometown.

I'm born and raised there. I did not know that. Jack Yates High School. Come on now. Which one? J-Y. Oh, Yates. That's right. That's how we roll. So let's get right to it.

Was this something that you actually wanted to do growing up? How did... Where did this idea of a construction company come from? So, no, it was not something that I initially wanted to do growing up. My grandfather was a carpenter in the 1950s, so my father had a lot of experience in construction with carpentry, and I would always see him doing things around the house to improve or even just little projects for, you know, friends or family members.

So I've always been around it, but I never really had the desire until later on in life. I just had the idea to give back to my dad and create a family legacy. So that's really where the company originated. I've always had an entrepreneur spirit. So I figured, hey, you know, I'm going to start this company. I'm going to start it for my dad and give him something to do management wise as he grows older.

Because, you know, my father was he was a very active man and he was always physical. But we all know as we age, sometimes, you know, you have to slow down and you're unable to do those things. So it was really me with the intentions of blessing him. And about a month after I started the company, my father passed. So that blessing for him turned out to be a blessing for me and it's allowed me to take care of myself since my father's passing. When did y'all start the company? 2017. 2017.

Well the end of 2016. But when we had the hurricane in 2017, that's really when we first got like our bulk of business. So that's when we took off. And so why home construction and not commercial? Actually, I've done a little bit of both. So we started out with schools. We started out, like, repairing schools that got damaged in Hurricane Harvey. And then, of course, I got all my city certifications with the Houston Business of Opportunity. And that's where I was led into doing residential because there was such

a demand with home repair for these people who've been pretty much displaced with the hurricane. So that's just something that was there right at the time that I started the company. So we've consistently been blessed with working on that project for the last four years. But, you know, construction is, it's very large, it's a large industry. And I've also tapped into civil. And I, you know, as I've been in this industry, I've had my challenges, but I've also been welcomed by so many people because I am a young woman and I'm an African-American woman. They've been very receptive and they've given me so much insight and helped me along the way, which has allowed me to experience other areas of the

industry that I never even thought about. So I've worked on civil projects. I've done inspections for heavy underground utility project. And that has also led me to do concrete work. And it's just we're constantly being exposed to things and growing. And it's just been a blessing. So I'm not limited to only residential. Got some other questions, but I'm bringing my panel right now. Let me go to Teresa Lundy. Teresa, you get the first question. Well, one, congratulations. I know it is not easy building a business, but my question to you is, have you been getting some support from the real estate market? What type of research have you been doing in order to stay up on some of the updates and some of the nuances that's happening since the pandemic?

Well, I've definitely been watching how the materials, of course, the pricing has gone up. And, you know, I've really been working on expanding the business, doing more rehab work for me because the materials are going up it's I think it's more cost-efficient to go in and do rehab as opposed to trying to do new builds right now because lumber is gone up like crazy all the main materials especially with inflation everyone's going up on their prices so I've just been staying on top of that and trying to make sure that you know I make the decisions that are best for my company so that we can continue to see movement and growth, but also be smart and not jump out there and, you know, do things

that may potentially put us in a bind. Mustafa. Yeah, I'm always interested in supply chains and also the folks that we hire. So the question is, when you are dealing with supply chains, do you also focus on getting those from African-American or other people of color companies when possible? And then the second part to the question, I'll let you answer that. I do try. I do. I absolutely try to get my supplies from African Americans, and I also try to employ them as well. And those both areas have been challenging, but, yeah, I've found some success in them as well. Second question, Mustafa. She got the second question because I was curious about for black and brown communities,

and you already mentioned that you've been looking for those employees, and you're currently navigating that process. Yeah, you know, that was also very important to me. I wanted to give people opportunities, especially, I want to give all people opportunities. However,

I would love to give people opportunities who look like me, that may not have an easier way navigating and entering those rooms to get those opportunities. So that is my primary focus. I have been able to find people to partner with, but as far as finding people to do the work, the trades, it's been challenging. It's been more Hispanic workers.

I worked on a concrete project maybe about three months ago, and I started out with a four-man crew. And, you know, they were very skilled and knowledgeable, but they just couldn't get along and work together. And it just was hard to watch. So maybe like two weeks within the project, I had to bring in some other people and mix it. And we got through it, but it's just, it's been a struggle. I really find more Hispanic workers, especially being in Texas, they're everywhere. To Mario.

Good to meet you tonight. My question, my comment slash question is, like in our household, my wife, she loves the construction stuff, building stuff, all that type of stuff. You remind me of her a lot. I notice that when we have contractors over, like we have

right now, we're having some work done, and they talk to her, they don't give her the respect. They don't think she really knows what she's talking about. She's a pretty woman, and they talk to her, they don't give her the respect. They don't think she really knows what she's talking about. She's a pretty woman, and it's kind of like, oh, and if I'm around, they want to talk to me. But what's funny is, like, she really knows more about what's going on than I do.

So I'm wondering, from the perspective of being the boss lady, not only just dealing with your crews, right, but actually getting the contracts, going into those beds where you just dealing with your crews, right, but actually getting the contracts, going into those bids where you're dealing with not only as a Black person, but a Black woman. Just talk to us about that, how you navigated that, and how did your grandfather and father

help you prepare you for that? Well, I grew up, and I'm not originally from Houston. I grew up in Nacogdoches, Texas, so small-town country girl. I grew up in Nacogdoches, Texas. So, small town country girl. I have no problem getting my hands dirty. Nacogdoches. Stephen F. Austin. Yeah, yeah.

So, you know, I grew up, I was a daddy's girl. So, I was always following my dad around. And, you know, I think I do have a lot of my mom in me. But I've got more of my father in me. So, I was a tomboy. and, you know, I have two older brothers. So I think I handled myself pretty well, especially in a male dominated industry. And I just, I carry myself respectful. I don't take any crap and, you know, you respect me, I'm going to respect you. And I just definitely have to be expert and knowledgeable because of

course, being a woman, they think that I don't know what I'm talking about or, you know, or being an attractive woman, they think that I'm soft or I'm just, you know, I'm dainty. I've had experiences with workers and both people, you know, at a higher level. And it's just been, it's been a challenge, but you know, you just, what do you do? Life is challenging. You just keep going, you adjust and you keep going. And if there's ever an issue where I feel like an opportunity is not given to me because I'm a woman or whatever, the opportunity wasn't for me. There's, there's so many other others out there. And I just try to keep myself motivated

and not allow myself to be discouraged by that because it doesn't reflect, it's more of a reflection on them. It has nothing to do with me. And I think that there's more women taking up spaces in this industry. And I definitely hope that I can inspire more Black women to hold space in this industry because I think we're more than capable. And, you know, I'm here. I'm here to stay. Hopefully we'll grow a lot more. But, yeah, I don't really let that discourage me.

As president of SNR Construction in Houston, we certainly appreciate it. Thank you so very much for joining us. Good luck in the future. Well, thank you for having me. I'm honored to be here, and I'll talk to you guys soon. All right. See you around H-Town.

Okay. Appreciate it. Thanks a lot. All right. Take care. Folks, got to go to a break. We come back with some headlines here on Roland Martin Unclosed. First of all, let me give a big thanks to Mustafa, DeMario, as well as Teresa for joining me on the panel.

Thank you so very much, all three of you. We come back. I'm going to knock out some headlines. First of all, let me give a big thanks to Mustafa, Demario, as well as Theresa for joining me on the panel. Thank you so very much, all three of you. When we come back, I'm going to knock out some headlines. And then we're going to show y'all our sneak peek at the 10th part series on the year of return. You're watching Roland Martin, unfiltered on the Blackstar Network. Pull up a chair, take your seat. The Black Tape with me, Dr. Greg Carr,

here on the Black Star Network. Every week, we'll take a deeper dive into the world we're living in. Join the conversation only on the Black Star Network. Hi, this is Essence Atkins. Hey, I'm Deon Cole from Blackest. Hey, everybody, this is your man Fred Hammond, and you're watching Roland Martin, my man, Unfiltered. All right, folks.

We always focus on black and missing. And so Jamaria Thompson, 5'6", 110 pounds. She has black hair, brown eyes. She's been missing from College Park, Georgia. College Park, Georgia. Folks, first of all, what she's been missing from, she was last seen on January 6th. You have any information, any information with regards to her,

please call the Forest Park Police Department, 404-366-7280. 404-366-7280. All right, folks, we also have some sad news regarding one of the previous stories that we had done on Black and Missing. And that is this young man has been discovered found dead. Weed, of course, is an update here. It says the body of a male positively identified as Taylor

Young, 25 years old, was discovered in the trunk of his vehicle in an impound in Dallas, Texas on January 19th. His body was in advanced state of decomposition. He, of course, actually was from Houston. It is stunning when you think about this story that he was found. Dallas is four hours from Houston. And so again, this young man, unfortunately,

Taylor Young was found. And again, 25 years ago, 25 years old, he disappeared eight weeks ago on December 9th, 2021 while he was running errands on his lunch break. Man, we certainly send our condolences to his mother, Tiffany Robinson, and the entire family for this. All right, folks, let's talk about some several headlines. A Georgia sheriff is offering a $500,000 reward for information

surrounding the death of Kendrick Johnson. Lowndes County Sheriff Ashley Park, who just last week concluded a second investigation that determined there was no foul play involved, released this statement. At the release of my synopsis of the federal files on the Kendrick Johnson case, his parents have called me a liar and continue to state that Kendrick was murdered. Because of these statements, I am personally, with my own funds, offering a reward of $500,000. I am also a member of the Lounds County Sheriff's Office. His parents have called me a liar and continue to state that Kendrick was murdered.

Because of these statements, I am personally, with my own funds, offering a reward of $1.5 million to anyone who comes forward with information that results in the arrest and conviction of a person for the alleged murder of Kendrick Johnson at Lowndes High School. Anyone who provides information will be required to do so in a contact interrogation at Lowndes County Sheriff's Office. I urge anyone, including the family, to add to this reward if they so desire." Wow, Kendrick's body was found in January 2013 in an upright wrestling mat. That right there is a sheriff saying,

okay, I'm putting it all on the line. For the second day in a row, more than a dozen HBCUs received bomb threats this morning on the first day of Black History Month. The schools, Kentucky State University, Xavier University in Louisiana, Fort Valley State University in Georgia were targeted today. They were already on high alert or lockdown.

Monday, some HBCUs canceled classes after they got bomb threats. Eight HBCUs received bomb threats on January 5th. Just like today, no suspicious packages or explosives were found. Also, folks, two Democratic and one independent senators are proposing a bill to protect elections and count votes in the future. Senators Angus King, Amy Klobuchar, and Dick Durbin want to eliminate the vice presidential duty of counting electoral votes and make it strictly ceremonial.

This plan comes after former President Donald Trump tried to get then-Vice President Mike Pence to overthrow votes in battleground states after the 2020 election. The bill also increases the number of lawmakers needed to make objections. The vice president cannot block electors in this proposal. The bill is still in the early draft stage.

Folks, also, we were talking about another story, and that is in Florida, where several voting and civil rights groups testified in federal court, the state's new voting law limits the ability to register voters. Senate Bill 90 restricts mail-in ballots, drop boxes in outside voter registration groups. The new law requires the groups to explain

to prospective voters their application runs, the risk of not being delivered within the newly required 14-day deadline. These groups say this is dissuading people from actually registering, which was the whole point of Republicans there in Florida. In fact, Governor Ron DeSantis has also proposed his own map of new districts that would toss out the congressional district

of current Congressman Al Lawson, who is African-American, and so that's now stopping the process from moving forward. Keep telling y'all, the goat what these Republicans are doing is all about voter suppression. The questioning of potential jurors has been delayed for the trial of a foreign Kentucky police officer involved in a botched raid that killed Breonna Taylor. Brett Harkison has pleaded not guilty to three counts of wanton endangerment for allegedly firing wildly into the apartments of Taylor's neighbors.

Jefferson Circuit Judge Ann Bailey-Smith says Harkison had to have unexpected minor surgery since he has the right to observe the jury selection process. The questioning is going to begin on Tuesday. All right, folks, the Justice Department says it will not reopen the federal investigation into the 2014 death of 12 year old Tamir Rice who was killed by Cleveland police.

The DOJ notified Tamir's mother after participating in a federal training event for state prosecutors on investigating police misconduct cases. The family had asked federal prosecutors to take a fresh look at the case but Christian Clark, the department's civil rights division chief says there's insufficient evidence to open a federal probe. Unfortunately, I hate to hear that, folks. But we don't hate to hear this.

A New Hampshire state representative lost her committee seat after using a racial slur against a black male activist. Representative Nicole Klein Knight used the N-word and called security on the activist after giving testimony last month. After several civil rights organizers sent a letter about her poor behavior, the Democrat was removed from her assignment on the House Criminal Justice and Public Safety Committee. The organizers allege Knight used to be an ally, but her recent actions put the black man's life at risk

and her behavior has become increasingly dangerous. Mm, mm, mm. All right, folks, here's the deal. Let's talk about our McDonald's scholarship, and that is this here. You have until February 28th, you now have 27 days, that's the deadline, folks, to apply for this scholarship. It's a partnership between McDonald's and myself,

honoring my fraternity, Alpha Phi Alpha, also Mustafa's, for honoring our 115th anniversary, honoring our seven jewels. The scholarship folks, $715,000 scholarship. $715,000 scholarship. If you want to apply, go to tmcf.org That's tmcf.org to apply for these scholarships. All of the directions are there on the website.

It's open to all HBCU schools, public and private. And so, again, you gotta tell February 20th to apply. All I'm simply saying is, if you got 15 grand out there, you want to apply for it. And so, please do so as well. All right, last piece here, folks, today's business. And remember in 2019, I went to Ghana for the year of return, spent 10 days there.

We shot a lot of different stuff. We were greatly impacted by COVID because my Ghanaian production team was impacted there. One of the producers actually was stuck in London for four months, could not even fly back to Ghana. And so we've been working on this, working on this, putting this whole thing together. So we're almost finished with it.

So in March, we're going to debut this 10-part series. That's right, folks, 10 parts on the year of return. Some fascinating things. We were able to get there, some interviews. Here's a sneak peek at 1619 to 2019, the year of return. You read about it in history, you know, you talk about it, you see it on our side, you know, of the United States, but to actually come here and see where this story of slavery started and connecting the dots is just a wow factor for me right now.

It's going to be dark inside. You might not see too much, but you're gonna feel everything. Just imagine seeing prisons in the yard in the United States. A lot of us get to be real blind when it's required in 2019 going into 2020. Specifically for us to be reprogrammed where the blood they pump us needs to be removed and extracted. It just doesn't make sense

that the richest continent in the world should be inhabited by the poorest people in the world. Part of that is by design. Self-hatred has been a very tragic part of our whole existence. And I'm not blaming anybody for it, but if you look at most characterizations of being of African descent in the world,

it's with these kind of tags. Always say, you're going to do a lot of shopping. They go, oh, I don't think so. And then they come, so they brought limited think so and then they come so they brought limited reserves and then they spend all the time running to the ATM because they see all these clothes they want and fabric they want it's overwhelming I've been here for eight years and I'm still taking pictures out of my car because it's just it's a feast for the eyes on any given day the kind of opportunities

you have in Africa you don't have those in America. The kind of money that you can make in Africa, very few of you would have that opportunity to do that in America. Cordy, who was working for the Congress in the United States, she has started a waste management company. She's the number one here in Ghana now. She looked at-

She's got a thousand trash. There it is. What used to be jeans. Used to be jeans. Used to be jeans. Is now a huge rush. In Ghana alone, we have a two million unit deficit in housing. Two million.

Two million. Let's go! Let's go! Seven of the 10 fastest growing economies right now are African nations. Why in the world would we not be trying to figure out how to connect? Because the Lebanese are. The Chinese are. Everybody else is doing it. We will be crazy to do it.

And it's for people who look like us. We will be crazy to do it. We will be crazy to do it. We will be crazy to do it. And it's for people who look like us. We will be crazy to do it. We will be crazy to do it. We will be crazy to do it. And again, folks, we're going to drop that in March. You do not want to miss it. And of course, next week, I'll be leaving for Liberia. We'll be covering the 200th Bicentennial celebration happening in that country. And I'm going to be back with you guys. We'll be right back.

We'll be right back. We'll be right back. We'll be right back. We'll be right back. We'll be right back. We'll be right back. We'll be right back. We'll be right back.

We'll be right back. We'll be right back. We'll be right back. We'll be right back. We'll be right back. We'll be right back. We'll be right back. We'll be right back. I'll be leaving for Liberia where we'll be covering the 200th Bicentennial celebration happening in that country which was actually founded by freed slaves here in the United States. And so, a lot of things that we're focused on.

We just don't focus on what's happening here in the United States. We focus on the African diaspora as well. That's one of the reasons why this is called Black Star Network. You saw in that last image in the reasons why this is called Black Star Network. You saw in that last image in there,

that was from the Black Star. It's called the Black Star of Africa from the Black Star Gate there in Ghana. And Black Star also was the name of the cruise line that Marcus Garvey had to connect people of African descent in America to the African diaspora worldwide. And so, that's why we call it the Black Star Network. Folks, that is it.

Man, we got some great stuff. And again, this is why we ask for your support in terms of what we do. Your resources allow us to be able to do what we do. We want you to also spread the word because we're building this for people to be able to see all across the globe. And so please let folks know they can download the Black Star Network app. That's right, curated by yours truly. On your Apple phone, Android phone, Android TV, Apple TV, Roku, Amazon Fire TV, Xbox One, and Samsung Smart TV.

And, of course, we appreciate your resources. You make it possible for us to do what we do to be able to do these stories, to travel around the globe and around this country as well. And so please join our Bring the Funk fan club. Our goal is to have 20,000 of our fans on an annual basis contribute. We ask for 50 bucks each. 50 bucks times 20,000 comes out to be a million dollars. That is crucial for us to do what we do.

Last year, y'all gave $827,000. That was an increase over 2020 where you gave $672,000. So we appreciate every dollar, whether you gave $50,000, $100,000, $500,000, $1,000, $10,000, or $25,000, $20,000, $10,000, $51,000. Every dollar matters. You can support us via Cash App, dollar sign 25201051. Every dollar matters. You can support us via Cash App, dollar sign RM Unfiltered. PayPal's RM Martin Unfiltered.

Venmo is RM Unfiltered. Zelle is Roland at RolandSMartin.com. Folks, that is it. I'll see you tomorrow. Don't forget, we're streaming next, Balance Life with Dr. Jackie Hood Martin. You don't want to miss that. And tomorrow, you can catch Faraji Muhammad's In the Culture.

That's going to be from 3 to 5 p.m. Eastern. And then at 11 a.m. Eastern tomorrow, we'll be rolling out my interview with Bill Duke. That's tomorrow right here on the Black Star Network. I will see you then. Holla! This is an iHeart Podcast.