#RolandMartinUnfiltered - GA Maps Violate Voting Rights Act, N.C. Maps Favor GOP, Miss. Gov.'s Race,Honoring Richard Roundtree

Episode Date: October 27, 2023

10.26.2023 #RolandMartinUnfiltered: GA Maps Violate Voting Rights Act, N.C. Maps Favor GOP, Miss. Gov.'s Race,Honoring Richard Roundtree North Carolina's newly approved Congressional map brings significant gains for the Republican Party, favoring Republicans in 10 of the state's 14 seats in the U.S. House.  We'll talk to a state democratic legislator about how this will affect black and brown representations.  A federal judge in Georgia ruled the state's congressional and legislative maps discriminate against Black voters, violating the Voting Rights Act.  The state must draw new maps before next year's congressional elections.  Cliff Albright will be here to discuss this victory.  Mississippi's gubernatorial election is heating up.  The state's democratic party chair will be here to explain how important it is for Mississippi voters to get to the polls.  And we continue our tribute to Richard Roundtree, who passed away Tuesday from pancreatic cancer. Download the Black Star Network app at http://www.blackstarnetwork.com! We're on iOS, AppleTV, Android, AndroidTV, Roku, FireTV, XBox and SamsungTV. The #BlackStarNetwork is a news reporting platform covered under Copyright Disclaimer Under Section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976, allowance is made for "fair use" for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This is an iHeart Podcast. to, yeah, banana pudding. If it's happening in business, our new podcast is on it. I'm Max Chastin. And I'm Stacey Vanek-Smith. So listen to Everybody's Business on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. I know a lot of cops. They get asked all the time, have you ever had to shoot your gun?

Sometimes the answer is yes. But there's a company dedicated to a future where the answer will always be no. This is Absolute Season 1, Taser Incorporated. I get right back there and it's bad. Listen to Absolute Season 1, Taser Incorporated on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. I'm Clayton English. I'm Greg Glott. And this is Season 2 of the War on Drugs podcast.

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

It makes it real. Listen to new episodes of the War on Drugs podcast season two on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Today is Thursday, October 26, 2023. Coming up on Roller Mark Unfiltered, streaming live on the Black Star Network. North Carolina's newly approved congressional maps by Republicans bring significant gains for the GOP, demolishing Democrats.

We'll break down that particular map. In Georgia, a federal judge has struck down their congressional and legislative maps, saying it violates section two of the voting rights act and discriminates against black voters we'll talk to cliff albright co-founder of black voters matter about that in louisiana guess what the judges there have said that attorney the attorney general jeff landry they cannot move forward on getting rid of maps there that also discriminated against black folks and allowed the election of African-Americans to the Supreme Court. What is it about the Republicans in all of these areas?

They hate black people. Mississippi, big gubernatorial race. It is heating up, being declared a toss-up. We'll talk with the head of the State Democratic Party about this matchup. Also, we continue paying tribute to Richard Roundtree. Today, we'll be hearing from Michael T. Williamson, Leon, also Ben Vereen, Richard Brooks, who was on Being Mary Jane. Folks, lots to talk about. It's time to bring the funk on Rollerball Unfiltered on the Blackstone Network.

Let's go. He's got whatever the piss he's on it. Whatever it is, he's got the scoop, the fact, the fine. And when it breaks, he's right on time. And it's 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 Yeah, yeah It's Roland Martin Yeah, yeah Rolling with Roland now Yeah, yeah He's funky, he's fresh, he's real

The best you know, he's fresh, he's real, the best you know He's rolling, Martel Martel When the Republicans get power, they use it. North Carolina Republicans, who have been doing all they can to decimate black folks for the last couple of decades approve new congressional and legislative maps that give them a huge advantage. Right now, there are seven Democrats, seven Republicans elected to the Congress from North Carolina. They want to change those maps to 10 Republicans, three Democrats, and a toss-up seat. They also are protecting the white woman who led the Democratic Party to join the

Republicans, giving them a supermajority, allowing them to override the veto of Democratic Governor Roy Cooper. Folks, we've been telling you this is what happens. And now remember, Republicans now control the state Supreme Court 5 to 2, which means that conservative Supreme Court likely will allow this map to go through, whereas the previous Democratic Supreme Court likely Glad to have you here on the show. And again, you know, we've been focusing on this for years, how dastardly and evil Republicans in North Carolina have been. They have been doing everything to change the lines, to gerrymander, political gerrymander, racial gerrymander, target black folks when it comes to voter ID, when it comes to cutting early voting days. And this is their latest effort. Yeah, Martin, here we are again, Roland. I mean, like, the maps are horrible.

They have taken and carved up districts. They've carved people out of their districts, literally drew around one of the senators' homes and drew her out. They've carved up the district to take the longest serving senator, Dan Blue, out of his district. have split the Wilmington predominantly black precincts and put them into a Republican-leaning district. And it's all a part of their plan. And there's another piece that hasn't hit yet, but is coming, and they're coming after the college students.

So we anticipate seeing that bill start to get some movement in a couple of weeks. And I say this all the time, elections have consequences. 2018, Sherri Beasley was Chief Justice of the North Carolina State Supreme Court. She lost by 400 votes. Had she won that race, Democrats would have controlled the state Supreme Court six to one. She lost. It went four to three. They then lost seats in 2022. Now Republicans control the Supreme Court by five to two. And so and I say this and I'm not I'm not worried about in terms of white voters, anybody else. What I'm saying about two black voters, black voters in North Carolina, if we turn out in our numbers, we stop Republicans from doing this type of evil.

Absolutely. You know, North Carolina is known as a purple district for a reason, and that is because we are fastly becoming Democratic-leaning. So it is becoming increasingly more difficult for them to create supermajorities because we are Democratic-leaning. And so we have the votes in the state to stop this. But whether or not people are motivated to get out and vote is a different situation. But extremely important that we find a way to motivate and push people to the polls. And don't forget, we have the voter ID laws now. And so we have to make sure that people understand that now they have to go to the polls with an ID to be able to vote. So here's what we're now faced with. The Supreme Court has already said they have no say so on political gerrymandering.

And so now, so the only thing that could happen there in North Carolina, if various groups try to see if these maps, like we've seen today in Georgia, we've seen rulings in Louisiana, Alabama, Florida, Georgia as well. If the courts rule that this violates Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act, that's the only thing really left the racial gerrymandering issue. But again, this state

Supreme Court, look, when they took over in January, they took up three cases that were just voted upon and overturned those. They have no problem, again, changing decisions when they begin to have power. Absolutely not. That was the first thing that they did. And they forewarned us that if they were able to get the supermajority in both chambers,

and I must remind people who maybe haven't been following this as closely, the super majority in the Senate is by two votes and the super majority in the House is one vote. And so when we started this legislative session, we knew we had a slim margin, but we did have the ability to stop the vetoes until we had one of the defectors flip to the Republican side. So when we talk about the supermajority, we're not talking about some insurmountable number of seats to be able to stop this. One seat in the House, two seats in the Senate. And let's just be clear so people understand in that all of this, all of these things that we're now seeing right now in North Carolina

in terms of these maps, in terms of overriding the governors because of this woman. This woman right here, Trish Cotham, she flipped. And then with Republicans, how they protected her, they have basically flipped her district some 25 points to guarantee she doesn't, because she was in a very blue district.

They changed the maps to help her retain her seat. Yeah, if you look at the district that they drew for her, it is still Democratic-leaning, but it is definitely more competitive. And it looks like a snake. So they literally carved out a special district to ensure that she possibly could win her seat again. Well, again, this is why what I keep saying

to everybody who's watching and listening, we cannot sit at home. There are consequences. What I talk about, connecting the dots. If you don't vote in state representative races, then who controls the House? If you don't vote in state Senate races, who controls the state Senate? But also, black voters, and look, those are legislative districts, but in statewide races, there is no excuse for black voters not turning

out. And so if we turn out in numbers, we can control the state Supreme Court, we can control statewide offices, and that's really what's critically important. You know, so so the next elections, what are the next elections in North Carolina? Are they in 2024? Yes, we run every two years. So we filed in December. We adjourned yesterday until the end of November, but we have not completely closed out session. So that is why I'm thinking that there are some additional bills that they want to try to get passed before we actually. Are there any state Supreme Court races on the ballot in 2024? Yeah, there'll be two because we have Anita Earls, who is currently challenging and suing because they're trying to remove her from her seat. And we also have Mike Morgan, who has announced he will be running for governor. And so their seats, I think, will be up for 2024. So what you have, but right now Republicans have five seats, Democrats have two.

So basically in 2024, you're trying to protect those two Democratic seats. That's correct. Got it. All right, then. Representative Baker, we appreciate it. We'll keep watching to see what happens in your state. And again, I hope black folks there are paying attention because

them sitting at home not voting does not help the situation. And can I just say this too real quick, Roland, is that we fought for the seat that is currently being held by Kathy Manning and that seat was as a result of them not, us as black people not having fair representation.

And so they had to create that district. Of course she won it because again, we were not strategic in putting forth the best candidate. So we canceled ourself out, but they've completely demolished that seat, along with the seat for Jeff Jackson is gone. He announced today that he will not be running for re-election. He's going to run for attorney general. And there was one other seat, too, that they just completely carved up their district and did away with the district.

But Kathy Manning's district is really important because that was a seat that should have been held by an African-American. And that is that that district runs primarily through Greensboro. All right, then. All right. Well, we'll keep our eyes on the Tar Heel State. We appreciate it. Thanks a lot. Thank you. All right, folks, I'll come back. I'll break this down with my panel. We'll also talk about what's happening in Mississippi, in Louisiana, in Georgia. I keep telling y'all, okay, and I'm going to keep saying it until I'm blue in the face,

until I'm red in the face, until I'm any other color but the color that I am. Black folks, those of us who sit at home and do not vote, this is why this is happening. We literally have untapped, unused power. That's how we can stop them is when we use the right to vote. You're watching Roller Martin Unfiltered on the Blackstar 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 Blackstar Network for Balanced Life with Dr. Jackie. We'll laugh together, cry together, pull ourselves together, and cheer each other on. So join me

for new shows each Tuesday on Blackstar Network, a balanced life with Dr. Jackie. I'm Faraiji Muhammad, live from L.A., and this is The Culture. The Culture is a two-way conversation, you and me. We talk about the stories, politics, the good, the bad, and the downright ugly. So join our community every day at 3 p.m. Eastern and let your voice be heard. Hey, we're all in this together.

So let's talk about it and see what kind of trouble we can get into. It's the culture. Weekdays at 3. A lot of times the big economic forces we hear about on the news show up in our lives in small ways. Three or four days a week, I would buy two cups of banana pudding. But the price has gone up. so now I only buy one. The demand curve in action. And that's just one of the things we'll be covering on Everybody's Business from Bloomberg Businessweek.

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

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

From Lava for Good and the team that brought you Bone Valley comes a story about what happened when a multi-billion dollar company dedicated itself to one visionary mission. This is Absolute Season 1, Taser Incorporated. I get right back there and it's bad. It's really, really, really bad. Listen to new episodes of Absolute Season 1, Taser Incorporated, on the iHeartRadio app,

Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Binge episodes 1, 2, and 3 on May 21st and episodes 4, 5, and 6 on June 4th. Ad-free at Lava for Good Plus on Apple Podcasts. I'm Clayton English. I'm Greg Glod. And this is Season 2 of the War on Drugs podcast.

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

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

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

And to hear episodes one week early and ad free with exclusive content, subscribe to Lava for Good Plus on Apple Podcasts. Only on the Black Star Network. 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. Your money makes this possible. Checks and money orders go to Peel Box 57196, Washington, D.C., 20037-0196. The Cash app is Dollar Sign RM Unfiltered.

PayPal is R. Martin Unfiltered. Venmo is RM Unfiltered. Zelle is Roland at RolandSMartin.com. What's up, everybody? It's your girl Latasha from the A. And you're watching Roland Martin Unfiltered. My pound out the gray card, Department of Afro-American Studies, Howard University out of D.C. Joe Richardson, civil rights attorney out of Los Angeles.

Randy Bryant, DEI disruptor out of Washington, D.C. Joe, real simple. We talk about what was happening here. We better understand that this is an all out assault on black people. And I have some black people who say, well, Roland, what about everybody else? I don't give a shit about everybody else. I'm talking about us. The numbers don't lie. If we actually vote at anywhere from 65 to 75 percent of our eligible numbers we sweep races they're not even close right and that's one of the issues that folks have to be cognizant of the whole idea that if we actually show up in numbers see the suggestion is that in the south in these

certain places we actually don't have the numbers to play. And that's absolutely a lie. That's false. And so people have to stop accepting the suggestion that their vote doesn't count. And here's the second thing. There's this irony in all these Southern states that these demographic changes are going in our direction. They would make North Carolina more Democratic. They would make North Carolina more democratic. They would make a lot of these states and a lot of these areas more democratic. However, the drawing of the maps takes you into the other direction as if that's where the demographic is going. But no, actually the demographic, we're getting darker. We're getting blacker. We're

getting more Latino. We're getting more minority, which by definition, particularly with black folks, is going to be more democratic. So how is it that we're getting more democratic demographically, but we're getting more Republican numerically in terms of who gets elected? So we really have to pay attention to that. And we have to go and vote with urgency. My concern is that four years ago, you had the urgency because you couldn't go to leave, go to the house, go to eat, go to do those things. A lot of times when we get caught up

in our day-to-day thing and we're struggling, maybe we don't underscore the urgency, but actually that's what creates the urgency. And here's the whole deal though. I don't want to hear bitching after the fact, Randy. I don't. Bottom line is this here. When you don't show up and then they get power, people are like,

man, it's a damn shame what they did. Yes, because we didn't show up. Right. We didn't show up. And we need to be angry now. If we are paying attention, what they're doing is changing the rules. And you know what democracy is now. If we are paying attention, what they're doing is changing the rules. And, you know, what democracy is, is that we are supposed to pick our leaders. Right. But what they're doing with this gerrymandering is picking the voters. They're deciding who will win the

election by changing who votes where so they can actually choose the voters. And we should be outraged by it. I mean, we should say and recognize that they are trying to take advantage of us, right, by changing the rules, and then should be so fired up that we absolutely show up at the polls. Greg? No, I agree. I agree with Randy. I agree with Joe.

I'm actually encouraged by this. I'm always encouraged when white nationalists press the pedal on their funky settler state, because they're going to break it, Roland. I have to be very clear about this. We saw that this mega-clown that they just gave the gavel to in the House of Representatives. This is actually—we should encourage this type of extremism, because ultimately there is no democracy in this country. There's never been democracy in this country. The only time we've made progress in this country is when we have faced an opponent that is so clear cut that we have to punch them in the face. These hillbillies in North Carolina are going to ruin themselves.

And, you know, maybe we will stop talking about Dwight Howard and Sexy Red and, the younger among us and the disaffected among us and understand this has a couple of things. This, this whole move to 10 to 10 to 10 to 14 representatives in, in Congress and getting rid of these districts. You know, when you are living in a state, and this is why the guy running for governor of Mississippi is so important when white people can't get healthcare, when white people have no benefits, when white people can't get health care, when white people have no benefits,

when white people can't find a job, they're going to look for someone to blame. When they point at black people, we'd be like, no, those are your hillbilly friends. You see, join us in this struggle or get run over. I think we have to have bright lines drawn. We've gotten a little too comfortable in this country. And so I encourage the hillbillies, I encourage the white masses to continue to put the pedal to the metal, because when you break it this time, we're going to roll over you like the ocean. I have to believe that that's the next step in this. They have to make it so bad that we will finally act together. Well, again,

what people have to understand, there are real consequences to those who are in power. Speaking of that, let's go to Georgia, where today a federal judge ruled that Georgia must redraw some of its congressional and state legislative districts. U.S. District Court Judge Steve Jones ruled that voting map violated the Voting Rights Act Section 2 and was racially discriminatory against minority voters in the state. In his more than 500 page opinion, Judge Jones gave the state until December 8th to draw new maps before he would appoint someone else to do it. Sounds very similar to Louisiana. Sounds similar to Alabama and Florida. We could keep going. Cliff Albright, co-founder of Black Voters Matter, joins me now. Cliff, you sent me a text when the ruling came down. Huge victory for you guys and

your lawyers. And again, what people need to understand, this is the Republican Party despising black people. This is not just Georgia. This is state after state after state where they where the Republican Party is deliberately trying to reduce black power, minority power. Exactly. I mean, they're trying to reduce our power, which impacts our communities. But, you know, it's not just our communities because their attack on on our communities, on our districts in these states, and you named several of them, right? Alabama, Louisiana, just talking about North Carolina, here in Georgia, Florida. Arguably, not even arguably, factually, control of Congress right now hinged on the fact that you had all these districts impacted by white supremacy and voter suppression and racial gerrymandering. There's no doubt about it. We'd be dealing with a different Congress right now. We wouldn't have been sitting watching this farce that they've been doing for the past couple of weeks where they don't even have a Speaker of

the House. We'd be able to take action on a range of issues, including issues that concern our community. So what's happening with this racial gerrymandering impacts us most harshly, but it really impacts the entire country. And they know that, right? That's part of what the purpose is. They are using us and our communities and our districts as pawns in order to maintain white supremacy and their control of power. And this is what, again, by them controlling the legislature, having super majorities, and so by the Democrats not even controlling either house, they can do what they want.

If you have split governance, let's say Republicans control the Senate and the governor's mansion, but Democrats control the House, then all of a sudden you don't have that. So, for instance, in Virginia right now, Dems control the state Senate, Republicans control the House, they have the governor's mansion. If black folks turn out and others turn out and flip three seats in Virginia in a few weeks, then Virginia gets a black speaker of the House. And now all of a sudden, Republicans can't simply run the table. That's exactly right. You know, we focus a lot on the

congressional redistricting, right, and the congressional representation. But as you just pointed out, what happens in these states, in these state legislatures is absolutely critical. I mean, at the end of the day, it's those state legislators that are, you know, the governor's mansion in both houses, both chambers of the legislature, or whether you have this mixed government that you were talking about, that means something, right? It means something for being able to block the worst of the legislation. You know, and even in situations where maybe they control both of the chambers of the legislature, but you're able to capture the governor's mansion. That's the battle that's going on right now in Mississippi, where they have super majorities in the legislature. But if you at least have the governor's mansion, then that governor could actually block the worst things that they're trying to do and maybe even slide through some good stuff. And so we've got to recognize that what

happens at all of these levels of governance, right, federal, state and local, and within those levels of governance, what happens at the different branches of government, the executive as well as the legislature and the courts, because keep in mind, as y'all were just talking about, it's the control of the North Carolina Supreme Court, which switched recently, that has even enabled them to go back and undo previous decisions and open up the door for this racial gerrymandering. So we have got to be committed and focused on and raising awareness about all three of the branches, about all levels of government, federal on down to municipal. That's the call that we have, right?

That's the responsibility that we carry. We can't just pick and choose, like, I only care about top of the ticket. I only care about this. We've got to be engaged up and down the ballot, all the levels of governance, all three branches, in order to be able to control our political destinies and control all these issues that impact our jobs, our income, our health care, our education, and all of that. care, our education and all that. It depends on all of these levels of government. And again, fighting the courts is one thing. But then folks then turning around and showing up is another. We're going to talk about that. We would discuss Mississippi up next.

But here's a perfect example. Go to my iPad, Anthony. And so this here is the breakdown of voters in North Carolina. OK. And so this is broken down, folks. So you see, I'm going to go. I'm going to go. Let me see. Let me do this here. All right. I'm going to go to. So as you see here, there's a perfect example. So these are all the counties. So on the far right, you see what the totals are. So you see 112,000 in the alphabetical order. Then you see 23,000 there, black voters. And you go to the next, let's say you go to the next large one, 16,081 total people, black people make up 6,000 people in that county. Let's see here. If you go down to another 152,000, you see right at the top,

black people are 30,000 alone there. Then if you go down here to, let's see, this one county, there's 210,000 African-Americans, 84,000 in that particular county. You go to this one right here, where we're 232,000 total people in that county. Black people are 72,000 people in that county. The reason I'm saying that, and we're going to discuss this in Mississippi next, because Cliff, we're talking about turnout. Too many organizations and entities are just trying to be so broad. I keep saying, no, you got to go down so granular down to the precinct and literally say, OK, in this precinct, there are 700 eligible voters. They're on the rolls in the last election. Eighty turned out. So that means if you are an organization, we need to be knocking on those doors to go after the 680 people who did not vote.

And so then you also have the racial data. And so when I think back to Mississippi in 2000, when Cindy Hyde-Smith ran in the special election against Mike Espy, he lost by 65,000 votes. There are more than 100,000 black people who didn't even vote in the election. So Espy actually could have won. So when you're talking about these poor white folks, we're talking about black folks as well. We have to understand that when we sit at home, when we check out of elections, we literally are letting those who are oppressing us be in control. That's right. And we've got to, like you said, we got to know that data. We got to get that granular. And I was looking at the data just the other night, and there's enough, you know, going back to that race you just mentioned in 2018 with ESPY, the difference, no, I'm sorry, 2019, which was their

governor's race, the difference between that governor's race was about 50,000 votes, right? I was looking at some numbers just in like maybe 29 nine or thirty counties where we do a lot of work. We got local partners not even counting Jackson in Hines County. Right. Not even counting Jackson. There's enough black folks. If we increase turnout, you know, just by like like 10 percent, if we get to the SB levels. Right. And maybe a little bit more. But if we get to the SB levels just right, and maybe a little bit more, but if we get to the SB levels, just in those 29 predominantly rural counties, that can be the difference, right? It's right here. It's right here. These are the results in 2019. Tate Reeves won with 449,746 votes. Jim Hood got 402,000. That's literally a difference of 47,700 votes. That's right. That's exactly right. And so what we're looking at is forgetting what it is that white folks are going to do, right?

And I happen to believe that there's going to be a slightly larger percentage of them that actually vote for things like health care and entering the grocery tax and some other stuff, but forgetting what they did just in our communities, right, just in our counties. And again, not even just Jackson. Everybody in the Obama going to be talking about Jackson. Everybody in the Obama going to be talking about Hines County. And for good reason, right? It's the capital. It's important. There's a lot of people there. But what we fail to recognize is there's about, out of the 770, thousand registered black voters in Mississippi. The vast majority of those are outside of Hines County.

When you ignore the Delta, it's like you're ignoring a city in the county. The signs of Jackson and Hines. That's the power that's in those counties collectively. But when you only look at them as, oh, well, there's only ten thousand. There's only nine thousand that it causes you to lose sight of the big picture. We've got to engage in those times. We've got to door knock. We've got to phone call. We've got to text.

We can't just be about, just like in Georgia, you can't win Georgia just by focusing on Atlanta. Atlanta's important. But if you do that, that is a losing strategy. Absolutely. And so, folks, the win today, you know, is going to get appealed in Georgia. But again, the battles are happening in the courts. We've got to back up the wins in the courts with the wins at the ballot box. Cliff, hold tight one second. We come back.

We're going to talk with the head of the Mississippi Democratic Party about what's happening there. Again, a huge gubernatorial race that could have major ramifications for black Mississippians. You're watching Rolling Mark Unfiltered, the Black Star Network. Support us in what we do, folks. Ain't nobody else doing what we do. I'm gonna tell you right now, okay? Out of all the black-owned media people out there, nobody out there is doing what we do on a daily basis. Not Essence, not Black Enterprise, not Ebony, not Blavity, not the Griot. You can run all the names down. Nobody's giving you five hours of original content every single day that we're doing, covering live events, news conferences, what's happening on Capitol Hill. Nobody is doing

it. We are locked and loaded on African-Americans on this show. And look, ain't just black people who watch, but we understand who our target audience is. And so we want you to support us in what we do. Your dollars are crucial. I'm out here kicking folks behind, trying to get advertising dollars because they're not trying to spend money with us, political folks or the general market. And so when you give to this show, you are helping to pay for staff and cameras and lighting and travel and all the things that make this network possible. And so the senior checking money orders, the P.O. Box 57196, Washington, D.C. 20037-0196. Cash app, dollar sign, RM Unfiltered. PayPal, RM Martin Unfiltered. Venmo is RM Unfiltered. Zale, Roland at RolandSMartin.com.

Roland at RolandMartinUnfiltered.com. We'll be right back. Don't you think it's time to get wealthy? I'm Deborah Owens, America's Wealth Coach. And my new show on the Black Star Network focuses on the things your financial advisor or bank... A lot of times the big economic forces we hear about on the news show up in our lives in small ways. Three or four days a week, I would buy two cups of banana pudding. But the price has gone up, so now I only buy one.

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

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

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

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

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

It makes it real. It really does. It makes it real. Listen to new episodes of the War on Drugs podcast season two on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. And to hear episodes one week early and ad-free with exclusive content,

subscribe to Lava for Good Plus on Apple Podcasts. isn't telling you. So watch Get Wealthy on the Blackstar Network. Pull up a chair, take your seat. The Black Tape with me, Dr. Greg Carr, here on the Blackstar 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. Hatred on the streets, a horrific scene, a white nationalist rally that descended into deadly violence.

You will not replace us. 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. Here's all the Proud Boys, guys. This country is getting increasingly racist in its behaviors and its attitudes because of the fear of white people. The fear that they're taking our jobs, they're taking our resources, they're taking our women. This is white people. I have a couple.

Hello, I'm Paula J. Parker. Trudy Proud on The Proud Family. Louder and Prouder on Disney+. And you're watching Roland Martin Unfiltered. As I said, folks, major race in Mississippi involving MAGA Republican Tate Reeves, who is running against Democrat Brandon Presley. Reeves is the incumbent. Presley is a conservative Democrat who believes in pro-life and says he has what it takes to become the first candidate

to unseat an incumbent governor in more than 20 years. Chuck Taylor is Mississippi's Democratic Party chair. He joins us now from Jackson. Glad to have you on the show. Folks are watching this race. A lot of money is pouring in as well. And polls show it is a very tight race. And I think Larry Savato's group have called this a toss up. Yes. In fact, the polls are showing us that a dead even heat. First of all, thank you for allowing me to come on the show and talk about these issues.

You know, in Mississippi, we we are at critical mass here. We have a wonderful candidate, Brandon Martin, who actually is dollar for dollar just about at a match. So money is not necessarily the biggest issue. We have to make sure that we are letting folks know what's at stake. And the number one subject is Medicaid expansion. Mr. Martin, as you know, we are probably the sickest and the poorest state in the union. And these failed policies, these murder policies that Governor Reeves is steadily pushing down our throats has to come to an end. And our answer is, Brandon Preston. I have long said that, and I said this to President Obama, I've said it to others, that we were talking about the Affordable Care Act.

I said they need to go to the brokest, sickest, whitest, reddest places in the country and say, this is for you. The reality is Mississippi is one of the brokest, sickest, whitest, reddest places. And the reality is a lot of white folks there who are poor are dying because of the lack of Medicaid expansion. Mississippi, that Dobbs case that overturned Roe v. Wade came out of Mississippi. And I said I saw a report in the aftermath that Mississippi expected some 5000 children to be born in that state post the Dobbs decision. And they don't have the infrastructure to even birth and handle those 5,000 children. And so when you look at where Tate Reeves is,

who has spent more time being focused on trying to hook up Brett Favre as opposed to trying to help people who need help, I would hope not only African-Americans, but white folks in Mississippi realize it's time for a change and it ain't Tate Reeves. Yeah, this is an unfavorable governor. He's probably behind more than 70 percent with his own Republican Party as far as likability. But we know that the Republicans oftentimes vote in blue box no matter what candidate they have first.

But let's talk about this Medicaid expansion. Mississippi is losing over $1 billion a year because of not accepting Obamacare. Let's just call it what it is, Medicaid expansion. attention. This is the rejection of Obamacare, which is actually killing poor whites, poor blacks and also, too, with a $7.25 minimum wage, which actually somewhere around 50 percent of our population are considered poor, low wealth. This can benefit the vast majority of Mississippians overnight by lifting us out of poverty and also making us healthier. But this governor is out of touch. He's out of touch. And in fact, he's only championing policies that only the 1% can understand. So we have made an assertive effort to make sure that

we're attacking his policies and attacking the man himself. Our slogan here is too little, too tight. And that's gonna change November 7th. One of the things that's also big there is the grocery tax. Mississippi has the highest in the country there. Folks want to see that cut. And what's interesting is that all of a sudden, so Presley has been talking about that for quite some time, and Medicaid expansion. Now all of a sudden, Tate Reeves, watching those poll numbers, has now gotten religion. Go to my iPad there. And it says that cutting the grocery tax in Mississippi is bigger than cutting the income tax. So explain to people who don't understand

grocery tax in Mississippi. Well, sure. Actually, this is probably one of the highest things you could you can actually afford in Mississippi, one of the poorest states. He vows to slash the grocery tax. And listen, I'm also a state legislator. I cover District 38, which covers Tippecalp County, Klan Lounge, North Mississippi. And I can tell you from my district on a very personal level that a lot of folks, when they look in their refrigerator, is pretty bare these days. It's over 7 percent for grocery tax, and we're afraid of that it's actually climbing higher and higher. But as far as the state income tax, economists all over our state said that we would be better off if we did nothing, be better off. But approving this state income tax is going to leave us more vulnerable and deplete the surplus of money that actually came from the federal government,

our Democratic federal government, that our Republicans are saying that they are fiscally responsible for handling. That is one of the biggest farce you can ever hear. It was a gift given by Democrats that is being poorly used and misspent and squandered by a Republican candidate, Tate Reeves. I'm going to bring Cliff Albright back in here, also my panel, Joe, Randy and Greg. And one of the things that Cliff was just doing that, getting to those small towns, especially where a lot of black people are, to let them know that their vote can make a difference, and in the blackest state in the union, you could actually see a change and break the Republican lockhole on the governor's mansion? Sure. Well, you know, it's very simple. Grassroots is what Democrats have to do.

We have to return back to the county level, dealing with our county chairs and also engage, do civic engagements. So folks understand that we have not been in control the last 15, 20 years. We have not as Democrats, but we are but we are making sure that we're willing to organize around the policies that we believe in, such as minimum wage increases, such as health care, and make it personal, personal to everyone out there, to our very poor and low-wealth individuals who could be our largest voting bloc. We've got to engage them, and we need to do it now. We have to do it now. I've been on the job for less than about 100 days now. And in that period of time, that's exactly where we started, not from the top now, from the bottom up. And we're pressing every day

to make sure that we're reaching people in the furthest parts of the state to understand something so they can understand that their votes does count and it does matter, especially in this election. Cliff? Yeah, no, I agree completely, right? To reach those folks, you need a couple of things. You need a winning issue and a winning message that you can communicate, right? And so talking about the realities of this grocery tax, which everybody feels when they go shopping, talking about the reality of Medicaid expansion, especially in rural areas. You know, we've seen, and I'm sure Representative Taylor can talk about the exact number of hospitals that have already closed, particularly in rural areas like the Delta, the number of hospitals in Mississippi that are on the brink.

Right. A study was done showing that Mississippi's whole health care system is on the brink of falling apart and more closings. Talking about that in some real ways, talking to people about the fact that, you know, if you call for an ambulance, you might have to drive for an hour to actually get to, you know, the hospital that you're trying to get to because there have been all these closings. So having those conversations, you've got to have the message, right? But you've also got to, even if it's a good message, the message ain't good if you don't actually talk to people, right? And so you've got to be able to take that message to people, whether that's at the door, on the phones, by text, whatever you got to do, with the blackest bus in America driving through. We just had our bus in the Delta just this past

weekend. In fact, the bus got chased out of Cleveland, Mississippi. That's another story. We'll tell you about that in a minute. The police came up to us at a high school football game and told them they had to move the bus, even though we were legally parked. But that's a whole other, that's another story. We'll do that on another show. But the point is that you got to have those conversations with people. So you got to have the issue, you got to have the message, but you also got to have the resources to be

able to get out there and have the conversations with people. And our experience shows us that when we do that, right, when we make people feel like that we got power, when we make people feel like that this is something that we got the power to actually get done. And when we throw a little joy and culture and humor into that, right, you know, like Representative was just talking about, you know, too little, too Tate. We got billboards out there talking about later Tater, right? Talking about Tater Tot Reeves and later Tater because he got to go.

You got to be able to bring these are very serious issues, but you got to bring some joy, some culture and even humor to make this voting process, right? To make it be not a burden that people feel, but make it be like an activity, an event that everybody wants to be down with because the issues are important, but also because the spirit and the culture is there. It makes people want to be a part of it and then makes them want to do their part to spread the word, to go tell five people. That's been our experience in terms of how we can reach out to those areas that so often don't get touched. Randy, got a question for Mr. Taylor? What I'm wondering is, is how are you reaching out to like leaders that, the hidden leaders? You know, all of us, when we have small neighborhoods, especially in rural areas, sometimes it can be like the little small store owner

on the corner or the person who sells little Icy's during the summer. And those are the people that we need to touch and not just the traditional people, just the preachers that we go out to. Has there been outreach to those hidden leaders that we have in small towns Has there been outreach to those hidden leaders that we have in small towns? Wonderful question. And actually, we're working on that as we speak. Like I said,

you know, only been in the spot for about 100 days now, which is no excuse. But here's the real situation. Not only are we trying to grow the party to attract folks back to the party, but we're also trying to make sure that local leaders understand that they are the key components to our success. If I could just expound very quickly on the subject matter of the hospital closings. We're in a situation right now that St. Dominic's right here in Jackson, Mississippi had just let go 150 folks. North Mississippi Medical in Tupelo let go of 100 folks. KPCS is actually shutting down as we speak, and Greenwood La Flora has been up for lease twice in two years. So a bee sting, a bee sting in the state of Mississippi can end your life because your next closest hospital may

be over 45 minutes away. So if you have asthma, you get stung by a bee, which results in anaphylactic shock, you can actually end your life. But to make this subject matter personal, we have the highest rate of diabetes, some of the highest rates of breast cancer, the highest rates of infant mortality, especially among black folks, and also maternal mortality when it comes to our black women. So black folks out there, I need you to listen up very clearly that your health is at risk if you're living in the state of Mississippi under this current government. Greg, your question. Thank you, Roland. And thank you, Brother Taylor. You know, I was funny. I was watching candidate Presley campaign at Alcorn's homecoming in Jackson State and saw the clip that was posted on social media when the DJ interrupted and said, you come back here next year, right?

He said, yeah, I'll be I'll be here. He's well known in northern Mississippi. And I guess when I'm reading central Mississippi and southern Mississippi may be a bit of a challenge in a state that's 40 percent black. How you know, how important has his campaign strategy been to not try to chase some of these perhaps these invisible white voters, but to really lean hard into really engaging the black community. I found his interaction terribly effective, but I know it from a thousand miles away. So how important has this campaign strategy been in this work? Brother, this is probably the missing piece. We've had other candidates run in the past, and they've been looking for this elusive unicorn, that's what I call it, that 15 percent crossover. And I call them unicorns because you just can't really find them when the rubber meets the road sometimes. Now, we do know that you're going to have Republicans in this race vote for Brandon

president. And we're proud of that. But the real issue is simply this. You know, once we talk about black voters, we know that he put in over $2.5 million in black turnout. That's unprecedented, especially with the type of divisive policies that we've had in the state. So $2.5 million going to turn out the black vote. He's just about been on, if I'm not mistaken, on every HBCU campus driving out the vote and letting young black folks know where they stand in his government and with his policies. But it is critical that you tap into that 40 percent black vote. Ladies and gentlemen, I purport to you simply this. Without black folks, without our base turning out, all of these Democratic campaigns are in the toilet. So we have to engage black folks at every level and make sure that not only they're engaged

as far as just from a voting standpoint, but also from a participatory standpoint, where we know that our messaging, that our words carry weight. And we believe that we have a candidate that actually is listening and showing that through action and that he'll continue to do that once elected. Before I go to Joe, I've got to get your thoughts on Tate Reeves trashing the endorsement of Brandon Presley by Morgan Freeman by calling him an out-of-touch Hollywood liberal when he lives in Mississippi. Yeah, Leland, Mississippi. Morgan Freeman is one of our greatest success stories to come out of the state of Mississippi. Morgan Freeman is one of our greatest success stories to come out of the state of

Mississippi. An icon, an actor that everyone knows. He's timeless. He's ageless. But because he endorsed Tate Reeves, all of a sudden now he is vilified. And that is the same type of Trump politics and the same type of politics that our Republicans in the state of Mississippi has used for a very long time. Anytime that they support us, they make sure that they crucify them. But nowhere in the world could anyone look at his record and say that Tate Brees has been supportive of minorities, period. And I think that that actually resonates very well with black folks because we know that sincerely that through his policies. And listen, Mr. Martin, you've covered House Bill 1020.

You've covered his divisive politics. You've covered the Jackson water crisis and things of that nature. And you understand very clearly that this governor, sitting governor, does not care. He's very concerned about, and listen, if I can just say this very quickly, you know, we have 122 members of the House of Representatives, but actually people think we have 123, that 123rd being ALEC. And we know that ALEC is writing more policies here in the state of Mississippi than any Republican legislator. Democrats write their policies because they get them from local folks in their own communities,

and these policies a lot of times don't even see the light of day. So we have to change from a legislative perspective and also from a leadership perspective of what Mississippians can do and will do with the right leadership. Joe, go right ahead. Brother Taylor, how empowering is it and is the message really getting out to those in Mississippi? A lot of times the big economic forces we hear about on the news show up in our lives in small ways. Three or four days a week, I would buy two cups of banana pudding. But the price has gone up. So now I only buy one. The demand curve in action. And that's just one of the things we'll be

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

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

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

And this is Season 2 of the War on Drugs podcast. We are back. In a big way. In a very big way. Real people, real perspectives. This is kind of star-studded a little bit, man. We got Ricky Williams, NFL player, Heisman Trophy winner. It's just a compassionate choice to allow players all reasonable means to care for themselves.

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

fighter Liz Caramouch. What we're doing now isn't working and we need to change things. Stories matter and it brings a face to them. It makes it real. It really does. It makes it real. Listen to new episodes of the War on Drugs podcast season two on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

And to hear episodes one week early and ad-free with exclusive content, subscribe to Lava for Good Plus on Apple Podcasts. They can really take ownership and really get in the driver's seat as it pertains to what happened with this Dobbs decision. To the country, but through and to them. How well is that resonating with people? And how can those of us that are outside of the state be helpful? Well, the Dobbs decision, to be quite frank, I don't know if it polls. You know, everyone looks at national polls.

It's not polling very, very high. But what we do know that's polled very high is the rural hospital closings, expansion of Medicaid, fulling funding funding public education. And public education is a real huge issue here because we know that it's only been done twice in the entire history of public education inside of Mississippi. And in fact, there are talks of moving the goalposts that justify what's been underfunded for all of these years

to move the goalposts to make sure that these numbers support that the money that's been givenfunded for all of these years, to move the golden post to make sure that these numbers support that the money that's been given to it is justified. This is not how you lead. This is not how you govern. And again, we do know that the meat and potato issues, Democrats own those issues. They only start catching our Republican counterparts' ears once their polling numbers go so askew that they have to start listening. But again, too little, too late. And this is a freshly posted this year when he visited the Alcorn State Homecoming, committed to funding our HBCU so folks can get the best education right here in Mississippi. And as governor, I'll be back at our HBCUs every year. That's a promise.

Do your recollection, when's the last time Tate Reeves visited HBCUs in Mississippi? Well, I can't I don't know of any particular time that he's visited. I know that when Deion Sanders was here and Jackson State was in every news cycle in the country that he made attempts. And I think that the faculty said, listen, this may not be the party you need to come to. So I'm sure that that's probably juxtaposed to whatever Tate Reeves wanted to hear. But we know that he ain't welcome at the tailgate, brother. All right, then, Jack Taylor, I certainly appreciate it, man. Thanks a lot. And look, it's going to be a dogfight. And again, I hope our folks really turn out because that's

what it boils down to, turnout. One more thing I'd like to say very quickly. Listen, if folks out there who want to help out Mississippi and want to chip in, please go to MississippiDemocrats.org and donate. Listen, we need all the support we can. Even in the last few days since the election, we can make a hell of a push if we do it right now.

Alright then. We appreciate it. Thanks a lot. Cliff Albright, we appreciate you. Thanks a lot as well. Alright. Alright, folks. We come back more on Roland Martin Unfiltered on the Black Star Network. Lots to break down. You know, they got a hardcore right-wing MAGA, soft-spoken, oh, genteel guy who's Speaker of the House.

Damn that. We look at exactly what the record says. We'll talk about that next as well you're watching roll about on the filter on the black star network back in a moment i'm d barnes and next on the frequency we talk to award-winning screenwriter and director chanel about her film you think you've grown Grown, The Adultification of Young Black Girls. This is a conversation that all women can relate to. This woman was like, oh my God, you know,

I went through this when I was a kid. She wore something, it was a maxi dress, but the way it fit on her body, this female teacher thought that she looked too grown and spun her around in front of a male teacher and said, do you think she looks grown, right? Oh my God. So that's next time on

The Frequency on the Black Star Network. I'm Faraji Muhammad, live from L.A., and this is The Culture. The Culture is a two-way conversation, you and me. We talk about the stories, politics, the good, the bad, and the downright ugly. So join our

community every day at 3 p.m. Eastern and let your voice be heard. Hey, we're all in this together, so let's talk about it and see what kind of trouble we can get into. It's The Culture, weekdays at 3, only on the Blackstar Network. Hi, I'm Dr. Jackie Hood-Martin, and I have a question for you. Ever feel as if your life is teetering and the weight and pressure of the world is consistently on your shoulders? Well, let me tell you, living a balanced life isn't easy.

Join me each Tuesday on Black Star Network for a balanced life with Dr. Jackie. We'll laugh together, cry together, pull ourselves together, and cheer each other on. So join me for new shows each Tuesday on Black Star Network, A Balanced Life with Dr. Jackie. Pull up a chair, take your seat at 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. Me, Sherri Sheppard, and you know what you're watching, Roland Martin, unfiltered. Louisiana Republican Mike Johnson, he's the new Speaker of the House. Oh, they're talking about how nice and gentle he is, but he is hardcore. He is a hardcore MAGA. He was an election denier, the leader in that front.

He is anti-LGBTQ. He is a Christian fundamentalist. He is someone who, again, comes off as a nice guy. But the reality is he is no different than Jim Jordan, Marjorie Taylor Greene and the rest of them. And that's really what, you know, Greg, what they're trying to do is sort of like with Mike Pence to come off, come across as genteel, calm, nice demeanor, love talking about his faith, but the reality is he is

someone who is not going to be on the side of black people. No, he's not, Rowan. And just connecting this to the string of voting rights conversations that are being held now, and of course we're going to see this North Carolina grab end up in the courts. John Roberts, remember when John Roberts was appointed to the court?

He was not a known quantity either. And like this Mike Johnson, a kind of pedestrian name, white man, and he has wreaked havoc on the federal courts. But you see now they've begun to pump the brakes at the Supreme Court. Certainly the Alabama decision, the Milligan decision, kind of paved the way for what we're seeing now with the conversation in Georgia, the rulings now in Georgia and so forth. And I think North Carolina may go that way ultimately. I'm putting that in context of what's going on with the legislative branch.

Mike Johnson is a hardcore, as you say, MAGA. He is much worse than Jim Jordan, because unlike Jim Jordan, this guy is a constitutional lawyer. He wrote a long brief trying to justify legally overturning the election of 2020. He was and he has been named, he kind of characterizes the architect of that work. And in the election of 2024, no doubt he would attempt to steal that election as well. I'm saying all that as a prelude to this. The Matt Gaetz wing of the white nationalist party, Republican Party, is triumphant.

They got everything they wanted. This is Jim Jordan with a coat and tie and a law degree who he actually practices and uses. Mike Johnson is straight out of the 19th century. He's straight out of the handmaid's tale. And at a time when the federal courts, at least the Supreme Court, seems to realize that this thing they broke beginning with Citizens United that is now spun almost out of control, they're trying to put it back together. This legislature is now going for complete broke. Mike Johnson looks good today,

but Roland, as you know, and you know better than most, wait until he has to try to pass something through that Congress. And that's when we're going to see the same thing we saw with Mike McCarthy, because there are no moderates in the white nationalist party at this point. They are all as a block. But you're going to see when Mike Johnson has to step up that way, you're going to see the true Mike Johnson. Rear Senator Randy, don't let the smooth talk fool you. Yeah, you know, something I say to people all the time is racists can be very polite.

Racism can even come off politely. So don't be fooled just because he's not walking around with overalls, you know, chewing on a corn husk saying the N word, right? Like this is a slick man who believe, believes that women are only for breeding and that the world should be run by white heterosexual Christian men, period. And that's who he's for. And that's what he has always been clear. That's who he's for. That, that is who he's going to protect. what he has always been clear that's who he's for that that is who he's going to protect and everything he does is going to be in their favor so it's it's people should be

scared right because this is yeah like you know this is a sheep in in in wolf's clothing or a wolf in sheep's clothing rather uh joe uh he got questioned by a reporter go to my ipad got questioned by a reporter about him being trying to overthrow the election. And you should listen to the woman to his left tell the reporter to shut up. Mr. Johnson, you helped lead the efforts to overthrow the 2020 election results, please. Oh, God. Oh, God. Oh, God.

Next question. We need 24. Next question. Joe, he shook his head. They all said no, but he did. Yeah, I mean, he absolutely did. And so here's going to be another guy. He's going to fly under the radar for a minute. He'll get a little bit of a honeymoon. There's a question as to whether or not the Republicans will give him a little bit more deference because he's basically to get the budget passed. He's going to have to do the same thing that McCarthy was getting ready to do or Slash didn't want to do. But eventually, these chickens will come home to roost and there will be a problem with the MAGA wing or he goes

along with the MAGA wing, the government shuts down, et cetera, et cetera, et cetera. He's less experienced, however, he's never chaired a committee, et cetera, doesn't necessarily know a lot about that gig. And I think that if the Democrats play it the right way, we have to go through some changes in the meantime, we play it the right way. I think that it gives us a very good chance of having. A lot of times the big economic forces we hear about on the news show up in our lives in small ways. Three or four days a week, I would buy two cups of banana pudding, but the price has gone up. So now I only buy one. The demand curve in action. And that's just one of the things we'll be covering on Everybody's

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

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

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

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

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

We have this misunderstanding of what this quote-unquote drug ban. Benny the Butcher. Brent Smith from Shinedown. We got B-Real from Cypress Hill.

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

Listen to new episodes of the War on Drugs podcast season two on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. And to hear episodes one week early and ad-free with exclusive content, subscribe to Lava for Good Plus on Apple Podcasts. ...Team Jeffries in 2024. And before I go to my break and bring up my next guest, Michael T., just hear this is what he actually said in a hearing regarding Roe v. Wade. Roe v. Wade gave constitutional cover to the elective killing of unborn children in America, period.

You think about the implications of that on the economy. We're all struggling here to cover the bases of Social Security and Medicare and Medicaid and all the rest. If we had all those able-bodied workers in the economy, we wouldn't be going upside down and toppling over like this. Listen, I will not yield, I will not. Roe was a terrible corruption of America's constitutional jurisprudence. Roe v. Wade gave constitutional cover to the elected... We had those able-bodied people. Right, but this is the same party that wants to cut funding to feed people, wants to, does not want to do Medicaid expansion, didn't want health care. So it's amazing. How are you going to support them? Oh, that's right.

That ain't what you do. All right, folks, got to go to break. We come back. Part two of our salute to Richard Roundtree. Got some great guests coming up to share their thoughts and reflections about the OG himself. That's next on Roland Martin, Unfiltered on the Blackstar Network. I'm Dee Barnes, and next on The Frequency, we talk to award-winning screenwriter and director Chanel Dupree about her film, You Think You've Grown, The Adultification of Young Black Girls. This is a conversation that all women can relate to. This woman was like, oh my God,

you know, I went through this when I was a kid. She wore something, it was a maxi dress, but the way it fit on her body, this female teacher thought that she looked too grown and spun her around in front of a male teacher and said, do you think she looks grown, right? Oh my God. So that's next time on The Frequency

on the Black Star Network. Pull up a chair, take your seat. The Black Tape. With me, Dr. Greg Carr, here on the Black Star Network. Every week, we'll take a deeper dive into the world we're living in. Join the conversation only on the Black Star Network.

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

Bruce Smith, creator and executive producer of Proud Family, Louder and Prouder. You're watching Roland Martin on Tilted. Many folks still sharing their remembrances of Richard Roundtree, the towering actor we lost at the age of 81 just a couple days ago due to pancreatic cancer. He, of course, best known for playing John Shaft, but he did so much more than that, appeared in many more movies and TV shows, and he absolutely was a beacon for a whole host,

two generations of black male actors, one of them Michael T. Williamson, who joins us right now. Brother, glad to have you here on Roland Martin Unfiltered uh you when we would text um the day we got the news um you talked about just how uh huge he was uh in your life yeah that's that's true uh good to see you Roland uh greetings to your audience as well um it's a it's a little tough for me because Tree was one of my big brothers you know there's a lot of the Giants have been

Dr. Bernie Casey's gone you know Sidney Poitier's gone Jim Brown Jim's transition and these are the guys I learned from you know but Richard they were all

so unique the thing about richard it's like jim got on me the first time i met him jim like really checked me real hard on a set because he thought i he said stop smiling so god dang much and he shocked me because i was in such a good mood, man. I needed to check. I'm working. Everybody's being nice to me. He told me, stop doing all that grinning. Right. And then I remember sharing that with Tree and Tree started laughing. He said, man, don't pay no attention to Jim. You know, he's looking out for you, but he's just got a different way. But, you know, Tree was he was elegance. He was fun.

He was dangerous. He was everything that a movie star is. I mean, he was the biggest thing cooking, man. He was just a phenomenal human being, but he was a badass, but he was a gentleman at the same time.

He was all that stuff at the very same time. Very unique individual. Very unique individual. Very unique man. Do you think he really understood how black folks felt about him and what that character just meant, especially to brothers. Yeah,

he did. Round tree knew it was a, an honor, but it was a responsibility. Like Sydney would say, Mr. Fortier would say, Mr. Poitier would say, it's a tremendous responsibility that comes with being who you are, where you are. It's when the cameras point at you, you have to represent excellence all the time.

And that's what Richard did in a different way than Sidney Poitier did it, in a different way than Dick Anthony Williams did it, in a different way than Billy Dee Williams did it. And all these guys, all of them, big brothers, man, those are the guys we looked up to and asked questions. The great, the legendary, the living legend, Glenn Turman. You know, I learned how to hit a mark and how to stand in my own light, following Glenn around, going to the store, picking up potato chips and bringing them back.

Whatever Glenn wanted, I went and got it for him. Richard was that to a whole lot of us as well. You know, I just I just look look at these filmmakers, man. It's oh, my God. I'm overwhelmed. It's it's. It's a little tough right now. I was trying to get Glenn to come to you, but he's not ready. You know. Well, yeah, I text Glenn the other day and I knew I knew how close they were.

I didn't I didn't ask him. But we I we live stream Richard's 80th birthday party, and we ran the interview that I did with Glenn talking about him, but I knew it was going to be too tough for him to talk about losing Richard. Yeah, well, you know, I was on the road as

I am now, so I wasn't able to get together with all the cats who went and saw him a few days before he transitioned. But I know that they had a cigar together and were able to lift his spirits a bit. And a couple of days later, we all got word that he was he had made his transition I can't thank Richard Roundtree enough for the way that he represented himself as a man but also the way he represented us as a people he was always he and Muhammad Ali were the two men who told me that no matter how high you go, you'll always be a nigger in the eyes of some of these people. And I had a problem with that.

The first person to tell me that was Muhammad Ali. And then Richard Roundtree told me the same thing. And I didn't want to accept it i figured that everybody wouldn't look at the industry wouldn't look at me the way that they thought the well the way that uh tree and all the other brothers had been treated fred williamson and so on but it's true you know you'll always be black. Embrace it. As much fun as it is being black, it's like now there's a lot of people who want to be black. They just don't want to give up the white privilege.

You know, they lay in the sun and tan and all this stuff. But it's a different set of rules for other folks than there is for us. And it's absolutely the truth. But it shouldn't demotivate you. It should actually fire your ass up. So you keep rolling, you know, and I would never want to punk out and let it make me bitter because I got too much work to do, man. I got folks I need to represent. And we really have to step up now that the giants that ushered us in, you know, are starting to leave us, man.

You know, it's a lot of food for thought. There's a lot to think about right now. Indeed. Michael T. Williamson, I appreciate you sharing your reflections about Richard Boundary. Thank you, sir. I appreciate you. Thank you for your love for Richard. Appreciate it. Thanks a bunch.

You got it. Thank you. The thing here, what he said there, Joe, I think is critically important. But also, loss is a natural part of life, which means those who sat under those giants later become giants. And our job is to do it to the next generation. And to do it to the next generation and to remind us, you know, Brother Williamson's accomplished a lot in this business, but I would have asked him to remind us of how hard it is. You know, we lose perspective if we're 20, 30, 40, 50 years old.

Maybe we didn't see Richard Roundtree in the first black exploitation films, et cetera, and Fred Williamson and Jim Brown, but it's a grind and it's hard and it's still hard, even though we're seeing more. Not just getting the work, but getting the roles.

And so, he has a great grasp of what it's going to take and stepping forward. And it's wonderful that Richard Roundtree gets to rest easy because of how much him and other folks have influenced this next generation. Hopefully we can keep it moving and just be reminded of who we are and that it's not easy. Also, keep in mind, go to my iPad. You know, you know, obviously for us, Randy, you know, we are fans. We lose an icon. But what you're seeing here, these are Richard's children. This was from his 80th birthday. And for them, they've lost a

father. They've lost a grandfather. I had an opportunity to chat with one of them earlier today. I mean, you know, they they are grieving. This was the patriarch. And so, again, he played the patriarch on a lot of different shows. But for him, he was a patriarch in real life. Think about his family, because even now that he has transitioned, they are having to share this grieving period with us, right? Because he meant something to us. And we do have to remember that, of course, their grief is much deeper. But at the same time, I'm sure they're very aware that the entire country, I mean, the world feels the loss of him already.

You know, he was bigger than a man, right? He was an icon and he represented so, so much. He was just cool, right? Just cool. And it was, I think I had to be powerful, I'm sure for black men to see him and to see him be a hero. And sometimes when it feels like

you're being beaten up all the time to see where there's a black man who's not, but let me just also speak for the ladies. I mean, this is a beautiful black man, um, till the end, just beautiful black man. And we enjoyed seeing that as well. Uh, I, um, it's interesting. We were just playing some video there from the premiere of Shaft. And I totally I mean, while we were just sitting here, Greg, I completely forgot that we were at the American Black Film Festival on the red carpet for that. And I was sitting there like, hold on, let me pull this up. And so, go to my iPad, because, hold on one second, I'm switching iPads, so hold on, don't go yet.

I forgot that as I was talking to Jesse T. Usher, Mr. Smooth himself stepped on up. Now you can take it. Hold on one second, we should have it in a second. You did the right thing. Now, Linda, the pink lens is a good look on you. Although the ascot is your classic. Right, right.

But I'm going to bring it back out. Because, see, I sat it down. The folks were expecting it. And I can't have folk expecting it. You're absolutely right about that. You got to shake them up sometimes. I hit them with the African stuff at Essence Fest last year. They lost their mind.

They didn't know what to do. Don't buy it. So maybe what's going on, my man Richard Rowntree. So is he a worthy heir to the shaft mantle? Wow. Yes. Wow. He's got the last baton.

He's got the last leg. It's on him. I'm bringing it home. Now, I got to ask you this here, because somebody will be 77 next month. Yet when he walked into the room, all the women will still, I mean, does it make you feel a little inadequate when you're like, this is Shaft, right? This is the original Shaft.

Absolutely not. It would make me feel less than coming onto this project if that didn't happen. But the fact that it does, it makes me feel even better. This young brother can hold his own. I'm so proud of him. Thank you. To see the way he evolved and handled his shit. Go ahead.

Don't worry about it. My show's got Roland Martin unfiltered. We can cuss. I own it. Perfect. To see him handle his stuff and his transition was a beautiful thing to watch. And my son overseeing what he was doing, and then the two of them learning from each other from different points of view,

the millennial and old school, and I just sat back and watched. Now, I'm going to have him tell this story, because I tell this story all the time, what your daddy told you. I use this in speeches all the time. Because you used to be bothered with people calling you John Shaft, and your daddy had to let you know something. Tell everybody what your daddy told you.

He says, son, a lot of people leave this earth not being known for nothing. Shut up. Sounds about right. Sounds like something my dad would have said. And ever since then, you've embraced John Shapps. Indeed. Indeed. Yeah. There are days when I get a little full of myself. But the

bottom line is at this point in the game, and I'm gainfully employed, and this guy has legs, and my sister is standing over there with my niece, and she says, hey, Johnny Roundtree. Oh, all right. It's all good. It's all good. Now, Father's Day is this Sunday. Hello. And I want both of y'all to speak about, Shaft for me has always been about black manhood.

Cool, confident, smart, sophisticated. Yeah, sexy. And that image is important to have that kind of brother on the big screen. Absolutely. No, 100%. I agree with you. You know, when we talk about black excellence, we talk about manhood, we talk about

father figure, questionable, but at the same time, this film clears all that up. And what you get to see is the three generations of that same character come together and find common ground and create a man in this new generation of millennials.

Kind of teach him what it means to hold that level of respect and community, you know what I mean, which is something that we can argue is missing in today's young men. So it's nice to see the older gentleman come in and clarify that and teach him that there's something that you need to take from the generations before you I think he pretty much said it the difference what I would add to it is what where we come from and all the history and being a man and passing that on to the younger generation. And there is no one, to my knowledge, that can pass that on better than Sam. You feel me? All right, Richard Roundtree.

Always good seeing you, baby. You my man. Pleasure to see you. Yes, sir. Yes, sir. I know we're going to hit some spot again this time. Yo, wherever you want to go, man. Wow. Yeah, I you want to go, man. Wow.

Yeah, I completely forgot about that. Totally forgot about that. Hold on one second. I'm going to go to break. We're going to come back. I'm definitely going to get Joe's comment, Greg's comment. Miguel Nunez is our next bottom of the hour. Leon is going to be joining us. Also hour. Leon is going to be joining us,

but also Mark Curry is going to be joining us, where he said, I personally picked Richard Roundtree to play my daddy on Hanging with Mr. Cooper. Folks, you're watching In Retrospective. Celebrate the life and legacy of Richard Roundtree, now an ancestor at the age of 81, right here on

Rollerball, on the Blackstone Network. A lot of times the big economic forces we hear about on the news show up in our lives in small ways. Three or four days a week, I would buy two cups of banana pudding. But the price has gone up, so now I only buy one. The demand curve in action. And that's just one of the things we'll be covering on Everybody's Business from Bloomberg Business Week. I'm Max Chavkin. And I'm Stacey Vanek-Smith. Every Friday, we will be diving into the biggest stories in business, taking a look at what's going on, why it matters and how it shows up

in our everyday lives. But guests like Businessweek editor Brad Stone, sports reporter Randall Williams, and consumer spending expert Amanda Mull will take you inside the boardrooms, the backrooms, even the signal chats that make our economy tick. Hey, I want to learn about VeChain. I want to buy some blockchain or whatever it is that they're doing. So listen to Everybody's Business on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

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

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

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

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

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

Stories matter, and it brings a face to them. It makes it real. It really does. It makes it real. Listen to new episodes of the War on Drugs podcast season two on the iHeart radio app, Apple podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. And to hear episodes one week early and ad free with exclusive content, subscribe to Lava for Good Plus on Apple Podcasts. Hatred on the streets, a horrific scene, a white nationalist rally that descended into deadly violence. You will not regret that.

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, the inevitable, the inevitable, the inevitable of the white people. We have seen white folks in this country who simply cannot tolerate black folks voting. I think what we're seeing is the inevitable, the inevitable, the inevitable, the inevitable,

the inevitable, the inevitable, the inevitable, the inevitable, the inevitable, the inevitable, the inevitable, the inevitable, the inevitable, the inevitable, the inevitable, the inevitable, the inevitable, the inevitable, the inevitable, the inevitable, the inevitable, the inevitable, the inevitable, the inevitable, the inevitable, the inevitable, the inevitable, the inevitable, the inevitable, the inevitable, the inevitable, the inevitable, the inevitable, the inevitable, the inevitable, the inevitable, the inevitable, the inevitable, the inevitable, the inevitable, the inevitable, the inevitable, the inevitable, the inevitable, the inevitable, the inevitable, the inevitable, the inevitable, the inevitable, the inevitable, the inevitable, the inevitable, the inevitable, the

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

of the fear of white people. The fear that they're taking our jobs, they're taking our resources, they're taking our women. This is white people. Don't you think it's time to get wealthy? I'm Deborah Owens, America's Wealth Coach, and my new show on the Black Star Network focuses on the things your financial advisor or bank isn't telling you. So watch Get Wealthy on the Black Star Network. Hey, what's up, y'all? I'm Devon Franklin. It is always a pleasure to be in the house. You are watching Roland Martin Unfiltered.

Stay right here. The Great Rich Around Tree Joining us right now is actor Miguel Nunez. Glad to have Miguel on the show. Miguel, just your thoughts, reflections on The Great Rich Around Tree. Miguel, we can't hear you. I'm sorry. There we go. All right, there we go.

How are you doing, brother? All good, all good. Listen, you know, man, I came up when Richard Pride came, I'm sorry, when Richard Roundtree came about. You got to remember, when Shaft came about, it was back in a time where, you know, black man, you know, he kind of had to keep his head down early on whentree came about. You got to remember, when Shaft came about, it was back in a time where, you know, black man, you know, he kind of had to keep his head down early on when Shaft came about. So when Shaft came around, he started kicking ass and taking names.

It just made you feel so good as an actor. It was like, I want to do that one day. I want to play that kind of role. I want to play a role where I can get back and I don't have to take. I think he gave so much to the psyche. I think he gave much more than just entertainment. He gave a lot to uplift, to spring us forward. That's what I thought.

Well, Spike Lee called him a black Superman. Absolutely, because that's what you felt like. You saw this black man just kicking ass. You were like, yeah! You hadn't seen nobody like that before then. I hadn't. Now, here we go. Here's the other deal. Even to this day, here's how iconic

a role is. If you are a black man and you go buy a long leather coat, somebody going to say, you think your ass John Shaft? Absolutely. 100%. And every time somebody, oh, hush your mouth.

That'll last forever as well. Oh yeah. Oh, absolutely. Absolutely. It's all of that. All of that. And he was one of the nicest guys you will ever meet in your entire life. Ever. I agree. I absolutely uh and and i think that uh as i said uh you know michael t was on i think our job our job is that when we lose a giant lose

a great those of us who met them who knew them uh who learned from them. Our responsibility is now they become ancestors to now do the exact same thing to others that they did for us. That's exactly what I'm trying to do, brother. I've been doing that my entire career. I learned from those guys and those are the guys that keep me going. Why are you so approachable? You know, you act like everybody's your friend.

Why are you so approachable? You're a star. It's because I learned it from them. And that's how I would watch them and the ones that would do it the other way. He was just such a nice guy. He was grounded. He was spiritual. And he was funny, as you see. Absolutely. Absolutely. Well, Miguel,

definitely wanted to get your thoughts in here on this part two. Love you, brother. Brother, always good to see you. Thanks for sharing. You as well. Joe? Joe, batter up. Yeah, man, I tell you, it's

just an incredible, incredible thing to be able to watch actors today more common than maybe we were able to 30, 40 years ago, and we draw experience. You know, we needed to find our, 40 years ago, and we draw experience. We needed to find our heroes where we could, and we still do, because we were often beat

down by society, beaten down by government actors, police, et cetera. So it's really important to be able to have folks that we can root for and to see something in ourselves through them that allows for and facilitates our growth, facilitates us hanging on, facilitates us having something to laugh at, something to cry about, and something to be inspired by. And that's why Richard Roundtree is great. Indeed. We're going to, do we have our next guest ready? We do. Our next guest was with Richard in a recent movie. They got a chance to work together, chop it up. And so, ladies and gentlemen, Leon.

Leon, how you doing, brother? I'm good, bro. Good to see you. Man, so good to see you. Just share your thoughts about Richard Roundtree. Wow. You know, being an actor of my generation, we had very few people to look up to. Very few people that would in the movies would say, wow, I like to be like him. You know, people talk about the black exploitation era, but for us, that was the movies.

You know, and for many of us, he was our John Wayne. And so, you know, when I later on in life, getting to meet him, work with him, hang out with him on some leisure time, fun things. It was great. You know, but I'm a believer that when someone passes, and especially when we've accomplished things in life, like all of us here, it's our time to celebrate them. I think this is great what you're doing. We should be celebrating Richard. He has a lot to be celebrated for. And that's exactly what it's about.

I mean, we talk about homegoings, about, and that's why we call it a celebration of life and legacy. He had that huge smile when you would see him every time. He would greet you with a hug as well. And I'm sure if he was here, he'd be sitting back cracking up laughing at all the fuss being made about him. Right. Exactly. Exactly. Exactly. You know, he was. He was a man's man. Put it that way. Right. You know, he was he was he was the guy that, you know, guys want to hang out with. Yeah. And and the movie that y'all did together

was called The Sin Choice. Talk about just being able to work with him and watching him work. Well, you know, I actually got a chance to, he was also in a cast of a series that I did,

Die of a Single Mom with Robert Townsend. Yep. And so I got a chance to, you know, be with him there as well. You know, Richard was great. You know, constantly a professional. You know, when I'm working,

I'm deep into my character, so. And it was a pleasure to work with him. He was easy to work with. He was who he was supposed to be in the scene, and that's all an actor can ever ask for. Indeed, indeed. Leon, we appreciate you taking some time just to share with Richard, his family.

They were watching last night. I'm sure they're watching tonight as well. And so we just want them to know that we appreciate them for sharing him with all of us. Without a doubt. God bless the family. God bless all of us who will miss Richard.

And, you know, I'm really happy, Roland, you're doing this. Let this be the start of the celebration of his life, because he had a lot to celebrate. Indeed. Leon, thanks so much, my brother. I'll see you soon. All right, without a doubt.

Folks, last year at the 80th birthday celebration in Los Angeles, I caught up with Ben Vereen, who had a couple of things to say about his dear friend Richard Roundtree. Richard, he was the icon before icon was a word, okay? Richard and I did groups together. I'll never forget, I always tell the story, when you had to bow down and grovel,

man said, you're gonna ask champ, grovel, you're out of your mind. And he turned to the producer and said, you got one take. And he did it, and everybody said, okay, good night. That's Richard. Richard is one of the, and everybody said, okay, good night. That's Richard. Richard is one of the, how can I say this? He's four runners in our lives.

Not only Chad, he's a great man. I love you. I love you. All right, folks, got to go to break. When we come back, Dr. Greg Carr will share his thoughts. We'll also hear from Mark Curry and also one of the characters in the soldier's story. We'll share his reflections on Richard Roundtree. Folks, you're watching Roland Martin Unfiltered right here on the Black Star Network. We'll be right back. matter to us, speaking to our issues and concerns. This is a genuine people-powered movement. A lot

of stuff that we're not getting, you get it and you spread the word. We wish to plead our own cause to long have others spoken for us. We cannot tell our own story if we can't pay for it. This is about covering us. Invest in Black-owned media. Your dollars matter. We don't have to keep asking them to cover our stuff. So please support us in what we do, folks. We want to hit 2,000 people. $50 this month. 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 RMartin Unfiltered. Venmo is RM Unfiltered. Zelle is Roland at RolandSMartin.com.

I'm Faraiji Muhammad, live from L.A., and this is The Culture. The Culture is a two-way conversation. You and me, we talk about the stories, politics, the good, the bad, and the downright ugly. So join our community every day at 3 p.m. Eastern and let your voice be heard. Hey, we're all in this together. So let's talk about it and see what kind of trouble we can get into.

It's The Culture, weekdays at three, only on the Black Star Network. I'm Dee Barnes, and next on The Frequency, we talk to award-winning screenwriter and director Chanel Dupree about her film, You Think You've Grown, the adultification of young Black girls. This is a conversation that all women can relate to. This woman was like, oh my God, you know, I went through this when I was a kid. She wore something, it was a maxi dress, but the way it fit on her body, this female teacher thought that

she looked too grown and spun her around in front of a male teacher and said, do you think she looks grown, right? So that's next time on The Frequency on the Black Star Network. Hey, it's John Murray, the executive producer of the new Sherri Shepherd Talk Show. This is your boy, Herb Quay. And you're tuned in to...

Roland Martin, Unfiltered. When I hit comedian Mark Curry by Richard Roundtree, he said, man, I gotta come on because when I did my show, Hanging with Mr. Cooper, I said, only Richard Roundtree is going to play my daddy. Mark Curry joins us right now. Mark, glad to see you, my brother. Nice sweater you got on.

I didn't know Chick-fil-A made clothes. Oh, see, see, there you go. I didn't know. There you go. Already starting. Okay, you Hagrid of a man. All right, y'all. You said you personally picked Richard. yes i did sir they wanted to get a dad from mr cooper and they had these guys i don't they had a couple guys if i was like nah nah nah and so you know i was like let's get Richard Roundtree. I wanted from the Mac, Ron O'Neill from Superfly. That didn't work.

Ron Julian from the Mac. That didn't work. So the next one was Shaft. And they didn't want to do Shaft. They didn't want to. We don't know about him. I said, no, I can't have no. I got to have a powerful father figure. And that's how it came about. And he was a great man. I worked with him. I said, no, I can't have no, I gotta have a powerful father figure.

And that's how it came about. He was a great man. I worked with him. He was so beautiful and positive and taught me a lot of things about the industry. And he played your father for how long? You know, he was my dad for the series for five years.

And so being with him, watching him work, watching him do his thing, what did you learn? What do you remember about some of those conversations? He was such a star, such a big star, but he was so humble and so cool and so smooth. And he taught me, you know, he just taught me little cues on the set. He just, you know, told me some incredible stories, you know, just being around someone like that, you know, you know, iconic person that I grew up with. And that was really, really nice. I mean, this dude was beyond nice. I'm sure you met him. You knew how nice he was.

He was a different nice. Oh, yeah. He was really just different. Nice. And so it was just great to be with him. I remember working with him and my daddy, you know, my mom and dad was excited. That's Sam, that Richard Brown tree. You know, my father, I got to add a coat like him. Well, and it absolutely was nice, had that huge smile. But as you said, he understood his craft and was serious about it. He was serious about it. He was serious about it, knew his lines,

was incredible, was humble, handsome. All the ladies liked it. He was smooth. And he taught me some great encouraging words about the industry. He had been in it so long, and he was so iconic to me. He was Shaft. He was the first positive role model black man that I

saw in movies that, you know, that was positive. He was a positive role model. You know, I hate to say it. I grew up in Oakland, California. That's where they made the Mac. So, you know, we came from pimping the Mac lifestyles. So that's what I looked at all my life.

That's what I remember. But when Shaft came along, Shaft was something that the first time that black people was like, whoa, he's talking, he's taking up for us. He's taking it to the man. First time you've seen a brother saying something to a white man, another white cop on television and not taking it. So he was so positive. He was so awesome. And he went with my character, Mr. Cooper. Well, Mark, we want to make sure to get a good opportunity to share a few words about Richard. We appreciate you joining us right here on the show. Thank you. And I like that sweater. Is that a is that that's right. Is that stripes from the service or is that suede? No, that's that. Now, this is from the coldest and the boldest fraternity of them all.

Everybody couldn't get in, but you had to go to college first. So, my apologies. I love you, man. I appreciate the mark. I went to college. But, yeah, but you had to stay there more than 24 hours. Uh, yeah. Normally you got a dashiki on.

Where's your dashiki? Oh, but see, I got to hit you with different looks, see, because you can't be expecting a look. But we know you're going to have the same look. But, you know, it's so beautiful that you work with Richard Roundtree, that we say something to him that's so positive because he was so iconic. And, you know, the white people ain't going to give him no love. And, you know, it was just he's the one who said it all and they called them black expectation films but they really weren't

well really well that's also why this is why one uh black owned media matters too this is why what happens when you own your stuff you don't have to ask anybody's permission uh and you're right i looked at a bunch of other networks and they maybe gave him two minutes and three minutes. But he meant a hell of a lot more to us. And so we did two and a half hours, no, three hours yesterday and an hour today. And he certainly is worth every minute, every second. Yes, sir. Richard Roundtree, baby.

Awesome. Appreciate it. Mark, thanks a lot. And folks, look out soon for my Rolling with Roland 101 interview with Mark Curry. We had a ball when we shot that one. I'm on tour with Cat Williams, so make sure you guys come see us. We're in Baltimore

and and where are we at next? Connecticut. And Connecticut. They can go online to find out. Yeah, go online. Thank you very much. I love you, man. All right, Mark.

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

into the biggest stories in business, taking a look at what's going on, why it matters, and how it shows up in our everyday lives. But guests like Businessweek editor Brad Stone, sports reporter Randall Williams, and consumer spending expert Amanda Mull will take you inside the boardrooms, the backrooms, even the signal chats that make our economy tick. Hey, I want to learn about VeChain. I want to buy some blockchain or whatever it is that they're doing.

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

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

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

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

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

Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. And to hear episodes one week early and ad free with exclusive content, subscribe to Lava for Good Plus on Apple Podcasts. Art Evans, y'all, starred in the Soldier's Story. I had a chance to catch up with him. He, of course, this was last year at Rich's birthday, and I want to share this here. Hi, Art. Hi.

Tell me about the man, Rich. Well, we've known each other back in New York. One day I was in New York doing gymnastics, and he was riding a bike. I stopped because I had saw him in his latest movie, and he was fabulous, as always. And we became friends. I was getting ready to do a movie.

I let him look at the script. I did the music and the acting. And we've been friends ever since. What makes him so special to you? Well, whenever you talk to him, you notice that it's not always about him. He has a wonderful way of engaging you in the conversation. And he speaks low and quiet, but he speaks honestly and directly at you.

And we became friends after that. We've been friends ever since. He's also a... He would probably do a lot. Yes, he is. He has also probably do a lot. Yes, he is. I'm sorry I don't have anybody to come this to me.

I've heard him. We all good. So we got it. So just final thoughts. That was Art Evans. Richard Brooks played in Being Mary Jane with Richard Roundtree. Also got a chance to catch

it with him. Here are his thoughts. Oh man, it's amazing. You know, I grew up watching Richard now and then have the honor of playing his son and being Mary Jane and getting to hang with him and just see how smooth he stayed forever and ever. You know, it's just been amazing. So I talked to BJ, and BJ said, he came downstairs to the hotel and he wanted to run lines, and Richard just started hitting him. He was like, hey man, I ain't got to those pages yet. He said he was just so, just was always prepared. Oh man, yeah, Richard is the professional, man, he's the baddest, yeah. No, we always gotta have a great time working together.

I mean, it's too bad we don't get to do it more, you know, me and Mary Jane was too much fun, but, no, Richard is the tightest, man, yeah. We had a great time working together. I mean, it's too bad we don't get to do it more. You know, being Mary Jane was too much fun. But, now Richard is the tightest man, yeah. One of the things that I said, he asked me to speak, I talked about how he represented black men. Right. So, he's gonna be in Mary Jane. I mean, so he's representing that black father who cared deeply about his family, about his children. Right, right, exactly.

Yeah, well, being Mary Jane, yeah, Richard was the ultimate father, you know, watching out for being Mary Jane, obviously Mary Jane and all the boys, the Patterson brothers. And just, you know, it was a rare opportunity to get to play a family like that, you know, to have everybody, mom, dad, brothers, sisters, and just tell that kind of human story. You know, I haven't done that since like maybe Sleeper Anger. So it kind of was really great. So final words, what do you want to tell him about his evening? Sue, happy birthday. Man, you the man. Another 80, yo. You're just the baddest ever. Love you. Double it.

Happy birthday, Rich. All right. That, of course, was last year. Rich only found out a couple of months ago that he was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, stage four. He passed away two days ago at his Los Angeles home, surrounded by his family. Strong, dignified to the end, Greg Carr. Yeah, no, absolutely.

I mean, facing death like that, man, you know, is the last act of cool on this side of the earth, and now he's a powerful ancestor. It's funny, Richard Brooks mentions To Sleep With Anger, the film that Charles Burdett did. Charles Burdett's part of the L.A. Rebellion. The group of filmmakers, Holly Garima, Julie Dash, and others were out there. They chose the independent route. On the other hand, you had folks like, as we know, our brother Melvin Van Peebles with Sweet Sweetback's Badass Song,

and then Gordon Parks with Shaft in 1971, 72, 73 who were trying to go the Hollywood route. And Richard Roundtree kind of spans both of those in many ways. A trained actor with that kind of thing. I came into class this afternoon with my students and I said, I got a pop quiz question. I said,

who is the man who would risk his neck for his brother man? Silence. Silence. I said, what? Yeah. I said, do y'all. None of them have ever seen Shaft. However, when I mentioned Jesse T. Usher and the third of the Shaft trilogy in terms of the afterlives of Shaft, they said, oh, yeah, yeah. And Samuel L. Jackson was the bridge there. I bring it up because Gordon Parks said in an interview, he was in London. This is after his son had to call him in New York when they debuted Shaft. And he said, I didn't know whether it was going to be successful. His son called him and said, Dad, you've got to get down here.

The line is out the building. They're going to have to show it over and over again. He got to London, and somebody asked him, a reporter said, well, why did you call it Shaft? And he said, well, it's because we're giving the finger to the society. And so even the idea of Shaft, Isaac Hayes saying that he took the soundtrack and Gordon Parks told him, give me a soundtrack for this man coming up out of the subway with that iconic notion.

And he said, it took me a couple of hours and I wrote the music. I pulled together things we had done and I put that together. I'm saying that to say that, I think there's a reason we call it life and times. Richard Roundtree is the life. But the times was the Black Power Movement and the Black Autism Movement. And so I stopped and showed the first five minutes of Shaft, him coming out of the subway to those students, and it opened up everything. Then I had to show a clip from

the Mac and Max Julian. And I said, then they said, now understand Snoop Dogg. Then we had to go and look at Across 110th Street with Yafit Cotto and then talk about Pam Greer and Tamara Dobson and Billy Dee Williams and Jim Kelly and Jim Brown and Fred the Hammer Williamson. And then they begin to understand, OK, this is where we're going with this. This brother, Fred Williamson, is still making movies. But this brother, Richard Roundtree, you know, finally, I'll just say this, seeing Jesse T. Usher, seeing Richard Brooks, seeing, you know, Ben Vereen, people forget Richard Roundtree played Kizzy's boyfriend in Roots. But the new generation, they don't remember any of that. And it's up to us to remind them of that momentum.

See, Randy, Joe and Greg, at my TV one show, I still do it. If certain folk come on my show, I don't care how old you are. There are certain movies that I will snatch black cards if you have not seen. And so we had this debate, and we were at Congressional Black Caucus Foundation, and it was several sisters and it was a young brother. They were like, yo, Roland, you can't be holding that against us

because we're younger. I'm like, I don't give a damn I said I knew about certain movies and certain songs That took place before I was born I'm like I don't want to hear it If you black I need everybody to listen to me right now If you black

If your ass ain't seeing Car Wash Cooley High The Original Shaft. Those are three that you need to absolutely watch. So Tiffany Lofton, Tiffany was so funny.

She hit me one night and I said, I mentioned Car Wash. She said, I ain't never seen Car Wash. I said, Tiffany,

you are not allowed on my show ever again until you watch Car Wash. She said, Uncle Ro, I'm coming to your house tonight. So her and some friends got in their car. They were complaining because I live in Northern Virginia. You live too far. I'm like, shut up. I'm like, I'm from Houston. That ain't far.

And so made her watch car wash. And the reason I say that is what you just described, Greg. You can't. I need people who are millennials in Gen X. Excuse me, millennials in Gen Z. Just like Gen X needs to understand, what you're seeing in this black world didn't start with you. Something set that up.

And so you can't, if you don't, if you love Lawrence Fishburne as Morpheus in the Matrix, all you are watching is the reincarnation of John Shaft down to the leather coat. And so too many folk who do, when you don't have that historical reference, I had somebody who was joking with me

and Ali Sadiq makes this joke a lot. He said, we were on Instagram Live, and he said, oh, he said, y'all know, he said that Roland going, he gonna bring up something Dr. King said. And I was like, you absolutely right. Because the problem for me, Randy, is when you are devoid of historical context,

then you don't really understand what is happening today if you're missing the historical context. You really do not. You really do not. Like, you have... Ooh. So much you said right there. Like, first of all, when you were saying

you make people watch it, I used to make my sons. That's the time, like Thanksgiving and Christmas, they have to watch certain movies. I believe it's part of their education. And it does reflect exactly what we have been through. Right. And where we have been and what we need to do now going forward. So, yeah, I mean, yeah, I agree with you on those movies you listed. There's a few more that we have to add to it that people need to understand, you know, our history. Yes. One hundred one thousand percent on that. Greg, I want to go back because, again, we talk about

Richard Roundtree. He was an ebony fashion fair model. All right. Now, there's somebody watching right now going, the hell is ebony fashion fair

model? That was it. First, what the black folks need to understand, Greg, is that Ebony Fashion Fair tour was one of the largest fundraisers for black organizations nationwide. A lot of people have no understanding that when Ebony Fashion Fair, when that modeling tour,

when they hit the city, tickets sold out, millions of dollars were raised for the Ebony Fashion Fair. And Greg, and to understand, Richard never forgot, I'm gonna show y'all, so I want y'all to see this video from his birthday party. So just, I just want y'all, there's no sound, but I just want y'all to watch how Richard ain't never stopped being the model. Okay.

Now you see right here, got the shades on. Now the cameraman going to sit here. So the whole deal, the pose, pose the look the outfit he got on Head to toe. He was always clean Face was always he was never like unruly with his beard and his mustache and all of that now I think right now he gonna take the shades off And I want y'all to look at that see he talking to the camera he talking to the camera

so he might have been 80 years old but he forget how to be that Ebony Fashion Fair model Greg no not at all and I'm glad you brought up Ebony Fashion Fair because again this is a guy who star high school athlete on scholarship in Southern Illinois and moves into

Ebony Fashion Fair while he was in college, moves there. And that gets him to New York, as you said. You know, a generation doesn't understand the importance of Johnson publications. Again, black institutions, black media. It wasn't just Ebony. It wasn't just Negro Digest and Black World and Jet. It was the Ebony Fashion Fair offshoot. And as you said, those of us who are old enough to remember in Ebony when they would put the

names of the black institutions, the Prince Hall Masons, the Order of the Eastern Star, the Black Fraternities and Sororities, the sponsors from city to city to city, that gets him to New York to join the Negro Ensemble Company. And of course, he then, from there, of course, the rest is history. He plays the Jack Johnson figure in The Great White Hope before James Earl Jones. Right. But it's the Ebony fashion fear that moves him into that power at that moment. And then, of course, finally, the

convergence, then, of that Black Power, Black Arts movement of the 60s. He's in the right place at the right time for Gordon Parks to converge with him and to make that move. And, of course, Roland, like you said, Black cars could be snatched. And in the defense of the young people, they did know him from being Mary Jane

and from that TV series with Ava DuVernay. But what they, they recognized him as an elder statesman. But what today showed me, and I think you've just reinforced it is, we have an obligation to our young people to sit them down and to understand the choices. Shaft was a character written in a series of novels by a white man, Ernest Tinyman. Gordon Parks said, we couldn't use that. I had to rewrite it. And then they made Shaft's Big Score and Shaft in Africa, filmed in Ethiopia.

It's our obligation to have young people do that. And that Ebony Fashion Fair, man, you can't overstate the importance, because that was a black institution. And that was a black institution that put our resources in our community. Randy, go ahead. I was just saying, I got to do a shout out to my friend, Ayanna Jenkins-Tony. She is a big time lawyer.

I'm talking very successful, a Howard grad, big delta. I mean, all these accolades. But honey, what she's going to brag about if you give her a chance is that she used to model for Evan Fashion Fair because in the black community, that was it. I mean, that was it. That was the ultimate. A couple more things I want to show y'all folks before we end tonight's show.

And actually, TV One at 8 p.m. Eastern is doing the re-airing of the Shaft Unsung featuring Richard Roundtree. So I got it recorded. So at 8 p.m. Eastern on TV One,

they're gonna be re-airing that Unsung. I'm going to, so I'm gonna do this here. First, Seth the Entertainer was at that party a year ago. I reached out to Seth,ed to come on the show. Ced is traveling, but he did send a video because he wanted to be a part of this tribute. What up, Roland? Ced the Entertainer here, man. Just shout out, man.

I know that you are honoring the legendary Mr. Richard Roundtree. Carol, who was- Who was, again, amazing on film, television television and in real life this dude was just a really elegant sharp man who always represented uh what it was to be a black man and i mean his character shaft was one that i grew up seeing in the movie theater he was one of the first images that we saw someone being really fully them whole self on screen. Bad dude, could fight, look good, dress sharp. And, whoa, when he got in the shower with that white woman,

we was like, ooh, he out of control. He doing too much right then. But no, man, but Devli Shaft was, you know, really that first black action hero that we saw on screen and fell in love with and loved the character, which led to the longevity of the movies, even with Sam Jackson coming, the new version of it. But Mr. Roundtree was just a great man. And I remember a couple of years ago, he came and participated in my golf tournament and just was super, you know, gracious to everybody who came up to him. Had a really great time. That's what it was.

And when I told my son that he was the original Shaft, my son got super excited to meet him. And so Mr. Roundtree got a big kick out of how excited my son was and he knew who he was and just loved the idea that he was meeting him. So I'm gonna attach a image of that, but I just love the smiles on their face and the joy that they got these generations meeting each other. And that's just the kind of guy he was.

So RIP, good sir. You're one of the best who ever do it. You definitely was someone that inspired me in many, many ways. And rest easy, rest. Good, sir. You're one of the best who ever do it. You definitely was someone that inspired me in many, many ways. And rest easy, rest in heaven, sir. All right. All right. I'll holler. I'm telling you, Joe, I just don't. I mean, people to Greg's point, talking to students, I really hope people today understand the times that we were in, coming out of the Civil Rights Movement, and the images we had, Harry Belafonte, Bill Cosby, Sidney Poitier, and how they were dignified, how they carried themselves, and all of that. But what people are going to learn when they watch the unsung,

all the major black actors at the time read for that role. Jim Brown, Fred Williamson, Billy Dee Williams. But Gordon Parks wanted a certain look. And what was amazing is Gordon Parks deliberately, like if you see the clip, what Gordon Parks was saying, I don't want a fair skin, light skin, medium toned brother. He wanted a dark skinned black man with an afro. And they said the producer said he he had everything we want. The stature, the look.

I really believe, because I'm telling you, when you approached Richard, it was sort of like the first time I approached Vernon Jordan. I said, man, that brother looked like an African prince. The reality is, that was really what Gordon Parks

was going after. And that's why just that character resonated so much for a whole generation of black people. I don't think there's any question about that. And so not only was Gordon Parks character resonated so much for a whole generation of black people? I don't think there's any question about that. And so not only was Gordon Parks intentional about that, about Richard Roundtree visually, but he's also intentional, and we were intentional in our movies, about the sounds. Often the music is the bridge to the young people. I'll give you a perfect example. You're talking about Car Wash. Julia was three years old.

Car Wash was her favorite record. And so we were in a hotel in Chicago, I'll never forget. And she was laying into the hook as we're walking with this brother who's a black bell guy. And she goes, working at the Car Wash. And then, whoa, whoa, whoa, guy stopped what he was doing, put the bags down, looked down at her and said, what you know about Carlyle? You know, so with Shaft, it was the great Isaac Hayes with that music, that music. A lot of times these kids will know the music, but not necessarily know the movie. So we can do some things to connect the dots. Gordon, Melvin Van Peebles, all these brothers, Spike Lee, were all very, very intentional about what they put on.

If you remember, you know, Public Enemy had to make several attempts to get at the anthem for Do the Right Thing, which was Fight the Power. And so often we can use these bridges two, three different ways. Now we've created a conversation to open them up to the movie. So now they're putting the music together with the movie. Now they're seeing similarities to what they see now versus what they did then, because you're not gonna know where you're going until you know where you've been. There was an amazing tribute

that was placed on Instagram by Sky P Marshall. Guys, if you go ahead and play that. Do y'all have the video? Okay, go ahead and play it. And I'm going to read it while it plays. Pull the music down so I can talk. She said, I love Richard with my whole heart and he loved me. Today he passed away at age 81. I felt my chest crack in agony as I fell to my knees. I convinced myself that he was immortal. On his 81st birthday this past July, we went to dinner and I asked him the question I would ask him every birthday, Richard, are you happy? He said with that sparkling smile, very happy. I have my family and that's all I could ask for. A few weeks ago while we were out he bought us evil eye

friendship rings, the last photo in this video. He explained to me how it was symbolic for spiritual protection. He knew what was approaching. I did not. He never mentioned cancer. I had no idea that was going to be our last day together. We were only meant to have lunch that afternoon, then lunch turned to furniture shopping, then turned to rug shopping, then jewelry shopping until we were hungry again and grabbed sushi dinner. It was like he didn't want our day to end. He hugged me differently. It was longer and tighter. We said I love you, a perfect day. Me and Tree, he was an incredible man, a compassionate friend, a distinguished gentleman, a king amongst men, a true legend.

Cherish the moments you have with the ones you love. Celebrate them and always keep your heart open to new love because real love is what truly matters the most. I just gained another guardian angel and he will protect me and his beautiful family. I love you and will forever miss you, my dear Richard. Rest easy, old friend. I'll be seeing you. That's really beautiful.

Indeed. Folks, I'm gonna close this out with something. Again, it's amazing. Like, you do stuff, and you don't even remember or realize all the stuff that you do. But 11 years ago, we were in Los Angeles for our annual Hollywood show on TV One's Washington Watch. And it was crazy.

TV One, they sent me the whole video. And on here, my goodness, I interviewed Senator Kamala Harris, interviewed Shirley Ralph, Denise Williams, all kinds of folks. And I didn't even realize, even there's a segment here with Lou, I'm watching Lou Gossett, Lamar Rucker,

but we also did a segment with a group of brothers and we're gonna close the show out with this. And so again, it's amazing when you, like I said, you forget all the stuff that you actually do. And so this was a great segment here that we're gonna close out this celebration of Richard Roundtree's life with again, Greg, Randy, Joe, I appreciate y'all being on today's show.

This is 11 years ago, folks, TV One's Washington. This is 11 years ago, TV One's Washington Watch, where I did a panel on black actors, black male actors in talking with Richard Roundtree, Brian White. A lot of times the big economic forces we hear about on the news show up in our lives in small ways. Three or four days a week, I would buy two cups of banana pudding. But the price has gone up, so now I only buy one. The demand curve in action. And that's just one of the things we'll be covering on Everybody's Business from Bloomberg Businessweek.

I'm Max Chavkin. And I'm Stacey Vanek-Smith. Every Friday, we will be diving into the biggest stories in business, taking a look you inside the boardrooms, the backrooms, even the signal chats that make our economy tick. Hey, I want to learn about VeChain. I want to buy some blockchain or whatever it is that they're doing. So listen to Everybody's Business on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. country, cops called this taser the revolution. But not everyone was convinced it was that simple. Cops believed everything that taser told them. From Lava for Good

and the team that brought you Bone Valley comes a story about what happened when a multi-billion dollar company dedicated itself to one visionary mission. This is Absolute Season 1. Taser Incorporated. I get right back there and it's bad.

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

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

winner. It's just a compassionate choice to allow players all reasonable means to care for themselves. Music stars Marcus King, John Osborne from Brothers Osborne. We have this misunderstanding of what this quote-unquote drug thing is.

Benny the Butcher. Brent Smith from Shinedown. Got B-Real from Cypress Hill. NHL enforcer Riley Cote. Marine Corps vet. MMA fighter Liz Karamush. What we're doing now isn't working, and we need to change things.

Stories matter, and it brings a face to them. It makes it real. It really does. It makes it real. Listen to new episodes of the War on Drugs podcast season two on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcast. And to hear episodes one week early and ad free with exclusive content, subscribe to Lava for Good Plus on Apple Podcasts. I'm Don Drefield, and Phil Morris. Folks, I'll see you tomorrow right here on Rollerball Unfiltered. This year saw the release of the movie Red Tails,

the story of the Tuskegee Airmen, and starring in almost all black casts, all playing great American heroes. But it has been a long struggle for black actors to get the variety of roles that reflect the diversity of the black experience. Four men who have succeeded are here today to talk about images of black men on TV and in films.

We have Brian White, Richard Roundtree, Dondre Whitfield, and Phil Morris. The ladies who work on this show have been very excited about this panel. Gentlemen, certainly glad that you are here. What are we talking about? I don't know why you have all these young kids up in here. What is the deal?

Well, actually, they were all afraid of you. They're like, well, we know how the sister's going to respond to the chef. I'm going to let you know. Put him in the middle. We're here partially due to him. Yeah, Mr. Cool. Mr. Cool right here. It's interesting when, you know, I'm very critical when I look at these commercials

and men look like just absolute fools, can't raise children, can't do anything. And then when you look at some of these shows, folks are just out of control. As African-American men, when you're sitting here getting these scripts coming across your desk, are you very clear that, look, I'm gonna represent brothers. There are men who are watching me, they are uncles and cousins and brothers, but also guys that don't know. They need to see themselves on the screen,

not just acting a fool. Yes. You know, I'm glad that you said that, because we were talking a lot about this earlier. And as a father of two, I have a daughter who's seven years old. And one of the things that she takes tremendous pride in is the fact that I can actually braid her hair. And as a father, I mean, it's just that, you know, that is a, I see what it's done for our relationship. And to have that in my personal life

and to reflect that in some of the things that I do in my work so that others can see, hey man, not only are you capable of that, it doesn't make you less of a man for doing it. In fact, it makes you more of a man for doing it because it galvanizes that kind of energy and that kind of emotional connection with your family. You know, I was really fortunate to come out of a household

where my father not only was bringing that image to the screen, but brought it home for me to see up close and personal. So I got kind of a twofer. And it is my duty to continue to push that integrity rock forward. And, of course, folks out there, your father, Greg Morris, from the original Mission Impossible series, not the movies. I've got to ask you this, Richard, because what I've always appreciated, you talked about

publicly, people say shaft, shaft. You're like, look, I've done more than that. But what I most appreciate, whether it was that role, whether when you were on rock, you were clear. See, I watch stuff now. You made it clear, I'm stuff now. You made it clear.

I'm an unapologetic black man, that I'm going to represent black male strength when I walk into the room. I had a reality check early on. Shaft in Africa. And my oldest daughter was going to Hollywood High. And she came home and had this long look on her face. I said, what's wrong? She said, Dad, were you naked in the movie? Oh, yeah. She said, everyone in the school said they saw you naked. And up to that point, I wasn't really on top of what

I was doing on film, the way I should have been. But that was a reality check. I said, this is forever. Forever. When you put it up there on screen, this is forever. And that moment, I became very aware of what I put on the screen. And how important it is and how that actually moves people. I mean, our figures, I mean, our dynamic box office stars, opening up a can of worms, but this is where we're going. I mean, the Caucasian stars are not being asked to,

you know, they're not held to that standard. They're not asked to wear dresses and play drag queens and over the top characters like that the way ours are. It was really eye opening for me when I saw Dave Chappelle do an interview on Oprah where he talked about doing this film with Martin and he walked into his trailer and there was a dress in there. And he said, I must be in the wrong trailer because there's a dress in here.

Well then the writer, the director, producers, they all go in and they're like, man, this is going to be hilarious. It's just going to happen. He's like, no, man, I'm funnier than a dress. Just give me something funny to do. I don't need a dress to be funny. Right. Exactly. I mean, you talk about duty and responsibility. I mean, all of our families carved out their their stake and they created the American dream and then created a path for us. I grew up on the Cosby Show. I grew up seeing Felicia Rashad and Bill Cosby, doctors and lawyers.

And the images that we have today that are celebrated and glorified in the media for our people, for African Americans, don't measure up to that standard. So we've gone backwards. My grandmother is a college graduate and had two brothers that passed. She claimed her blackness, was proud of it, fought for education and passed that down to my mom, who passed it down to me to aspire to be educated and successful, et cetera. And not paying homage to what they went through is ridiculous. You know, it's interesting because we got it at home, but a lot of our people do not get it at home.

So it is incumbent upon us when we put these images out to multimillion viewers to help them, assist them, understand that's what's possible. Just because you didn't have it doesn't mean it doesn't exist. No, that's a very broad brush, I think, you're painting there. Because when I look at guys like Fishburne and Mr. Gossett back there, there is a number of us who are doing the right role models. Absolutely. Yes, sir. We're not necessarily being celebrated for doing the right things in the way. It's interesting. I was debating some folks on Twitter and Facebook, and we were talking about films, and they were talking about the highly critical Tyler Perry, things along those lines. And I said, you know what's interesting?

I said, of all the top child appearing films, my favorite Daddy's Little Girls. Here was a movie with Idris Elba playing a strong brother. He said, look, I've had stuff in my past, but I'm taking care of my kids. For me, it is important when I see brothers truly

representing on the screen and making it clear, as Dave Chappelle said, I'm not not gonna be a buffoon I like comedy. I like those things, but I do think it's important when we see us walking tall Demanding respect and not simply bowing down to somebody else's stereotype of who we are and and that's what I'm talking about Celebrating and being ahead of the curve making sure that everybody is aware of the great roles, the great performances, the upstanding portrayals, and we're a little bit behind the curve. We celebrate when the Golden Globes came knocking. That's not our organization. The NAACP Awards is after the Golden Globes. So we need to be front running saying, look

at this. This is the examples we need to be aspiring to. The examples are there. They're bountiful. They're just not glorified. That's another issue also, because sometimes the organizations or entities that claim to be the ones that are our flagships and supposed to be the ones blowing our horn in terms of celebrating who and what we are, are so worried about servicing so many things that they lose sight and lose track of what the cause was supposed to be,

which was actually celebrating us. They begin celebrating others more than they celebrate us. Well, I'll tell you what, the one thing that I will always appreciate and why I wanted to have this panel is because, again, to have black men speaking about why we must represent on AI, and I make it a point. I love to have fun on the air. I love to talk about wearing ascots and all those things along those lines. But I do know for a fact when young kids woke up to me, 11, 12, who literally say, I watch you, I listen to you,

and I want to hear what you have to say, we are presenting an image out there. And I want them to say that I'm watching you versus some fool over here who's cussing someone out on some reality show, because we've got to actually have that. So I say— Well, because you represent balance. And we've got to have balance. You can be intelligent.

You can be all those things. He represents truth. There's not a lot of places where I can turn on the dial and see somebody that looks just like me telling the truth. Right, without an agenda. Yes. We can't always have an agenda because then it reeks of misinformation and false hopes. As you

know, being a politician, history is written by those in power. Yep. So the images that are being put forth are being put forth by those in power. The more of us we have in power. That's why I like to have the power of my microphone. There you go. Brian, Richard, Andre, Phil, we certainly appreciate it. Thanks a lot. Keep it up, gents. All right, then.

Up next, my perspective. Folks, Black Star Network is here. Hold no punches. I'm real revolutionary right now. Black power. Support this man, Black Star Network is here. Hold no punches! I'm real revolutionary right now. Black power! Support this man, Black Media. He makes sure that our stories are told. Thank you for being the voice of Black America, Roller.

Be black! 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 scared. It's time to be smart. Bring your eyeballs home. You dig? Thanks for watching! A lot of times, big economic forces show up in our lives in small ways.

Four days a week, I would buy two cups of banana pudding. But the price has gone up, so now I only buy one. Small but important ways. From tech billionaires to the bond market to, yeah, banana pudding. If it's happening in business, our new podcast is on it. I'm Max Chastin. And I'm Stacey Vanek-Smith. So listen to Everybody's Business on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. I know a lot of cops. They get asked all the time, have you ever had to shoot your gun? Sometimes the answer is yes. But there's a company dedicated to a future where the answer will always be no. This is Absolute Season 1, Taser Incorporated. I get right back there and it's bad.

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

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