#RolandMartinUnfiltered - GA Man Dies In Fulton Jail, TN Leaked Rep. Audio, FL Nikki Fried Arrested, Tim Scott 2024

Episode Date: April 14, 2023

4.13.2023 #RolandMartinUnfiltered: GA Man Dies In Fulton Jail, TN Leaked Rep. Audio, FL Nikki Fried Arrested, Tim Scott 2024 A Georgia man was found dead in a Fulton County Jail cell after being eaten alive by bed bugs and insects as detention officers and medical staff failed to administer or help him. We will speak with the family's attorney about what happened and how the family seeks a complete overhaul of the prison. Tennessee state Rep. Justin Pearson was reinstated and sworn in at the Capitol Today, a week after the Republican-led Tennessee House expelled him. We will show you the video of his first day back on Capitol Hill. Another developing story out of Tennessee is bombshell leaked audio obtained by The Tennessee Holler revealing infighting among Tennessee Republicans about the criticism they received for ousting two Black Democratic State Reps. Justin Jones and Justin Pearson. We will show you the appealing audio. The amount of women running for public office has increased over the last decade, but women are still underrepresented in public office roles. We have Laphonza Butler, the President of EMILY's List, to discuss how they empower women to run for office. A fight over abortion rights is brewing in Florida as Florida Democratic Party Chair Nikki Fried was arrested after a pro-choice protest. We will speak with her directly and ask what can be done to ensure women still have the right to govern their bodies in Florida. Download the #BlackStarNetwork app on iOS, AppleTV, Android, Android TV, Roku, FireTV, SamsungTV and XBox  http://www.blackstarnetwork.com The #BlackStarNetwork is a news reporting platforms covered under Copyright Disclaimer Under Section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976, allowance is made for "fair use" for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This is an i the Tennessee House. He joins us live to talk about what has taken place over the last week and what is next for him, as well as the movement there in Tennessee. EMILY's List, a powerful organization that is all about electing women to political office. Their Black CEO joins us on Roller Martin Unfiltered. Also, Tennessee Republicans, what did we play for you? This audio tape that was going to cover the discussion of the Tennessee Three and how they berated a Republican who voted not to expel Gloria Johnson. Shocking video. You'll be praised by it. Nikki Freeh, and she leads the Florida Democratic Party, will have her on, talking about their fight there for democracy, and also about Florida just passing a six-week

abortion ban, one of the toughest in the country. Also, can't wait to hear what Greg Carrisi Colbert has to say about Senator Tim Scott's announcement running for president. We're going to discuss that again on the show. Last one, we're going to be breaking down. You do not want to get what we got today. It's time to bring the funk. I'm Roland Martin on the filter with Black Star Network. Let's go. He's got it, whatever the piss, he's on it. Whatever it is, he's got the scoop, the fact, the fine. And when it breaks, he's right on time. And it's rolling, best belief he's knowing. Putting it down from sports to news to politics.

With entertainment just for kicks, he's rolling. It's Uncle Roro, y'all. It's Rolling Martin, yeah It's Uncle Roro, yo Yeah, yeah It's Rollin' Marten Yeah, yeah Yeah, yeah Rollin' with Rollin' now Yeah, yeah He's broke, he's fresh, he's real the best

You know he's Rollin' Marten Now Martez now. Martez. All right, folks, I'm here in the nation's capital. Massive amount of accidents and traffic all over. And so that's why we're coming live to you from the car. Let me just break this thing down for y'all. This case out of Fulton County is unbelievable.

A family wants to know why and how did their loved one die? 35-year-old LaShawn Thompson was arrested in June in 2022 for misdemeanor simple battery, misdemeanor in Atlanta. He had mental health issues, and he was placed in the Fulton County Jail Psychiatric Wing. The family says the jail knew Thompson's depression and schizophrenia diagnosis. They are demanding to know why he was placed in deplorable conditions and how he ended up dead, covered with insects. The Fulton County Metal Gear Examiner's Office report listed Thompson's death as undetermined, but the report noted a severe bed bug infestation. Joining me now from Atlanta is Michael Harper, the family's attorney. Michael, I mean, first of all, severe bed bug infestation? Yeah, it was unbelievable.

I mean, the photographs that we got from the medical examiner's office and from the Forty County Jail really were just shocking to the conscience to see this man lying there in that filthy cell riddled with bedbugs and insect bites, and that's what killed him. And so what's the jail's response? Like, no big deal? They put a statement out today

that they spent $500,000 after Mr. Thompson died on ridding the jail of bed bugs and insects. But, I mean, that's great to hear that. I'm happy for it. But it doesn't help our family because their loved one was killed in a filthy cell. And there's no way to share. And his staff did not know that the jail cell that LaShawn Thompson was in was deplorable. Okay, so what was he checked on? I mean, so is there a timeline established to ask, look, that doesn't just happen in a matter of minutes?

No, he was arrested in June of 2022. He had been there three months before they found him dead. There are jail reports that say he's not doing well, and they have planned to take him to the medical observation unit. That's according to the jail incident report. But they let him stay there. They never helped him. They watched that man decline, did not move fast enough,

and by the time they tried to move, they found him dead. So, wait a minute. So, in a three-month period, he got no medical help between June... He died when? He died in September. September 12th. So, he goes in in

June, and then... So, at no point between June and September, did he get any additional medical treatment? In the beginning, they were aware he was schizophrenic. They knew about his mental health issues. So he got treatment in the beginning to be housed in a psychiatric ward. The problem is, once he got there, they dropped the ball. And so, okay, so have y'all obtained the case file to show how often he was checked on and what doctors saw him? And then when he was discovered with all of these bed bugs, I mean, you know, how long was that? I mean, what? What? He just, he just, he dies and they left them there for multiple hours?

You know, it's unbelievable. You know, as you are alluding to, they're supposed to check the inmates in a psychiatric wing every two hours. All right. And we requested the medical records from the jail, as well as the observation records. There is no indication that he was monitored every two hours. There is record that they saw him declining. That's in the incident report from the jail. The medical staff and the jail saw him declining days before he died. But they had plans to take him to the medical observation unit in the jail.

They just never did. They never did it. They found him dead before that plan was executed. So they didn't follow their own rules. To answer your question about suicide watch and psychological wing and constant observation, they just simply did not do it in this case. Is the DA investigating? Has anybody been charged?

Yes. Is the Georgia Bureau of Investigation involved? GBI is not involved. They normally are called in by the agency. So the Fulton County Sheriff's Office should have called the GBI in. They never did that. But we have contacted Fannie Willis, the DA in Fulton

County, as you are aware of. She's on the Trump case. But we contacted Fannie Willis in the D.A. in Fulton County, as you are aware of. She's on the Trump case. But we contacted Fannie Willis in this case, and she has agreed to do a full investigation regarding any criminal charges. Wow. Unbelievable, because, I mean, first of all, you're talking about something that happened, you know, again. He goes in 10 months ago, dies in September. So absolutely shocking and stunning. Michael, certainly keep us abreast of what happens next. I will. Thank you.

Take care. I appreciate it. My panel, Dr. Greg Hart, Department of Afro-American Studies, Howard University, Rishi Kobran, founder of Black Women Views, also host the Rishi Kobran Show, Sirius XM, Lauren Victoria Burt, Black Press USA, Arlington, Virginia. Lauren, I want to start with you. We have seen the Department of Justice really go after a number of people, a number of jail and prison officials for their treatment of inmates. This is one of those that absolutely should get the attention of the Civil Rights Division of the Department of Justice.

Absolutely. And I think it will. And, you know, how many of these cases do we not know about is the question. You know, I happen to be the daughter of a prison guard who was my father, prison guard at Rikers Island for over 20 years. And, of course, Rikers Island should be closed, should have been closed a long time ago. The lack of rights and the lack of any sort of good treatment of people with mental illness is something that we don't deal with well in our society. Obviously, this is one case that's particularly atrocious, but you can bet that there's many others in a country that leads the world in the rate of incarceration and has led the world in the rate of incarceration for over 15, 20 years. So we have no answer for some reason for anything regarding mental illness. And really, we have no answer for the record numbers of people that we put in jail in this country and then, of course, don't care about and have no rights. And we have no system for them

when they are in jail for long periods of time. The mental illness question continues to go unanswered and unfunded at a time when we can find money for everything else. But to your point, DOJ has been a lot more reactive to these cases and probably will continue to be, obviously, under the leadership that they have now. Teresa, we often talk about what happens out in the streets with police, but what's happening in the jails is truly an abomination all across this country. Yeah, it really is. And I mean, for the folks in the jail to see this steady decline over months, it's unconscionable. And it goes back to something that Dr. Carr says all the time,

I hate to steal this thunder, but he talks about how the police and the entire system looks at Black people as no humans involved. And I think it's interesting how Republicans, you know, when these mass shootings happen, the first thing they want to go to is mental health. And it's not the guns, it's the mental health. And yet when people have diagnosed mental health issues, this is how they're treated. This is how they're handled. And so it's absolutely abhorrent and disgusting the way that these conditions led to his ultimate demise. And it's cruel and unusual punishment, which is against the Constitution. And so it's unfortunate that it took his death for them to start to make changes. And it makes you wonder what kind of other health issues other inmates suffered from. Going in there for a misdemeanor charge should not result in a death

sentence. Absolutely, Case. And Greg, I tell you, there's so many people who have no regard for those who are in jails and prisons, but they're still humans. They're still individuals with families, and they still deserve decency and respect. You would think so, Roland. And, yeah, I mean, Reese, you're still my thunder, sis. I'm glad to hear that, because that's from our sister Sylvia Winter, the Jamaican-Cuban philosopher, taking from the motto of the Los Angeles Police Department when responding to calls involving black or brown people,

and they said, well, there's no humans involved. And what Professor Winter was doing is making the point that when you find yourself in a certain class in this white supremacist society, you're not a human being anymore. So, Roland, the point you're making, even as we see you sporting the Dillard University shirt there, shout out to our brother Walter Kimbrough, our fat brother, and the current president of Dillard, Rochelle Ford, my former colleague at Howard, right up the road from Dillard in Louisiana is Angola Prison. And we know that the inmates at Angola Prison have suffered the same type of brutal conditions that we just heard Lauren talk about. And it all comes down to this. As you said, sis,

you know, the Eighth Amendment is supposed to protect us against cruel and unusual punishment. But we understand that the Eighth Amendment has been eviscerated by the Supreme Court. The current, probably most prominent stooge on the Supreme Court, the wholly owned subsidiary of billionaires known as Clarence Thomas, is an enemy of the Eighth Amendment, cruel and unusual punishment, because in his mind, in his rulings, as we talked about with Corey Robin on the black table a few months ago, and he wrote a book called The Enigma of Clarence Thomas. He said, when you get arrested, when you are put in jail, when you are put in prison, when you are incarcerated, you then assume a second rank of humanity. You don't have the rights that other people have. So this type of behavior,

as Lauren said, is commonplace in prisons. It's commonplace because they're not human anymore. They're prisoners. Indeed. All right, folks, hold tight one second. I've got to go. It's a break. We'll come back. We'll chat with again, Representative Justin Pearson. He was sworn in today in the Tennessee House. We'll talk to him about that. We'll also hear

this secret audio recording. ... ......... this all is secret. All of you. You. You. You. You. You. Look, I think. You. Look, I think. You.

Look, I think. You. You. You. You. You. You. You.

You. You. You. You. You. You. You. You. You. You. You. You. They sound scared. All that's next. Our Roland Martin Unfiltered on the Black Star Network. Download our app, Apple phone, Android phone, Apple TV, Android TV, Roku, Amazon Fire TV,

Xbox One, Samsung Smart TV. Also, join our Bring the Funk fan clubs. You're checking money orders through PO Box 57196, Washington, D.C., 20037-0196. Cash app, download sign, RM Unfiltered paypal r martin unfiltered uh ben mo is rm unfiltered zelle roland at roland s martin.com roland martin culture.com we'll be right back hatred on the streets a horrific scene a white nationalist rally that descended into deadly violence you will not white people are losing their damn lives. There's an angry pro-Trump mob storm to the U.S. Capitol.

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

There's all the Proud Boys, guys. This country is getting increasingly racist in its behaviors and its attitudes because of the fear of white people. The fear that they're taking our jobs, they're taking our resources, they're taking our women. This is white people. We feel the hidden impacts of climate change that land harder in Black, Brown, and Native communities. Not many people talk about it because they clearly don't know our lives. But with President Biden's landmark infrastructure and climate plans, our issues are finally seen. Removing lead pipes means we know our water is safe.

Cutting carbon pollution helps our kids breathe easier. 1.5 million new jobs means stable work in communities. The impact we need right now. When you talk about blackness and what happens in black culture, we're about covering these things that matter to us, speaking to our issues and concerns. This is a genuine people-powered movement. There's a lot of stuff that we're not getting. You get it.

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

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

PayPal is R. Martin Unfiltered. Venmo is RM Unfiltered. Zelle rmartin unfiltered. Venmo is rm unfiltered. Zelle is roland at rolandsmartin.com. Hey, I'm Deon Cole from Black-ish. Hey, I'm Arnaz J. Black TV does matter, dang it. Hey, what's up, y'all? It's your boy Jacob Lattimore,

and you're now watching Roland Martin right now. Stay woke. I. I. State your name. Justin J. Pearson. Do solemnly swear. Do solemnly swear.

As a member of this. As a member of this. The 100th. The 100th. 13th. 13th. Assembly of the state of Tennessee, I will faithfully support the Constitution of this state and of the United States. And I do solemnly affirm that as a member of this General Assembly, I will in all appointments vote without favor, affection, partiality, or prejudice, prejudice and that i and that i

would not will not propose or sit propose or assent to any bill to any bill vote or resolution vote or resolution which shall appear to me which shall appear to me injurious injurious to the people to the people or consent or consent to or consent to any act, to any act, or thing, or thing, whatever, whatever, that shall have, that shall have, a tendency, a tendency, to lessen, to lessen, or bridge, or bridge, their rights, their rights, and privileges, and privileges, as declared, as declared, by the Constitution, by the the Constitution of this state of Tennessee. So help me God. So help me God.

Well, with that, Representative Justin Pierce is back in the Tennessee House one week after Republicans expelled him and Representative Justin Jones. Both of them are now back. They look like fools for their actions. Representative Pearson, this is a video of him walking into the chamber. And trust me, all those white Republicans, they cannot stand the sight of this young brother and his afro. Representative Justin Pearson joins us right now. How are you doing, Doc? I'm doing great today, Roland. We are restoring the need for democracy in Tennessee after significant anti-democratic behavior from

the Republican Party to silence the voices of people who are just advocating for the end of gun violence in our communities. They just they can't even stand the sight of you, Representative Justin Jones. The audio tape was released. We're going to play a little bit later where they were one of them to say he just cannot stand to see y'all on that floor. I mean, look, we knew from day one that what is undergirding this institution,

the foundations of the Tennessee General Assembly, is the issues of racism and white supremacy and patriarchy. And that leads to decisions that have a disproportionate and a harmful impact to communities of color, to black folk and African-American people, and to poor people, including a lot of poor white folk who are in our state. But the decision to expel myself and Representative Jones is made very clear that it didn't have to do with the breaking of House decorum rules. It had to do with their own invisible rules

about who deserves to be in the people's house, whose voices deserve to be heard, and why those voices deserve to be heard. And they do not believe that district 86 in Memphis and Millington and Shelby County deserve to have representation that advocates for the issues like the end of gun violence elevates the issues of poor communities and those who are being marginal they know on the house floor they don't want that to be shown in the halls of our buildings but that's what we represent. Because it's laughable. They literally are trying to suggest what took place was an insurrection in Tennessee. I mean, this is how crazy Republicans are across the country. They're calling what y'all did an insurrection.

Yeah, I mean, you have people who are very willing to abuse their power in order to cling on to their power more and more, willing to try and abridge the First Amendment in order that they can abuse their authority to turn our democracy into a mobocracy where mob rule about who speaks and who doesn't, who gets resources and who doesn't, becomes the decision of the Speaker of the House as a dictator or an autocrat, but not as a leader of, as a part of a republic and the Democratic Republic. We have significant challenges and problems. I mean, they expelled and expelled myself, expelled Representative Jones, calling what we did a peaceful protest against gun violence, against the National Rifle Association, against the Tennessee Firearms Association and insurrection, because they wanted to inflame this discussion. They wanted to scare people into believing that the issue that we were talking

about is frightening, which is just that we deserve to be safe in banks. We deserve to be safe in schools. We deserve to be safe in our neighborhoods. We deserve to be safe in our communities. I've lost my own classmate and friend to gun violence. We have an epidemic of gun violence because of the proliferation of guns in our communities and because of the lack of action from legislators. But unlike January 6th, the thousands of protesters who came to the state capitol, they didn't defecate on the walls and smear it. They didn't break any glass in order to broach through the capitol. They didn't kill anyone, unlike the people on January 6th. And Cameron Sexton, the Speaker of the House, called an insurrection, a peaceful protest by

lawmakers and a peaceful protest engaging in conversation with protesters and constituents. Now, one of the things this also has done is really galvanized a lot of folks in Tennessee. So share with us the what's next, because you spoke yesterday and you made clear that this moment can be transformed into a movement, but that it's going to require folk to do the work. Reverend William Barber talked about 75 percent of the Republicans in the Tennessee legislature running unopposed, which means that Democrats in the state, they must find folks to run against them. You must raise money. The voting totals of African-Americans in Tennessee are abysmal. And so talk about, again, putting together a strong coalition that can try to end the Republican supermajority and also make this a much more democratic legislature in Tennessee.

Yeah, one of the things we have to remember is the prioritization of the issues. When we talk about the end of gun violence, we remember the folks in Nashville Covenant School, the six people who were killed, three of them being nine years old, which served as the catalyst for this conversation that we're having in our state. And it's also galvanized people in our movement, particularly younger people who are teenagers in college who are demanding that we do something and take action now. And so there's a lot of hope in the youth right now who are engaging, who are demanding that lawmakers like myself and older generations realize the status quo is not working. Everything that we have done in the past has gotten us to this present, which is

an epidemic of gun violence in our communities. And so I believe there's something that is burgeoning. There is this movement that is being moved forward in this moment and is serving as a catalyst in the state of Tennessee, but also across our country, to change the laws and make new laws that actually help to protect communities. And there is a real political problem where we have a supermajority Republican legislature that is removing democracy and eroding democracy every single day. And we are all worse off because of it, because what Tennessee does, other states in the South might very well seek to do, which is silencing voices that are

different than their own and seeking to expel the voices of the people, and in some cases, actually expelling duly elected lawmakers, disenfranchising 68,000 people in my district and Representative Jones' district, because they don't like that we did a peaceful protest against gun violence, against the status quo. And as we move forward, it is going to require intense organization and mobilization of people to participate in the democratic process through voting. But as we see, just voting isn't enough. My constituents voted. At 80 years old and 90 years old, they went to the polls

and they cast a ballot in a special election for a primary and a general election in record numbers. And still, the supermajority Republican legislature expelled their vote, expelled their voice. And so it's engaging people in the political process of voting, but it is us staying consistent and holding other leaders accountable, like our County Commission, which reappointed myself in the Metro Council, which reappointed Representative Jones. We have

to have an engaged, civic-minded constituency that stays on these issues and holds leaders accountable, not just during election time, but outside of election time. And as we build that coalition, which has to be, in my opinion, multiracial and multiethnic, has to be multi-socioeconomic in building that solidarity dividend that Heather McGee talks about. In doing so, we will be able to transform even places like Tennessee and states in the South into the places that they can be and that we need for them to be if we're going to have democracy to thrive here. It also means there are going to be some fellow Black politicians

who are going to have to stop playing the goal on the get-along game. Let's be honest, there were a lot of Black politicians in Memphis and other places that did not want you to win. And you and Justin Jones caught some flack from a number of them when y'all got to the statehouse. They're now standing with y'all. So are you now seeing a change even among some of them who felt y'all were just a little too loud? I'm hopeful that the Democratic Party in Tennessee recognizes that it is okay to hold fast to our beliefs and sometimes to sacrifice our positions and our pedigree and our prestige to choose a social location with people who are suffering. And in this case, there's people like Sarah, whose son Noah was five years old. He survived the shooting at the Covenant School,

but she's worried about his safety. It's okay for us to believe that our beliefs are the right ones when we think about people like LaVonda Thorne Henderson, my classmate Larry's mother, who wants to see just gun violence, just gun reform legislation passed. We have to believe that

we are right morally and that what we are advocating for legislatively is right. And I believe in doing so, we'll have a new Democrat, a new Tennessee, a new South that comes out of this tragedy, a tragedy for the losses of lives, but also a tragedy of democracy with the expulsion of duly elected members. And it is going to take Democrats across the country investing in the South, investing in Tennessee to ensure progressive voices continue to grow here and not have folks who are in positions only because of name recognition. We need people in positions because they're willing to speak up, they're willing to speak out, and they're sometimes even willing to get expelled for advocating for issues

such as the end of gun violence. Now, you're dealing with white nationalists there in Tennessee, but you also are dealing with white nationalists who host TV shows on networks that appeal to white nationalists. And so little Tucker Carlson really is just bothered by you. And so he went on the racist diatribe last night. And I just got to get your response to this spoiled little rich kid who had the audacity to question whether you were appropriately got into your college and some other BS. Y'all roll the tape.

These are the trailblazers, the pathfinders, the Daniel Boones of progressive identity politics. One of them is a man called Justin Pearson. Pearson has been in the news recently for helping to facilitate an insurrection at the Tennessee Statehouse. You may have seen him, but you may not know what Justin Pearson was like before his transition. Back in 2016, Justin Pearson was an earnest young student at Bowdoin, the whitest college in the whitest state in America, a place that cost 60 grand a year for no obvious reason, a rich kid's school. Here's what Justin Pearson looked like then as he ran for president of student government. dissenting voices, voices that may be more liberal or more conservative, in order that we can reach a point of sort of the radical middle where conversation and dialogue happens and growth happens.

Join the People's Pearson campaign, and let's chart ourselves to a better future. I want to bring everyone together, said Justin Pearson, in a voice that if you closed your eyes, you could easily imagine coming from a suburban orthodontist. Justin Pearson wasn't white. That's probably how he got into Bowdoin in the first place. But he did a fantastic impression of it.

What a nice young man. Has he considered the apprenticeship program at Citibank? That was the old Justin Pearson before his transition. Here he is now on the floor of the Tennessee Statehouse. All hope seemed to be lost. Representatives were thrown out of the statehouse. Democracy seemed to be at its end. Seemed like the NRA and gun lobbyists might win. But oh, that was good news for us. I don't know how long this Saturday in the state of Tennessee might last, but oh, we have good news, folks. We've got good news that Sunday always comes.

Justin Pearson has a dream that one day on the Red Hills of Georgia, everyone will do exactly what he wants or else face indictment by the Department of Justice. Justin Pearson has changed quite dramatically, as you can see. He transitioned from a crypto white kid into the modern incarnation of Martin Luther King Jr. himself. It's remarkable, really. But he's not alone in that. You see this all the time. Everybody in the Democratic Party wants to be Martin Luther King at this point. He also, we didn't have that, y'all please find that, where at the end he said that you

should be speaking proper English like Malcolm X. Wow, Tucker Carlson is a fan of Malcolm X. I gotta let you comment on the sheer stupidity of what we just heard. Yeah, I mean, you're talking about a white supremacist supporting white supremacy, attacking me running for student government. I didn't win that election, but I hope Bo Mitchell gets credit for recording a fantastic video and something in there that — first, my name is Justin J. Pearson, so he needs to get that correct. But one of the things that's in there is about bringing dissenting voices to the table. The day that we led a peaceful protest, Cameron Sexton of the Republican Party refused to allow anyone else to speak on the House floor as it relates to welcoming a peaceful protest to the people's house, talking about gun violence at all.

And so I believe there are a lot of lessons that they can learn from a younger Justin J. Pearson and also learn from an older Justin. But what we have and what is really important for us to realize and recognize is they are terrified of having the real conversation, which is why were we expelled? What is it that we said that terrified people like that show host people on the Republican right and these extremists? It's that we were asking for sensible gun reform legislation. It's because we were standing up against the National Rifle Association. We were standing up against the Tennessee Firearms Association. And they're terrified that there's a younger generation of people, a multiracial movement, an intergenerational movement that is speaking to the hearts and

to the minds of all people, not just one demographic. And so they want to bait us into some race baiting conversation when the reality is the problem is all of us are suffering from the fear of gun violence. All of us are suffering from the preponderance of gun violence because of the lack of action from a lot of the people who go to Tucker Carlson's show. The reality is my mom is a teacher. My dad is a preacher. I've been articulate, well-spoken, and smart for a very long time. I prayed for that. I was smart then. I still am intelligent and smart now. And I still believe the things that I believed in now as well. The challenge is the radical middle has gotten way more difficult to find when you have right wing, white supremacist, extremist. Well, I also take it that Tucker Carlson has never actually ever had to give

a real speech in his life because those of us who have done so know that there are certain ways that we speak when we are giving speeches in front of crowds. Even Tucker Carlson's beloved Malcolm X spoke differently when he was giving speeches compared to when he was doing television interviews. But I'm sure Tucker has never actually been bothered to listen to Malcolm X because Malcolm despised

people like Tucker Carlson. Representative Pearson, glad to have you. Look, we had y'all before you were in office. Glad to see that you are back. You're welcome on this show anytime. Keep giving them hell, and we're going to keep standing right there with you. Thank you so much, Roland.

I appreciate you. We're going to keep fighting. God bless. Yes, sir. Be well. All right, folks, got to go to break. We come back. All these Republicans were caught on audio, not happy at all, at all, with the Tennessee 3.

We'll play some of that for you. Plus, we're here for the president. The Pimley's List. We'll also talk with the heads of the Florida Democratic Party as they are battling white nationalism in the Sunshine State. As we have lots more to unpack right here on Roland Martin Unfiltered on the Black Star Network.

We'll be right back. I lost my daughter. I didn't know where she was. So I had to figure out how to survive, how to eat, how to live. I don't want to go into the details because she's here, first of all. She may not want me telling that story. But possession of her. The family broke down, fell apart.

I was homeless. I had to figure out I didn't have a manager or an agent or anybody anymore, and I'm the talent. So I gotta figure out how to be the agent. I had to figure out how does business work? Next on The Black Table with me, Greg Cawley. Dr. Kwasi Kanadu, author, scholar, and healer. He is one of the truly representative thinkers and activists of our generation. I had a dream, you know, a particular night. And when I woke up, several ancestors came to me.

And they came to me and said, we really like what you're doing, but you have to do more. His writing provides a deep and unique dive into African history through the eyes of some of the interesting characters who have lived in it, including some in his own family. The multi-talented, always-fastening Dr. Kwesi Kanidu

on the next Black Table here on the Black Star Network. I'm Israel Houghton. Apparently, the other message I did was not fun enough. So this is fun. You are watching... Roland Martin, my man, Unfiltered. Thank you. Să facem o pătrunjelă. Să punem un pic de ulei de ulei. Să punem un pic următoarea mea rețetă! Tennessee Republicans, y'all. Ooh, and not happy with the Tennessee Three. The Tennessee Holler got a hold of this audio recording of the Republican caucus.

Listen to these white nationalists get upset with one of their own because he did not vote along with them. Please forgive me if my comments are not going to the caucus. I think now, more than ever, everyone should recognize that Democrats are not our friends. I listened for the last three days to Democrats, Sam McKenzie, to Chisholm, to Parkinson,

and trash us as racist. I have never had anybody call me a racist. And for the last three days, all I have heard from them is how this is the most racist place, or one of these white supremacists. Good Lord, we have to realize they are not our friends. They can smile and that doesn't mean I can't be polite to them, but they are not our friends. They destroyed the republic and the foundation of who we are or we preserve it.

That is the reality where we are right now. If these last three days have not proven that, we need to find a new job. There's never been a more important time for us to be unified. There are 75 of us. Let them call them of the names they're going to call. We need to move forward. We need to pass the gun bill. We need to pass the pronoun bill, wherever Mark is. Man, we do not slow down because of their tracks. We can't. The only way we move forward with some sort of unity is to call out what happened on the House floor the other night. I feel like we were hung out in the drive-by, a couple of members.

And, Jody, I'm just going to say it here because you signed the letter. You straight up came to me and said you were 100% where I was. And you went on the House floor and you did the opposite. Man, you hung us out in the drive. And I like you personally. This is not personal. And if Brian Terry was here, I'd say the same thing to him. This would have been bad anyway, but good God, we were called, we brought

the racism into it because you didn't stay with us. But I need to know and I don't want to hear why there wasn't a proponent or an attorney. I need to know why you flipped your vote at the last minute. You didn't let me know beforehand. Giving Johnny a 15-minute heads-up doesn't cut it.

And if Brian Terry is here, I want to hear from him too. I have to know. I'm going to kick the staff out. This is a place of safety. I have a life anyway. Not one time. And it pisses me off to suggest that I have. And some of my friends in here suggested that I lied.

And that's bullcrap. I walk into that room to vote, to dispel all three of them, just like all the others. And the letter that I sent to the speaker, it says exactly what it says. Throw the book at it. Everything you've got. It doesn't say it was falsified. It's not in there. But it doesn't matter.

I was ready. I was ready. I walked into that room ready to vote. Before we ever started on Jones, I got a list of questions from Johnny Garrett. Johnny said, if you're on the list that the Speaker has to ask questions. Sat there through Jones, made notes. I went to Johnny and said, Johnny, can I go off script? Johnny said, yeah, go for it. The Speaker never called me. We voted. I hit the green vote because that's what I'm there for.

Then we get into Florida, and immediately the questions start coming up about the resolution. I know what she did. I know what she did broke the rules. And I know that she deserves to be expelled. We gotta do it right. And that wasn't right. While this is going on, Reeder came to my desk and said, hey,

you think we're doing good? I said, no, we haven't established the case. Gino's had two cracks at her and the only thing she's established is that she split it to 12. That's it. It didn't fix any of the problems with the resolution. He didn't establish that she'd been here 10 years or 12 years and knew the book better than the others did. Why were we still in session? Because we're in between bills.

Why did you get gaveled out of order? Because the speaker had to get ordered. It was disorderly conduct and caused chaos in this whole place. That line of questioning is exactly what I told the leader I needed to ask because we don't have it right now. He didn't sit there and say, you need to vote yes anyway. He didn't whip my vote. He walked off.

He didn't go to the speaker and tell the speaker to call on him. So if you're all going to come all at me and single me out and only three of y'all call me this weekend to check on me, I'm going to defend myself. I told the leadership what was going on. I told them I had problems. I had questions. I had a plan to fix it.

When the question got called, I went to John. I said, John, do we have a vote? He said, well, nobody else changes their vote, which would be fine. Why are you not going to vote yes? And I explained it. And I went back to my desk. I sat there and had my internal debate on what to do. Then the bell rang.

I'm concerned that I'm going to vote yes on a resolution that I know is wrong. We need to establish that she did all that other stuff. All we establish is she walked from there to there. As much as I hate to get John Ray in here, he's great for anything. The smartest thing he said the whole season I've been up here. Darren the United States, and the President of the United States have been in the same position for the whole season I've been up here. And the fact of the room says we can't vote on a

resolution that's poorly drafted. And he's right. It's more that we were screwing it up and put my name on something that I knew that was going to be in the annals of history as being wrong. There's no difference than some Democrat that's going to be on a jury for Donald Trump and folks who convicted him even though they know The resolution's got copied and pasted. All they changed was their names. She didn't do the things that were in the resolution. I said, oh, great, Mr. Speaker, have you on the list?

You said, yes. Did not want to wait your death, never agree with you about the case. I just thought you had some other questions that were going to do with the case. I didn't mean to, like, walk off without getting additional information. Nine and a half minutes later in the audio, Reesey, one of the Republicans, and he stands, my dad fought on D-Day. This is a fight for the Republic. And he was

just losing his mind, acting a fool. And my man there, he said, no. And then he said, look, he said, I was 1,000% right in how I voted, and I would do it again. Later, they literally said, you should vote with us even if

you think it's wrong. That shows you how crazy these folks are. All I have to say is, boo-hoo, bitches. They miscalculated. And I absolutely love that it was not the plan. That you had one rogue Asian Republican so-called vote his conscience and not vote the white lady out. So it looks egregiously racist, which is what it was from the beginning, that two black men got voted out. The reality, though, is when you listen to the Republicans,

it's clear that this is a cause to them. The cause, really, they didn't say it is white supremacy and white nationalism. But it's so interesting how convicted they are in what they believe is a cause. Meanwhile, on the other side, what we got is the beg and plead, and people complain about how much we beg and plead and say that we're using scare tactics and that we're just trying to get people to do something and exaggerating. This really is a battle. This really is a war. And unfortunately, our side is never quite as galvanized as the Republican side, except for this time. This was the one time where we did see people because where they miscalculated was it was around the gun controls debate. It was around a mass shooting in which three children were killed and three staff members

were killed. And people said this is absolutely unacceptable. The reality, though, is they lost this battle in terms of keeping Justin Jones and Justin Pearson outside of the assembly, despite their attempts to extort money away from the Memphis and Shelby County commissioners for projects that were earmarked by the governor. But they still saw that they could successfully expel these members on a whim. They still saw, see that they can pass or prevent legislation from being passed on a whim. And that is a bigger issue.

I got to play this part here, Greg, for you to comment on. I mean, listen to this one. This is called Sipiki. He's in the top right-hand corner. This is him talking. You should've went to the speaker and said, I'm changing my vote. And if it was posted at 65, somebody would've taken you behind the diets

and explained to you why this is important. But it would've given us the opportunity to not throw the rest of us under the bus. I've been called a racist, a misogynist, a white supremacist more in the last two months of my life than I have my entire life. By golly, I'm biting my tongue. But I'm telling you, Mr. Speaker, with all due respect, days are rare and thin right now. And I'm going to have to swallow this to see Mr. Jones back up here walking these hollow halls that the greats of Tennessee stood in and watched them disrespect this state

that I chose to move to. And by golly, it's got to stop. I'm sorry for getting angry here. My father was D-Day plus four, and he fought for this... Oh, Greg, he was in his feelings. I got to swallow and see that Jones walk on these hollow halls.

Whew. My father was a World War II veteran. Scott Kapicki, you, sir, can go to hell. My father and three of his brothers drafted out of East Tennessee, not too

far from the district that Representative Johnson represents. Sent off to World War II. My uncle was in the Red Ball Express. Scott Kapicki, you can go to hell. Because my uncles and aunts were raised in East Tennessee under the specter of Jim and Jane Crowbaster.

And your father, you, who've been called racist, or I'm sorry, I shouldn't say that. You, who have been more accurately described in the last few days than you have your entire funky life, need to understand one thing and one thing clearly. Your worldview is not our worldview. This isn't about a flag.

This isn't about a country. This is about power. And this is what y'all are after. You know, it's interesting hearing the hillbilly horde tear at itself in there. Listening to Jody Barrett, a first-term state representative who is a lawyer, got his J.D. from Ole Miss. You know, he, in an interview elsewhere, said that Representative Johnson out of East Tennessee was the only one of the three legislators to show up with an attorney.

And the attorney pointed out flaws in the resolution. And what you hear Jody Barrett in that hillbilly hoard argument they're having, what you hear him saying is, I'm a lawyer. The resolution was flawed. I tried to get the speaker. This is the slick-backed, hillbilly-looking leader of the Republicans who continued to chastise Justin Pearson for violating decorum. He said, I tried to talk to the speaker. They had me on the list to speak, but they didn't give me the chance to speak, because had I been able to speak, I would have cured the flaws in the document that would have allowed me to vote against Johnson as well. But I could not vote against her, because as a lawyer, see, this is what happened. The hillbillies were so

hot to get them out, they didn't even read the damn resolution that they wrote. This was not an ideological fight we just overheard with the hillbilly horde. This was a technical right, and it brings you to the point that you raised, Rowan, and that Recy just raised. These hillbillies are blinded by power. They are

white nationalists. They don't have an agenda. Their agenda is rule or ruin. Their little punk-ass white nationalist friend, Tucker Carlson, who doesn't remember, and Roland, I know you were giggling to yourself when you heard him say that Justin Pearson is the first Negro at Bowdoin, considering that is also the alma mater of John Russworm. But at any rate, this hillbilly, this hillbilly is so hot for power that they don't care about the law. And this is where their thing is going to fall apart.

I agree with you, Rissy. We're pleading. But if I had a chance to ask Representative Pearson a question, I would have asked him as somebody who was born and raised in Nashville, who was fortunate enough to know Avon Williams a little bit, the greatest legislator, black legislator in the history of Tennessee politics. I would have asked Representative Pearson how, with a supermajority, as we organize to stop the supermajority, how do we use those legislative positions, not just to elevate issues, but to get involved in the guts of governing. Yeah. So we can fight these hillbillies.

Because what we just heard, that argument was about, it wasn't about white supremacy. That white boy was like, I'm a lawyer, and I can't vote for this because it is legally flawed. They could have had a lawsuit if they had expelled Johnson. Yep. Well, first of all, he's going to be back, so we'll just answer that question.

Lauren, your thoughts? You know, the words, we are at war for our republic. You could have played that audio 20 years ago, 30 years ago, 40 years ago after the Civil War. I mean, unbelievably telling and embarrassing. Shout out to whoever recorded them and put it out there. OK, because somebody in that room, probably a staffer, but you never know. It could be another member recorded that and put it out there.

But it's not anything we haven't heard a million other times before. Indeed. All right, y'all, that's more we got to break down. In the next hour, I'm going to play that Tucker Carlson piece where he mentioned Malcolm X. Y'all know damn well Malcolm X would have smacked the hell out of Tucker Carlson. But I got to go to some other business.

Coming up next, we'll talk with the President and CEO, Emily's List. She's been over here giggling and laughing for the last 15, 20 minutes because she really saying, this is a really black show. That's really what you're saying. You're like, I ain't never seen a show like this here. She said, this is blackity black.

Yeah, this ain't MSNBC. That's right. Even Joanne Reid can't be this black on MSNBC. I'll be right back. Oh, baby. On a next A Balanced Life with me, Dr. Jackie, it's spring. Hallelujah. But hold on.

It's not all fun and games. With the sun and the warmth comes the need to clean the clutter mentally, physically, emotionally, socially. All of those things need to happen. Getting rid of the clutter and clearing the cobwebs in our head and in our home. That's next on A Balanced Life on Blackstar Network. On the next Get Wealthy with me, Deborah Owens, America's Wealth Coach, have you ever had that million-dollar idea and wondered how you could make it a reality? On the next Get Wealthy, you're going to meet Liska Askalise, the inventress, someone who made her own idea a reality

and now is showing others how they can do it too. Positive, focusing in on the thing that you want to do, writing it down and not speaking to naysayers or anybody about your product until you've taken some steps to at least execute. Least got, a Lease on the next Get Wealthy right here, only on Blackstar Network. Hey, yo, peace world.

What's going on? It's the love king of R&B, Raheem Devon. Hey, I'm Qubit, the maker of the Qubit Shuffle and the Wham Dance. What's going on? This is Tobias Trevelyan. And if you ready, you are listening to and you are watching Roland Martin. Hey, I'm Qubit, the maker of the Qubit Shuffle and the Wham Dance. What's going on? This is Tobias Trevelyan. And if you ready, you are listening to and you are watching

Roland Martin, Unfiltered. We are seeing an increase in Black women all across the country running for political office. Remember I was down in Texas when 18 of them were running for judge in 2018, helping them get elected. We're seeing it happen more, but it still is a difficult task, not just for black women, but for all women. But things are indeed changing. One of the organizations that's really played a huge role in assisting them is Emily's List.

They have been raising a ton of money, supporting candidates, helping them win positions, statewide positions, whether it's city hall, county government, state legislatures, but also Congress as well. And joining us right now is LaFonza Butler. She's the president of Emily's List. Glad to have you here. Thank you so much for having me. All right. So, yeah, because you, I'm trying to look, this is different. This is different. I'm glad to be in it. I'm so glad to be in it. This is absolutely black. That's right. So black on, black art, everything, everything in here was

built by black people. So that's how we do it. We black black tonight. Yeah, yeah. We black black every day. I hear you. Every day. All right, so let's talk about Emily's List. And again, the roadmap has changed significantly when it comes to this country. Obviously, you've had Hillary Clinton run for president. You've got the vice president in there as well. You've got women who are United States senators.

But it is still a difficult task, the gender issue, when it comes to politics. Look, we still have the vice president who is the highest-ranking woman ever to serve in this country's history. But we still have never yet elected a black woman to be governor in not a single state. But we are still breaking glass ceilings, whether it's just women specifically, or it is Latina women or Asian women or black women. But what I see, and I think what you're naming on the show and the conversation tonight is women are going to do it anyway. What they have proven is that Hillary Clinton's run and the vice president's run, the historic

number of women that were running for president in 2020, and the distaste and, frankly, disdain and hatred that was displayed towards women in the last presidency, more women have been coming out to run for office at every level of government. And we are seeing those efforts pay off. We have one of the most diverse congressional classes ever in history where we're talking about women of color who are representing non-majority minority districts, whether it is Lauren Underwood or Andrea Salinas in Washington State. There are more women now that are women of color in particular

representing non-majority, minority districts. And I think that is a prelude to what we have in store. There are some more glass ceilings that we've got to break. There's more work that EMILY's List and organizations like ours have to do. But when you are the largest organization, longest serving organization for 38 years, this has been the mission of EMILY's List. It comes with great responsibility. And in this moment where we are seeing

the degradation of our democracy, the elimination of personal freedoms, all in the name of power and control, this is the moment that organizations like EMILY's List have to be in places that we've never been. And so I'm glad to be here today and to have this conversation about what's happening. We saw what took place in the 2022 midterm elections, the role the Dobbs decision played when it came to turnout, especially when it comes to young voters. We saw that happen.

In addition, we saw what happened when it came to young women in voting as well. We'll be chatting with this with Nikki Freed in a moment, who heads the Democratic Party in Florida. But just within the last couple of hours, the Florida House, they passed a six-week abortion ban. And so even though they've been losing in different places, they still are moving head first. You look at the decision by the Texas judge in Amarillo dealing with the abortion pill. So that clearly is still going to be a fundamental issue. But how do you also make it clear to women voters that that's not the only issue when it comes to the ballot box, with local elections in 23, but also the national election in 24? Look, well, we've gotta make sure that women voters

and all voters understand is that we've gotta complete the whole ballot. That our economic security, our environmental security, our reproductive freedom, our freedom to be able to send our children to school or even our elderly to the grocery store are going to be determined by not just the person who we vote for in that presidential tick, but all the way down to the controller in your city

or the mayor and council members. We've got to make sure that we are completing the ballot. And to get people to complete the ballot, we've got to do the work to give them compelling, authentic candidates who understand their story and are gonna fight for their values. And what they see as important as community leaders, I am of the opinion that voters go to the ballot box with their whole selves, not just one issue that they go and vote on.

We saw the salience and relevance of abortion in Kansas, in Montana, in Kentucky. We see what happens when we elect, when we focus on the entire ballot in states like Michigan. I was just there last week when Governor Whitmer was repealing the 1931 trigger law on abortion. She has the ability to do that because Michigan voters not only voted for Joe Biden and Kamala Harris, they voted for Governor Gretchen Whitmer, they voted for Attorney General Dana Nessel, they voted for Secretary of State Jocelyn Vinson.

They gave Democrats the majority in the state legislature for the first time in more than 40 years. And they repealed the 1931 law. They are restoring labor and workers' rights, uh, in-in the con-in that state. They are making changes relative to-to gun violence and-and gun reform. And for us, I think the lesson really does have to be

every election is important. Right. Uh, Virginia, this, in 2023, is gonna have some of the most consequential elections in this, what we used to call an off year, than any state in the country. I think four or five away from controlling the House, but control the Senate by a narrow margin, but if they take over the House, you actually will have

an African American who will be the House Majority Leader, Don Scott, alpha man. Also, by Texas A&M chapter, pile of brothers. In addition to Louise Lucas on the Senate side. And so that's power. That is power, and more than a third of those seats are up for reelection after redistricting. And in a state where they have never had that many seats up and redistricting has changed the lines and changed the voting, it is not something that we can take for granted just because it

might happen to be right here in the back door of Washington, D.C. One of the things, before I go to my panel, if we can get the questions. So, Lauren, Reesey, and Greg, get ready. I've got to ask you this here because one of the things that I've been, it's been driving me crazy ready, I've got to ask you this here, because one of the things that I've been,

it's been driving me crazy, and I've been very explicit in saying this. It gets on my nerves, these white political consultants who take all of this money folks raise, and they dump it on television, they don't put it on the ground. I see Nikki Fried over there, she's looking, she's blushing her head, absolutely.

So she understands that, and it drives me crazy, because ground. I see Nikki Freed over there. She's bolstering her head, absolutely. So she understands that. And it drives me crazy because in order to win, you need votes. You've got to turn people out. And so it gets to a point where you just keep dumping on television. That's how they're making their money. And so when y'all are supporting candidates, are you making it clear to folks

like, hey, ground game, door-to-door, old school politics still works. Everything is not about just dumping money on television. Yeah, not only does it work, it's fundamental, right? And so, absolutely, our job in helping to recruit and advise these women who are running for office is to help them put together the best campaign possible specific to their district. Now, there may be some district that you can win just by doing some work on TV.

Most of the districts that we're competing for, you've got to go get the votes. You've got to earn the trust. And also, don't run away from who you are. I mean, personally, I'm serious. I think Mandela Bonds will be in the United States Senate today if he told his white consultants, we're going to campaign in Milwaukee.

50,000 fewer votes in Milwaukee, he loses going to campaign in Milwaukee. 50,000 fewer votes in Milwaukee. He loses about 26,000 votes. Bro, you're from Milwaukee. I'm sorry, what the hell? And Sherry Beasley did not have an HBCU campaign. I'm like, what the hell are you doing? North Carolina has more HBCUs than any other state. And then even when the vice president came to town, she wasn't there with the vice president. I'm like, I'm sorry. Damn your white consultants. You are a black woman running in North Carolina. Run as a black woman in North Carolina.

And where was everybody else who was there to support Cal Cunningham but were absent in supporting Sherri Beasley? She loses about 110,000 votes. She loses 110,000 votes. And so, absolutely, that level of authentic engagement.

People see, I went to North Carolina A&M with Sherry Beasley. I did college. A&T with Sherry Beasley. I did college stops, HBU stops. As a graduate of a historically black college, Jackson State University, the I love, and was just there yesterday. I know what those students want to hear, what they need to see, and they need to see somebody engaging with them. And it was a missed opportunity. Look, I, for a year, I asked her, told her campaign, I'll be happy to bring my show back.

We did it in 2018 when she ran for chief justice. They never called. It was the craziest thing. Lauren, your first, your question. Oh, Ms. Butler, how are you? You know, just to jump off of what Roland was just talking about, there's kind of just a sort of consultant industrial complex in these campaigns. I wonder, you know, how much does Emily's List get into that conversation with candidates about exactly where they're spending their money? It's not just the TV thing, but also sort of an addiction to mail. The things that make consultants money is just what people are told to spend money on by consultants. And I just wondered, you know, do you get into that

conversation or is this just, look, we're going to announce who the rising star is in Florida and we're going to pump up the campaign in other ways, but not get into sort of a deep dive discussion about exactly where the money is spent. No, I appreciate the question. We very much are full into a lot of the campaigns, not all of them. I won't say that that is the case for very sophisticated candidates who have been running and are running again with their operations. But a lot of the newcomers that we are supporting, we are very much in at the beginning and at the end of the day, it is that candidate's name

that is on the ballot, not the name of Emily's list. And so we try to give, we work very hard to find consultants for them to interview. We are intentional about the diverse candidate, consultant candidates that we put in front of them, not just in terms of race and ethnicity, but also in terms of gender and experience. And it is and we try we work very hard to give the advice that we think is authentic and genuine that is showing up in the data in those districts. And we encourage those women to do exact to make the decisions that they feel like are going to reach the broadest number of voters. At the end of the day, elections are just a math

test. Who is going to get more votes than the other? And part of the work of EMILY's List has also been to help to develop more of those campaign operatives and consultants so that they have more people to choose from. Frankly, a lot of what has been happening in campaigns across the country, particularly at the federal level, is the recycling of the same old consultants.

And so you keep getting the same outcome because you're getting the same input. And it's the responsibility of organizations like ours to engage and reengage and build that next generation and pipeline of not just candidates, but of consultants and campaign operatives. And that is also part of the work that we take incredibly seriously. Raci? Hey, LaFonza.

Hey, Raci. You know, my question for you is, we saw in 2022, a lot of people didn't expect reproductive rights to be such a galvanizing force. Vice President Kamala Harris obviously barnstormed the country around that. It's 2023. As you guys mentioned, Virginia is a critical state. There are off-year elections. And then going into 2024, reproductive rights is under assault more than ever. How is EMILY's List making sure that this issue is staying at the top of mind for women candidates as well as men candidates? It's a great question. And I think that is our charge for this off year, making sure that,

you know, EMILY's List for the first time, Recy, endorsed in a state Supreme Court race in Wisconsin. Never before had Emily's List taken a position at that level of government. And for me and my leadership and tenure at Emily's List, it really does have to, I think that we have to make sure that we are engaging in the three-dimensional strategies of the federal level, the state level, and the judiciary.

Because we got here, frankly, at the end of the day, if we're honest, and I know this is unfiltered, so being honest, we got here as Democrats because we lost a hell of a lot of state legislative races. We stopped paying attention to those states whose judiciaries are elected positions. And building a strategy. And so now that the court has ruled on Dobbs,

has overturned Roe versus Wade, these are decisions that now are going to be made at the state level. And so we've got to lean more heavily than we ever have into what is happening in the states. And so to ensure that voters in Wisconsin knew who was going to stand with them on the issue of abortion and reproductive freedom, we jumped into a race that we had no prior experience in, and we leaned all the way in

to elect Judge Janet to that state Supreme Court. And so it is staying active, but it is also in races in these off years, encouraging and giving the data to make sure that the candidates know that abortion is not an issue to run from. It indeed saved democracy in 2022. You're welcome. And it is an issue that, you know, DeSantis is going to sign the bill

that gets to his desk on a six-week ban. And it is not, I think, by happenstance that the EMILY's List community saw the leadership of a Fentress Driscoll and named her the rising star because she has been leading on the pushback and hopefully the takedown of Ron DeSantis, not just in Florida, but whenever he decides to tell the country that he actually is running for president, it's going to be a black woman endorsed by Emlis List who is going to be a black woman endorsed by MLSList who is going to be his antagonist every single day.

And so making sure that those candidates are equipped to have the toughest fights and the toughest and the strongest debates is an important part of how we do that. And frankly, the last point that I'll make, Recy, is that they're doing a lot of the work for us. They keep passing dumb bill after dumb bill, rejecting the will of voters all across the country

every single day, whether it's Florida or Wisconsin or Idaho or Oklahoma. And we've got to make sure, as to the point that Roland made to Brother Pearson earlier, nobody should get a free pass. 75 Republicans should not be able to run uncontested in a state like Tennessee or any other place if our democracy is vibrant. And we've got to make sure that we are recruiting

the candidates and supporting them and helping to ensure that that democracy is vibrant and that we get Republicans on the record as to their position about should a woman be able to make decisions about her own body. Greg Carr. Thank you, Roland, and thank you, Sister Butler. I'm going to miss us meeting up in Memphis for Jackson State versus my alma mater, Tennessee State, for a couple of years. I wish Prime hadn't

necessarily backed out of that. It was a good time in Memphis. I'll miss those days. But, you know, given your deep roots in organized labor and thinking about how some of these organizations that claim to be for women's issues, whether it be Moms for Liberty or the Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life Court, these billionaire-funded, top-down kind of formations, how important is it for us to really turn hard back into organized labor? You mentioned earlier, but particularly at the local level, and what are some of your thoughts on the possibilities?

People have talked about the resurgence of organized labor, but on the possibilities of us even strengthening and deepening that kind of reconstructed relationship with organized labor that people like Coretta Scott King and so many others knew was really at the backbone of getting beyond even ourselves as black folk and kind of get some of Look, our problems, the problems that this country faces, the problems and challenges that working families face in communities, rural and urban, are no longer going to be solved in silos, in my opinion. In my opinion, the solutions, the larger challenges of housing and the larger challenges of health care costs

and the larger challenges of climate are costs and the larger challenges of climate are going to require solutions at the intersection. I can't talk about reproductive freedom at EMILY's List without talking about economic freedom and the ability for people to be able to make a living wage and work one job, not three. I can't talk about reproductive freedom if I'm not also standing side by side

with my sisters and brothers who are fighting for housing. When I when the majority of women who are getting an abortion actually already have children and a family, but they can't afford to find a place to live. And so they're making decisions not just about whether or not their family can have another child. They're making decisions about their economic security in the future that they're going to be able to provide. And so in this moment, I think that our national call for democracy and freedom in this country has to be found at the intersection of all of those movements. And I love how you refer to Coretta Scott King. I worked at SCIU when I was in the labor movement and Dr. King always referred to his favorite union as 1199. I was the organizing director at 1199 in Baltimore for part of my career in SCIU and when Coretta Scott King was supporting the workers at Johns Hopkins Hospital to organize,

she was talking to SEIU 1199 workers. I got to know those women. They changed my life in terms of how I see the importance of the intersection of all of these issues. And so I don't think that we need necessarily a quote-unquote resurgence of labor. I think we need to see quote unquote resurgence of labor. I think we need to see all of who people are. They are not just people who go to a factory and go home.

They are people who work in our communities who actually need stop signs, who actually need safe sidewalks, who actually, you know, the health and safety committee in a contract is something very different today than it was 40 years ago. And so as we unite movements and we see that the Republican agenda is fundamentally about power and control, we have got to make sure that we see our see this opportunity to unify our own power and the power, not just of black people, but brown folks and poor white folks and the Asian community that has been ignored in that right wing agenda as well. So immigrants from all countries around the world, we've got to be able to fight, I think, at the intersection for the freedoms that we all deserve

and, frankly, that we know our children need and expect. All right, then. Well, look, glad to have you here. We do it a little bit different here. So certainly welcome any time to come on back. And, again, we get to, like I say, expound and expand a little bit more than some of these other networks. Why? Because, well, I own it. We ain't got to ask nobody. Proud to be here.

Thank you so much. And I'm happy to walk over anytime. Alright, sounds great. In a moment, we'll chat with Nikki Freed. She's the head of the Florida Democratic Party. Law, you know DeSantis is always doing something crazy there. Non-Republicans have passed a six-week abortion ban in the House.

We'll talk about that. And Nikki getting arrested. Yeah, seriously. That's next on Roller Mark Unfiltered on the Black Star Network. Hatred on the streets. A horrific scene. A white nationalist rally that descended into deadly violence. On that soil, you will not replace us.

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

This is the rise of the Proud Boys and the Boogaloo Boys. America, there's going to be more of this. There's all the Proud Boys guys. This country is getting increasingly racist in its behaviors and its attitudes because of the fear of white people. The fear that they're taking our jobs,

they're taking our resources, they're taking our women. This is white fear. 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, this is Shira Lee Ralph.

Hello, everyone, it's Kiara Sheard. Hey, I'm Taj. I'm Coco. And I'm Lili. And we're SWB. What's up. Hello, everyone. It's Kiara Sheard. Hey, I'm Taj. I'm Coco. And I'm Lele. And we're SWB. What's up, y'all? It's Ryan Destiny.

And you're watching Roland Martin Unfiltered. Să facem o pătrunjelă. I'm Dilla University. All right, you know, we're keeping it black today. I'm representing Dillard University, and I had to wear my rock deep, rock deep kicks. So we had rock deep global on the show, and so I had to wear these as well. So glad to be back. All right, y'all, Florida is always Florida. And you know there's always crazy stuff happening there. As I said a little bit earlier today, House there passed a six-week abortion ban. We already had Nikki Freed-Book.

She's, of course, here at the Florida Democratic Party, formerly a state official there. Nikki, glad to have you back. This is one of the most restrictive laws there. Ron DeSantis has made this his mission. He is trying to do everything he can to be as hardcore right wing to set up his presidential run. Nikki, can you hear me? Yep, I can hear you. Like I say, he's doing everything he can to be as hardcore right wing to set up him running for president.

Yeah, on the backs of Floridians. I mean, we are seeing every single day here in our state that he is going more and more extreme to run for president. And unfortunately for him, he's going to lose. He's not going to even get the nomination. He can't take on Trump. His policies are hurting people, are not approved by 75 percent of Floridians, did not want a six-week abortion ban. Yet he is shoving it down our throats. And we know that women are going to die. Disproportionate women of color are going to be harmed by this piece of legislation. And it is one of the most extremes in the nation, not only preventing women access to health care and reproductive health care, but also criminalizing doctors and women who may have access to abortion after the six weeks. And here's a fun little kicker that most people aren't hearing,

is that if you, in fact, want to participate in the rape or incest exemption after the six weeks to 15 weeks, you have to show documentation. Wait, wait, wait. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. You said rape, incest. What the hell documentation is there? Hey, my stepdaddy raped me.

Correct. Correct. Wow. So, right. You have to show paperwork that you went and reported the crime or did something of that nature to show that you, in fact. So not only did you get raped once, but now you're going to get raped a second time by having to go through this emotional trauma once again in order to determinate a pregnancy that was unwanted. You know, one of the things I keep trying to explain to people

is what happens when people don't vote, when they sit on the sidelines. And we saw that in the last election there as well. And so you now are running the party. And that is it. It's an arduous task trying to rebuild the Florida Democratic

Party because so many people have just simply given up. And what I just keep trying to explain to people is that if you sit out elections, do understand somebody is going to win. And Republicans have a super majority there in Florida. There was a super majority in Tennessee, in South Carolina, in North Carolina, in Mississippi, in Alabama. And I say, look, the task has to be you're not going to take over assemblies overnight. But the first thing is, how do you break, go from a super majority down to a majority and then try to compete? That is going to take organizing and mobilizing.

That is correct. And listening to, obviously, you know, you having the president of Emily's list and the conversation that you all were just having, that's exactly it. And that is what Democrats have not been doing well here in Florida. We have been taking it for granted that we were a blue state and then a purple state and, oh, we lost by less than 1 percent. And that just happens to have been that elections problem. But the reality is, is that Democrats have been failing to do the basics, voter registration, voter engagement year round, those boots on the ground. And that's what we have to get back to. And, you know, you're seeing pictures of myself and Leader Book sitting there right before we got arrested. So,

again, peacefully protesting on that sidewalk. And so it's going to take this drumbeat into Democrats across our state that they've got to get back out there. They've got to be talking to the communities. And, you know, hopefully our arrest last week will show that we are going to continue to fight and to stand up for what we believe in, and we are not going to take this laying down. Panel questions. Recy, you're up. Recy, you muted. This ain't your first rodeo. Lord have mercy. My bad. My bad. I was on hold for a long time. See? Uh-huh. We jacked up Erica when she did it. Now it's your turn. I had it coming.

I had it coming. My bad. Hi, Ms. Freed. My question to you is, you're head of the Democratic Party now. One of the things that has been studied and written about is the disinformation campaign that is particularly targeting Black and Latino voters in Florida.

It was very successful during Trump's first run in 2016, and we've seen it escalate. Is that something that under your tenure you plan to devote more resources to in terms of countering the disinformation that's targeting our communities? I'm not even going to call it disinformation. I'm calling it propaganda, flat out propaganda. And so let's be very clear here, because we know what propaganda does and how it leads to hate and how it leads to distrust of your elected officials, and now in this case, an elected at a party. So yes, we haven't been doing this. And I have been screaming from the hilltops that we just kind of let it go

like, oh, it's not going to resignate. It's really not. No one's ever going to believe this, but they do. And so, yes, there is going to be it is a new day when I got elected on February 25th. This is a new day. I fight. I fight back hard. And we are going to be putting resources into our black and brown communities like we haven't been for and making sure that we have a statewide rapid response team, making sure that we are not only just using mainstream media, but more importantly, all of our black owned radio, TV, podcasts, print. print, and to get into those networks ASAP. We cannot let that propaganda stick and then we have to spend so much more time and resources afterwards. Yep. Look, people

have asked me all the time, they're like, man, people come on your show, you interrupt. I'm like, if you lie, I'm going to stop you in your tracks. You don't let folks lie and then go, oh, we'll do a fact check later. You must be done in real tracks. You don't let folks lie and then go, oh, we'll do a fact check later. You must be done in real time. Greg Carr. Thank you, Roland. And thank you, Ms. Freed. I'm going to follow up with what Reesey asked you and talk about the politics. I mean,

clearly, Ron DeSantis is not going to be president of the United States. I mean, he's going to find out when he's not ready for primetime tour starts. But there in Florida, you know, how important is it for the Democratic Party to not try to tack to this imaginary center, but to move farther left? I'm thinking about what happened in Milwaukee, of course, with Janet Protasewicz, and embracing the whole question of right to terminate a pregnancy. In addition to investing in black and brown communities, how important is it to embrace the old school politics and articulate a very clear vision

that isn't an attempt to chase these imaginary voters, white nationalist voters who were never coming to the Democratic Party? And how important is it to kind of gin up the base by appealing to the base? A thousand percent has to be done. And that is, you know, realistically why we lost. I will never give credit to Ron DeSantis by winning 19 points. Democrats lost by 19 points. We didn't energize our base. We gave them no reason to vote. They were not enthusiastic about the candidates. They were not enthusiastic about what we were doing. We weren't talking about the issues that were on their minds. And so it is important that we go back to the basics of everything. That is grassroots. That is door knocking. That is talking about the issues that the people actually want us to talk about and energizing them and getting them excited.

I talked to people in our black communities, in our Hispanic communities, and our youth. I mean, I was even on the University of Florida campus last week asking our college kids, why are we seeing these walkouts everywhere else across the entire country? Why, in fact, when Roe went down, did we see 300,000 women register to vote in Texas? And yet we saw none of that in Florida. And the consistent drumbeat was, you guys gave us no reason to come out and vote. And, of course, I had a primary and it didn't go my way. But we had a candidate who was older and wasn't as exciting for the base to come out and support. So, yes,

going to the base, getting them excited, fighting candidates, emboldening our youth who is making, you know, democracy a top priority for them. We've got to make sure that we're emboldening them, that we're empowering them, and that we are going to our base. But of course our base isn't big enough right now to make sure that we win elections. So we have to go to the base and we have to make sure that we're talking to now almost one third of NPAs make up our state. I know full well, as you all do too, pendulum swings in two directions. And in order for the pendulum to start swinging back you need a force of energy to force it. We, as a Democratic Party, are going to be that energy and that source. And we're going to pull it back,

and we're going to pull it back faster than people had originally anticipated. They have gone so extreme that it's going to be easier to capture the excitement on the base because they are taking away rights. Every single day that the legislature is passing something, every single day that Ron DeSantis opens his mouth, he is taking away rights and not protecting the people of our state. Lauren. Hey, thank you for taking my question. I just wanted to know what your theory was, Ms. Freed, on what happened to the Florida Democratic Party. I mean, in 2018, Andrew Gillum came so close to beating DeSantis.

And then it just seems like the party last year just sort of fell through the ground. I mean, it was just sort of a far fall. And obviously, you're in total rebuild. But what is your explanation for that? You know, obviously, Gillum came so close to winning that race. And then last year, Chris didn't come that close. So, you know, what, Gillum came so close to winning that race. And then last year, Chris didn't come that close. So, you know, what's your theory of the case? Yeah. So, you know, in that same year that Andrew came within 33,000 votes, I won. I won as our commissioner of agriculture, the only statewide elected Democrat that year, and only the second to have been elected in almost 30 years. And so I've

spent a lot of time, unfortunately, with Ron DeSantis and a lot of time in that Florida cabinet. And what I saw firsthand as an elected official is that the party apparatus didn't do anything to support our elected officials who were out there in the fields every single day putting up those fights. I mean, I was the first person in March of 2020 that called Ron DeSantis a dictator. Everybody thought that I had lost my mind. What are you talking about? You just called the governor of your state a dictator. Now it's even more so. He's a fascist dictator. And so what happened in realistically is, one, the Democrats got lazy.

We stopped doing voter engagement. We stopped doing voter registration. And then we stopped engaging completely after 2020. When the pandemic hit our country and our state, the Democrats folded up shop and went home and never came back out. So now that I'm chair and been here for about seven weeks, and I've been able to look under the hood, there was no programming apparatus. There was no grassroots. There was no money spent in minority communities. There was no, and I use this very, very loosely, there was no coordinated campaign. We had three women of color on our statewide ticket between Val Demings at the top of our U.S. Senate,

our attorney general candidate, and our commissioner of agriculture candidate in 2022. I bet nobody knows that. That is on us that we didn't lift up the diversity of our ticket and didn't prompt up the people that were running for office. And so there was a complete meltdown of everything Democrats. No one was talking to each other. House wasn't talking to Senate. Senate wasn't talking to the party. I, as our statewide elected, didn't speak to anybody in the party, was trying to be surrogates across our state.

It was just a complete collapse. I actually called Val on the Tuesday after I took over the party, and I said, Val, I know why we lost by 19 points. There was just nothing here. And you can't win elections if you don't put in the work, you don't do the boots on the ground, you don't do the door knock, you don't go to community organizing events, and you only talk to voters a couple months before an election. That isn't going to work. And if you have only the message of vote for us because we're not them, that is never

going to be a winning combination for Democrats. We always have to inspire our base to come out and vote for us. And that's what we're going to have to be doing going forward. All right. Nikki Freed, we certainly appreciate it. Look forward to having you back on the show. And when you're in D.C., let us know. You can drop by

the studio. I would love that. Thanks. Have a good night, everybody. Thanks so much. Take care. All right, folks, we come back. I know I did it yesterday, but I got to play again that silly-ass video Senator Tim Scott released announcing, because I know Greg and Recy and Lauren been waiting to comment on that. And I got to play something, y'all, of Representative Justin Jones

schooling him on the Bible on the floor in Tennessee. Y'all know what y'all watching, the blackest show in America. Rolling Martin unfiltered right here on Black Star Network. Support us in what we do. Download the app, Apple phone, Android phone, Apple TV, Android TV, Roku, Amazon Fire TV, Xbox One, Samsung Smart TV. And why should you support us with your dollars? Because ain't nobody else rocking an HBCU shirt wearing some black-owned tennis shoes.

Y'all know how we do it. Check your money orders. PO Box 57196, Washington, D.C., 20037--0-3-7-0-1-9-6. Cash App, DollarSide, RM Unfiltered. PayPal, R. Martin Unfiltered. Venmo is RM Unfiltered. Zale, Roland at RolandSMartin.com. Roland at

RolandMartinUnfiltered.com. I'll be right back. We feel the hidden impacts of climate change that land harder in black, brown, and native communities. Not many people talk about it because they clearly don't know our lives. But with President Biden's landmark infrastructure and climate plans, our issues are finally seen.

Removing lead pipes means we know our water is safe. Cutting carbon pollution helps our kids breathe easier. 1.5 million new jobs means stable work in communities. The impact we need. Right now. I lost my daughter. I didn't know where she was. So I had to figure out how to survive,

how to eat, how to live. I don't want to go into the details because she's here, first of all. She may not want me telling that story. But possession of her. the family broke down. I was homeless. I had to figure out, I didn't have a manager or an agent or anybody anymore, and I'm the talent.

So I got to figure out how to be the agent. I had to figure out how does business work. Hey, I'm Qubit, the maker of the Qubit Shuffle and the Wham Dance. What's going on? This is Tobias Trevelyan. And if you're ready, you are listening to and you are watching Roland Martin, Unfiltered. All right. If you're a white man trying to quote the Bible,

don't do that with nobody black who been raised in the church. Because it ain't going to go well for you. This was today in Tennessee. I saw the clip. I had to play it. I ain't got no reason to play it, except I can. Hit play. Representative Reagan, do you believe that it is racist to prohibit concepts on systemic racism in the history of America?

Chairman Reagan. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. racist to prohibit concepts on systemic racism in the history of America? Chairman Reagan. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Once again, my belief is in God. I settle other things with facts and data. The fact of the matter is, sir, this bill is not racist. It is not unconstitutional. Representative Jones. We keep bringing up God, but God says in Isaiah 10, woe to those who pass unjust laws that hurt the poor and rob them of their rights. And so stop using God to justify your bigotry.

Stop using God to justify hatred and racism. Stop using God to put a— Representative Jones, you are out of order. That's called smacking that ass. I don't know why they keep trying that, brother. I don't know why they keep trying that brother. I don't understand why they keep trying him. He gonna embarrass him. They sitting there like, dang!

He back. I love it, love it, love it. And the crazy part about it is most people would not even have a clue who he is, but for the fact that they did this completely racist, fascist stunt to get him out of the assembly, and

now they can't even expel him again, so he can really let them have it over and over and over again. They can't do nothing but be salty and cry like a bitch like how they were on that tape, and you know it burns them up inside every time he talks. I am 100% here for it.

Oh, absolutely. Absolutely. Okay, now I told y'all last hour we didn't play it earlier, but when I heard silly-ass white nationalist, spoiled-ass rich kid, no talent, used to be a bow tie wearing punk-ass Tucker Carlson

sit here and actually try to talk about Malcolm X in reference to Justin J. Pearson, I said, you have got to be out your white nationalist mind. Play that bullshit. Justice. Justin Pearson has changed quite dramatically, as you can see. He transitioned from a crypto white kid into the modern incarnation of Martin Luther King Jr. himself. I THINK THAT'S A GREAT POINT. HE'S NOT ALONE IN THAT. HE'S NOT ALONE IN THAT. HE'S NOT ALONE IN THAT.

HE'S NOT ALONE IN THAT. HE'S NOT ALONE IN THAT. HE'S NOT ALONE IN THAT. HE'S NOT ALONE IN THAT. HE'S NOT ALONE IN THAT. HE'S NOT ALONE IN THAT. EVERYBODY IN THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY WANTS TO BE MARTIN LUTHER

KING AT THIS POINT. EVEN JOE BIDEN WAS ENJOYING THE the many benefits of life as a college student in a racially segregated state. Now, he's MLK. They all are. But you've got to ask yourself, as long as we're mimicking civil rights leaders who died almost 60 years ago, why not some variety? You never see politicians transition to say Malcolm X. Why is that? Maybe because Malcolm X didn't talk like a sharecropper. He spoke dignified, standard English. He wasn't running a shakedown racket to fleece guilty white liberals. Malcolm X had self-respect, so he despised guilty white liberals, and he said so. He believed in self-improvement. He knew who the enemy was. So maybe it's not surprising that Malcolm X is not a popular transition choice in 2023.

Al Sharpton, by contrast, is increasingly popular, especially now that he's skinny and has a paying job. Sandy Cortez of Westchester recently pulled off a double transition. Not only did she change sexes, Al Sharpton identifies as a man. All right, see, right here, y'all, if there was a segment of this show right now, it would be called this motherfucker. Go ahead, Greg. No, man. You know, it's funny how these things converge.

Malcolm X, born in Omaha, Nebraska. I'm sure you remember Ernie Chambers, who for many years was the only non-white member of the Senate, State Senate in Oklahoma. Nebraska. I'm sorry. Thank you. Nebraska. Thank you. Oh, yes, that's sorry. Thank you. Nebraska. Thank you.

Oh, yes, that's right. Thank you. Thank you, Roland. Looking at young brother Jones, you know, and as you say, Reese, nobody would have known, well, very few people, political wonks would have known, Laura Victoria Burt would have known, but the general public wouldn't even have known who those two young brothers were. Now what they are guaranteed from now on is bully pulpits.

And so when this white boy is drugged through the mud, this 74-year-old white man from North Carolina who was attempting to say he represents God, he will now be embarrassed. And, you know, whether they ever pass a bill or not in the legislature, like Ernie Chambers did for many years in Nebraska, you've now got two young people who will set fire to everybody in the legislature. Now, contrast that with Tucker Carlson, as you said, a real excellent example, excellent example of affirmative action, because affirmative action means whiteness. That's what that means. As you said, no talent, Tucker Carlson. The irony is, I guess if he were in the legislature and one of them were to question him and say,

sir, so are you calling Martin Luther King, someone who didn't speak the King's English, by contrasting him with Malcolm X, who, while he was in prison, listened to Paul Robeson records incessantly? No, Paul Robeson was such a big hero to Malcolm X that at Lorne, uh, that, um, that at Lorraine Hansberry's funeral, when Malcolm came to the funeral

and saw Paul Robeson sitting there, he was so intimidated by the fact Robeson was there. I think it was Ozzie David he asked, do you mind introducing me to Paul? So my point is that we speak in all kind of ways. Right, right. And Tucker Carlson think he's being cute. What you really just did is say that Martin Luther King

speaks like Pigmeat Markle. Right, he literally, he was saying MLK spoke like a sharecropper. Oh, we knew exactly what the shade there was. And let's just be real clear, Tucker. You talk about how Malcolm X spoke. Your ass don't agree with Malcolm X on nothing. So don't be trying to sit here and now all of a sudden, who speaks the proper

language? Here's what we do know. The guy you replaced, he spoke the king's English when he was leaving them freaky-ass voicemails and sexually harassing and sexually assaulting people. We know your former boss who put you

in your place, Roger L, spoke the king's language when he was sexually harassing so many damn women. Oh, when Eric Bolling, he spoke the king's language at Fox News. He was sending penis pics to various people there. We know Ed Henry spoke

the king's language, and he has got fired for sexually harassing folks there as well. Hell, we could go, hell, Kimberly Guilford, who, well, I don't know what the hell she speak, but she speak MAGA Trump, her ass got fired for also for sexual harassment. So Tucker, shut your punk ass up trying to sit here and question how Justin talks or how he changed your wimp ass, used to wear bullshit ass bow ties, and now you try to look all dignified wearing a tie.

Man, come on with that nonsense, because we also know you're the founder of the Daily Caller, where you've had racist folks writing for you as well. Reese, go ahead if you want to comment on this little silly fool. Fuck Tarleton, that's all I got to say. Okay. Well, there we go.

Lauren, you got anything to say? It's insecurity. I mean, it's just racism and insecurity. There's really not much to say. Dr. Carl summed it up. Well, we're going to do this here. I'm going to go to a break, and I just had to play this again. I don't even know what to here. I'm going to go to a break and I just had to play this again. I don't

even know what to say. I don't know how you could be a black man and announce you running for president and you open your campaign at Fort Sumter. When we come back, Reesey, Greg, and Lauren,

they get their crack at deconstructing Senator Tim Scott, his presidential exploratory campaign opening. Ooh, y'all definitely want to tune in for this one. Back in a moment. When you talk about blackness and what happens in black culture, we're about covering these things that matter to us, speaking to our issues and concerns. This is a genuine people-powered movement.

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

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

Venmo is RM Unfiltered. Zelle is Roland at RolandSMartin.com. Next on The Black Table with me great call. Doctor Quincy can not do often scholar and he is one of the truly representative thinkers and activists of our generation had a dream, you know, take the night and when I woke up several instances came to me and they came to me and said really like what you're doing but you have to do more.

His writing provides a deep and unique dive into African history through the eyes of some of the interesting characters who have lived in it, including some in his own family. The multi-talented, always fascinating Dr. Kwesi Kanadu on the next Black Table here on the Black Star Network. Hello, everyone. It's Kiara Sheard. Hey, I'm Taj.

I'm Coco. And I'm Lili. And we're SWB. What's up, y'all? It's Ryan Destiny. And you're watching Roland Martin Unfiltered. The law yesterday, y'all, I talked about this little video here. I still, 24 hours later,

I still know what the hell we watched. We gonna deconstruct this, y'all, so be prepared for me to start and stop and start and stop. I'm gonna try not to sit here and set a blowtorch to that damn video player. But go ahead and hit play. Y'all, this is Senator Tim Scott,

Republican from South Carolina. Literally, this is how this black man announced he is seeking the office of the presidency of the United States. Not the Confederate States, because we know that's what South Carolina wanted, but the United States. Y'all go ahead. In 1861, in this harbor, the first shots of the Civil War were fired. And our country faced the defining moment. Would we truly... Lauren, his ass couldn't even say what the defining moment was.

He just said the defining moment. Right. You know what? I don't know what to say about Tim Scott anymore. I think at the end of the day, it feels like some sort of odd defense mechanism. I feel like he's grown up sort of accommodating in his mind

what he's had to do to please and placate white people around him. And there's just some sort of weird personality adjustment that goes on with that. I think we see it with Clarence Thomas as well. You realize that the greater society does not like the group that you're in and has not liked the group that you were in for 100 years. And you're making an adjustment for that. I mean, that's the best I can come up with for Tim Scott.

You know, obviously I'm not a psychiatrist, but I just feel like the only time I've actually seen him really make a political reaction that sort of made sense in terms of who he is as a black man in America is when Walter Scott was killed on video. Yeah. Scott, no relation, of course, the man that was shot in the back six times by a cop. And then he got all outraged with Lindsey Graham. That was about it. But this video, this presentation is really, you're talking effectively to white racists in this. You're messaging...

Hold on, hold on, hold on. We ain't done with it. Hold on. I'm going to play a little bit more of it, y'all. Go ahead, play it. We be one nation under God, indivisible with liberty and justice for all. America's soul was put to the test, and we prevailed.

Today, our country is once again being tested. Once again, our divisions run deep, and the threat to our future is real. Joe Biden and the radical left have chosen a culture of grievance over greatness. Stop. Stop. That's it.

The Democrats, Recy, have chosen a culture of grievance when it's Tim Scott's party that defends Confederate monuments and they whine all day about how Concert is getting attacked, Concert is getting canceled, when they literally are the

party of January 6th? Right. You know, Republicans is always on opposite day. You know, always April Fool's Day because nothing they say ever makes any damn sense. This is the party of banning books, of banning drag

shows, of banning everything but AR-15s, they would have your ass be a slave, Tim Scott. So I'm very confused by this little Confederacy Union thing going on because your party, even though the names have switched, are on the side of the Confederacy.

Your buddy down there in Mississippi, Tay Reeves, calls this Confederate Heritage Month. So it's really, really, really, really weird that he is talking about indivisible justice for all, soul of the country, when the soul that you are trying to represent is white nationalism and white supremacy, boo. All right, we ain't done.

Press play. This is promoting victimhood instead of personal responsibility. And they're indoctrinating our children to believe we live in an evil country. And all too often, when they get called out for their failures, they weaponize race to divide us, to hold on to their power. When I fought back against their liberal agenda, they called me a prop, a token, because I disrupt their narrative.

I threaten their control. They know the truth of my life disproves their lies. What the hell do you threaten? I mean, you're the junior senator of South Carolina. All you do is follow Lindsey Graham around like a little puppet, and you're the one who killed the George Floyd justice act. Hello. Press play.

See, I was raised by a single mother in poverty. The spoons in our apartment were plastic, not silver, but we had faith. We put in the work and we had an unwavering belief that we too could live the American dream.

Tim, how many broke people in South Carolina? How much money did your state get from the federal government? Tell us about the condition of schools in South Carolina. Please tell us about the conditions of African-Americans in South Carolina. Please tell us how, under Republican rule, black people are so wonderfully great in South Carolina. I'll wait. Press play. I know America is a land of opportunity, not a land of oppression. I know it because I've lived it. That's why it pains my soul to see the Biden liberals attacking every rung of the ladder that helped me climb.

If the radical left gets their way, millions more families will be trapped in failing schools, crime-ridden neighborhoods, and crushing inflation. He just said, Greg, that the liberals attack every rung of the ladder that made me successful. Which party wants to cut food stamps? He said his mama was in poverty, okay? Which party wants to cut food stamps? Which party actually cut unemployment insurance? And which Senator Lindsey Graham, who was the first state that actually cut unemployment insurance

during COVID? South Carolina. Which state had a slower economic recovery after COVID than the other states because they cut the money? South Carolina. And so, Greg, see, again, I need people listening when he said liberals want to cut every

rung of the ladder that led me to be successful. Bruh, that's your party. Play it out, and then, Greg, I want you to respond. Go. On my watch. This is personal to me. I will never back down in defense of the conservative values that make America exceptional.

And that's why I'm announcing my exploratory committee for president of the United States. I will defend the Judeo-Christian foundation our nation is built on and protect our religious liberty. I will stand up to communist China and restore opportunities for hardworking Americans to thrive and prosper. I will fight to give every parent a choice in education

so their children have a better chance in life. I will defend our borders and our neighborhood streets, and I will protect our most fundamental right, the right to life itself. I bear witness that America can do for anyone what she has done for me, but we must rise up to the challenges of our time. This is a fight we must win.

And that will take faith. Faith in God, faith in each other, and faith in America. God bless our United States of America, and God bless you. The reason why this is one of the most brain-dead ads I've ever run is that the Confederates never lost Fort Sumter. Fort Sumter literally was the beginning of the Civil War because the white folks, South Carolina, wanted to keep people like Tim Scott in slavery. And you literally are opening your campaign at what should be the land of domestic terrorists.

Let me say it again to everybody who's listening. Let me say it to anybody who's listening. If you go over to Germany, do you know how they treat the camps where Jews were killed? They don't treat them as celebratory

places. You will never see, you will never see a candidate say, hmm, let me open my campaign standing in one of the places where the ovens are. But Greg, Tim Scott literally decided to open his at Fort Sumter, of all places, where they wanted to defend and keep slavery. Absolutely, Roland. Well, we saw Tim Mission accomplish, Scott. He opened his audition for the vice presidency slot

on the white nationalist ticket with that beautiful video. He seems to have forgotten that that flag that he was so proud of, you won't catch me wearing an American flag, but the one that's over for something now was actually raised there April the 14th, 1863, when Martin Delaney,

Major Delaney, the highest-ranking Black military officer in the United States, came aboard the Planter. Those of y'all who know your history, that would be the ship that Robert Smalls and his family got away from the Confederates, and he ultimately became the captain of the planter, came back to D.C. as a congressman.

But Robert Smalls, Martin Delany on the planter sailed to Fort Sumter in the company of the son of Denmark, Veazey. That's right, Veazey, who had led that rebellion, who had been one of the founders of Mother Emanuel AME Church, in fact, the same church where the white nationalist Dylann Roof slaughtered black folk, including Clementa Pinckney, who got a statue of Denmark Vesey. They sailed across that bay. And Robert Smalls, Martin Delaney, Denmark Vesey's son, and thousands of black people stood there as they put that American flag up. Now, of course, there's another story that's told by the white nationalists and the Lindsey Grahams, the Mitch McConnells, you know, the ones who employed Tim Scott.

And in the words of that great erudite African-American philosopher, James Mush, who seems to be the one that Tim Scott is channeling, when asked if he could tell when somebody was lying, James Mush, also known as Mush Mouth, voiced by Bill Cosby on Bill Cosby and the Cosby kids, said, nope, I believe everybody. Tim Scott. In fact, channeling his inner and some might say outer, Mush Mouth, has placed himself in a very difficult position.

Laura, I agree with you. It's quite pathetic and even a little bit sad to see a black man break himself of his own volition. But when you do it at Fort Sumter, brother, you are defecating on the blood ancestors who fought to get that island back, not for the United States, but for their liberation. You, sir, are a traitor to African people

and to our common humanity. Good luck becoming the vice president for whichever person you're gonna be a personal valet from if you indeed get on the ticket. Lord, you open it for something. Lord have mercy. All right, y'all. That's it for us.

I got to bounce. This has certainly been quite an interesting show. Yesterday, I was rocking No Care A&T. Today I'm rocking Dillard. And again, rocking the Rock Deep Global kicks. And so, y'all know how we keep it real black. Reesey, Lauren, Greg, thanks so much for joining us on the panel. Don't forget to, folks, support us in what we do.

Look, what we're building here is something nobody else is doing. Let me be real clear. Nobody else is doing what we're doing. Okay? Not Essence, not blavity, not black enterprise, not the grill, not any people. They ain't doing what we're doing. We truly are building a 24 hour, seven day a week black news and information network that is black owned, that is independent, that we run and control. Your resources make that possible. And so first, download our app. We got a million plus people who subscribe to our YouTube channel. We should have a million

people who are downloading the Black Star Network app. Apple phone, Android phone, Apple TV, Android TV, Roku, Amazon Fire TV, Xbox One, Samsung Smart TV. Why is the app important? We have not been on Facebook all week because they put a block on our page complaining about some video. And so this is when we have our own app, then no one can block us. YouTube can't block us. Facebook can't block us. Instagram can't block us because we own and control it. That's why we got to have our own. And that's possible with your resources. I told y'all the app is $160,000 a year. That's just straight up. That's how much it costs. And so see your check and money orders. PO Box 57196, Washington, D.C. 20037-0196. Cash App, dollar sign RM Unfiltered.

PayPal is RMartin Unfiltered. Venmo is RM Unfiltered. Zelle is Roland at RolandSMartin.com. Roland at RolandMartinUnfiltered.com. And be sure to get a copy of my book, White Fear, How the Brownie of America is Making White Folks Lose Their Minds, available at bookstores everywhere. Bosh it up on Amazon, Target. You can also download your copy on Audible. Folks, I will see y'all tomorrow.

Holla! Folks, Black Star Network is here. Oh, no punching! I'm real revolutionary right now. Black crowd. Support this man, Black Media. He makes sure that our stories are told. Thank you for being the voice of Black America, Roller.

I love y'all. All momentum we have now, we have to keep this going. The video looks phenomenal. See, there's a difference between Black Star Network and Black-owned media and something like CNN. You can't be Black-owned media and be scape. It's time to be smart. Bring your eyeballs home. You dig?

Pull up a chair. Take your seat. The Black Tape. With me, Dr. Greg Carr, here on the Black Star Network. Every week, we'll take a deeper dive into the world we're living in. Join the conversation only on the Black Star Network. Every week, we'll take a deeper dive into the world we're living in. Join the conversation only on the Black Star Network. Hi, I'm Dr. Jackie Hood-Martin, and I have a question for you. Ever feel as if your life is teetering and the weight and pressure of the world is consistently on your shoulders? Well, let me tell you, living a balanced life isn't easy.

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