#RolandMartinUnfiltered - GA Refuses Fani Willis Impeachment, TN House Speaker's Lies Exposed, The Hustle of @617MikeBiv"

Episode Date: September 1, 2023

8.31.2005 #RolandMartinUnfiltered: GA Refuses Fani Willis Impeachment, TN House Speaker's Lies Exposed, The Hustle of @617MikeBiv" Georgia Governor Brian Kemp says there's no reason to remove Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis from office.  You all, those MAGA Republicans are pissed off.  We'll discuss why Kemp says he's not calling a special session to impeach the Atlanta prosecutor. Despite video evidence of who shoulder-checked who, Tennessee Republican Speaker of the House Cameron Sexton says Representative Justin Pearson is "playing the victim." Pearson is considering pressing charges after a scuffle.   A Missouri Judge ruled the white man who shot Ralph Yarl, the Black teen who went to the wrong house, will stand trial. And my boy Micheal Bivins will be here tonight to discuss a documentary about his musical journey.   "The Hustle of @617MikeBiv" details his start in iconic groups like New Edition and Bell Biv DeVoe to becoming a successful music mogul.  You don't miss the sneak peek and my interview with Michael Bivins. 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. Taser Incorporated. I get right back there and it's bad. Listen to Absolute Season 1, Taser Incorporated, on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. I'm Clayton English. I'm Greg Glott. And this is Season 2 of the War on Drugs podcast. Last year, a lot of the problems of the drug war. This year, a lot of the biggest names in music and sports. This kind of starts that a little bit, man.

We met them at their homes. We met them at the recording studios. Stories matter and it brings a face to it. 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 podcast, or wherever you get your podcast.

We asked parents who adopted teens to share their journey. We just kind of knew from the beginning that we were family. They showcased a sense of love that I never had before. I mean, he's not only my parent, like, he's like my best friend. At the end of the day, it's all been worth it. I wouldn't change a thing about our lives. Learn about adopting a teen from foster care. Visit adoptuskids.org to learn more. Brought to you by AdoptUSKids, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, and the Ad Council.

Today is Thursday, August 31st, 2023. Coming up on Roland Martin Unfiltered, streaming live on the Black Star Network. Georgia Governor Brian Kemp says there is no reason to remove Fulton County District Attorney Fannie Willis from office. These MAGA Republicans, they're pissed off because of that. Despite video evidence of who shoulder-checked who, Tennessee Republican Speaker of the House Cameron Sexton says Representative Justin Pearson is playing the victim.

Pearson is considering pressing charges after their scuffle on the floor. A Missouri judge ruled the white man who shot Ralph Yarl, the black teen who went to the wrong house, is going to stand trial. Also, one of the Proud Boys, he said January 6th would be a day in infamy. His punk ass going to prison for a long time.

Wait until I show you what happened to good old Joe Biggs. Plus, my homeboy Michael Bibbis is here to talk about a documentary about his musical journey, The Hustle of 617 Mike Bibb. All right, folks. All of that is next right here on Rolling Martin Unfiltered on the Black Star Network. It is time to bring the fun. Let's go. He's got it. Whatever the piss, he's on it.

Whatever it is, he's got the scoop, the fat, the fine. And when it breaks, he's right on time. And it's rolling. Best belief he's knowing. Putting it down from sports to news to politics With entertainment just for kicks He's rolling It's Uncle Roro, y'all

It's Roland Martin Rolling with Roland now He's funky, he's fresh, he's real The best you know, he's Roland Martin Yeah, yeah. Rolling with rolling now. Yeah, yeah. He's funky, he's fresh, he's real the best. You know he's rolling, Martel. Now. Martel. There will not be a special session to determine to throw Fannie Willis, the Fulton County District Attorney, out of office.

Georgia Governor Brian Kemp made those comments today. He said it's utterly ridiculous to try to impeach her for her prosecuting former Oval Office occupant Donald Trump. Now, again, all of these mad, miserable MAGA Republicans have been targeting Willis since Trump's indictment. Several crackpot Georgia state legislators are pushing to have Willis removed from office. State Senator Colton Moore wrote a letter to Kim asking him to call an emergency session of the legislature to investigate Willis. Kim says, no, ain't nothing there to warrant a special session. It's that simple. Fast forward today, nearly three years later, memories are fading fast.

There have been calls by one individual in the General Assembly and echoed outside of these walls by the former president for a special session that would ignore current Georgia law and directly interfere with the proceedings of a separate but equal branch of government. Now, my concerns with the Fulton County District Attorney's handling of this case and the special purpose grand jury have been well documented. We are now seeing what happens when prosecutors move forward with highly charged indictments and trials in the middle of an election. Simply put, it sows distrust and provides easy pickings for those who see the district attorney's action is guided by politics. But let me be clear,

we have a law in the state of Georgia that clearly outlines the legal steps that can be taken if constituents believe their local prosecutors are violating their oath by engaging in unethical or illegal behavior. seen any evidence that DA Willis's actions or lack thereof warrant action by the Prosecuting Attorney Oversight Commission, but that will ultimately be a decision that the commission will make. Regardless, in my mind, a special session of the General Assembly to end run around this law is not feasible and may ultimately prove to be unconstitutional. The bottom line is that in the state of Georgia, as long as I'm governor, we're going to follow the law and the Constitution, regardless of who it helps or harms politically. Over the last few years, some inside and outside of this building may have forgotten that. But I can assure you, I have not.

The oath I took with my hand on the Bible that's right behind me in January of 23 is the same Bible that I took in my inauguration in 2019. And in Georgia, we will not be engaging in political fear that only inflames the emotions of the moment. We will do what is right. We will uphold our oaths as public servants. And it's my belief that our state will be better off for it. All right, folks, Bob Pound, Dr. Greg Carr, Department of Afro-American Studies at Howard University out of D.C., Candace Kelly, legal analyst from South Orange, New Jersey, Matt Manning, civil rights attorney, Corpus Christi. Matt, I want to start with you. First of all, Kent's trying to have it both ways there by trying to criticize Fannie Willis by also then saying there's no reason to dismiss her. I love how he's still trying to suggest that somehow this was political.

No, it's not political because the fact of the matter is he's not president. You do what you have to do. And it's not like, oh, until you decide not to be involved in politics, then an investigation should take place. No, that's not how it works. No, it isn't. It's definitely not how it works. No, it isn't. It's definitely not how it works for the rest of us, right? Because if a prosecutor

thinks they have evidence to go get an indictment, they go and get an indictment. We don't get the luxury of somebody deciding whether it's the quote appropriate time or inappropriate time. And we most definitely do not get the luxury to be on bond in four different jurisdictions.

Notwithstanding all that, I think Kemp is trying to both play it politically here and play it in conformity with having played it politically before. And what I mean is, if you listen to the first half of the statement, to your point, it's critical of Fannie Willis, right, or Fannie Willis. It's critical saying, I don't think she should be doing this at this time. It's politically motivated. What happened? But then he pivots to say, we're going to follow the law. I haven't seen anything that says she can't do what she's doing. And I think that is to walk the tightrope between being the one who stood up against Trump and saying, I'm not going to get on the Trump train and still winning his election, but also trying to make sure he capitulates his, you know, his Republicans who are calling for her head. So I think that's his

attempt to kind of straddle the line there. But I'm actually glad that he came out with the decision not to do this, because as I've told you, I represent a local DA who is the product of exactly this in Texas. They filed a lawsuit to remove him because they don't like how he's doing his job, despite him having won two elections. And I think this is very important. I think for the governor to say, irrespective of politically how I feel, I don't see the evidence to remove her is important in this day and age, because we see DeSantis and Abbott and others trying to take an authoritarian tack. And I think this shows that, at least in his context, he's making the decision that I think is appropriate under the law. You have other folks.

The former lieutenant governor of Georgia, who has been quite vocal, he said this on CNN. Someone highlighted today, Jeff, was how in his memoir that he wrote after leaving office, Meadows said his job as chief of staff, he believed, was to, quote, tell the most powerful man in the world when you believed that he was wrong. But I mean, is it clear that that Meadows didn't do that when when it probably mattered the most here? Well, he must have whispered it in his ear and not said it out loud, because I certainly have never seen examples of him standing up to Donald Trump or the ridiculous nature of where

this is headed. I mean, I think it's so interesting to watch this continue to play out like some sort of Ponzi scheme of lies that just kind of built. And if you just look at all of their defenses at this point, it's all technicalities. It's, well, I did it under this official guise, or I did it under this unofficial purpose. The reality is nobody's doubling down on the facts, right? We're two and a half years into this. And I think that's the biggest hurdle they're going to have to climb. When you go on a two plus year crime spree from coast to coast, this is what, you know, a lot of folks are complaining about the calendars. When you have four trials to have to compete with on a calendar, you're not going to be able to, you know, skip certain days because it's your birthday or skip

certain days because you got a nail appointment, right? You're going to have to actually go face the music. And that's really what's playing out here. As a Republican, the dashboard is going off with lights and bells and whistles telling us all the warning things we need to know, right? 91 indictments, fake Republican, $8 trillion worth of debt, everything we need to see to not choose him as our nominee, including the fact that he's got the moral compass

of more like an ax murderer than a president. We need to do something right here, right now. This is either our pivot point or our last gasp as Republicans. Jeff, Jen, Michael, all our Georgians in one place, thank you so much for joining me tonight. Trying to find their moral compass. They created this whole mess as well. But what you have here, you have Trump constantly trashing Georgia. But Republicans run the state and they're like, sorry, dude, elections were fair.

We all won our races. Yo ass lost. I think that was for me, Roland. I wasn't sure. Yeah, for you. Yeah, thank you. You know, what's interesting is that, listen, Kemp was a Trump ally. He was for such a long time. But let's not forget that he also testified in that special grand jury that brought all this into fruition in

terms of the Georgia indictment. So he really is walking a fine line to figure out who is it that I want to be here. It's like he's running for office for president, right? Because everybody's in this position where they don't want to say, hey, I'm against Trump, and they don't want to say I'm for Trump. But like you said, it's clear that because at one point he was aligned with Trump, and now he realizes that the facts just don't speak to this lie that Fannie Willis is doing something that is beyond her scope. Well, that really tells you something about where everybody is situated. And I think at this point, people have to understand that when it comes to someone in his position who has been on a grand jury or who has testified in front of a grand jury, one of the 75, and who is the governor, he is making a decision that is going against Trump. That really speaks truth to the facts that he has that are in his control and the facts that he has that are not in his control.

Here, the facts do not work in the favor of Trump. So he has no other choice than to decide the way that he did today. These folks, again, I love how shameful and despicable they are, Greg. And the constant fighting back and forth. They're imploding. But I just got to keep trying to just warn people. These people are crazy. And the fact of the matter is Trump's MAGA crazy folks,

they're there in Georgia. And so Kemp and the people like him, they have to continue with, again, dealing with the crazies, but still supporting the crazies and working with them because they run the state. Yes. And let's not lose sight of the fact that Brian Kemp is a white nationalist. He did nothing today. I agree with Matt and I agree with Candace. I mean, he's trying to preserve his political viability. But the only phrase that matters right now is

four words, prosecuting attorney oversight committee. All Kemp did today was say, I'm going to stay out of it, because he didn't appoint a committee that's going to lynch them if they can get away with it. That's why the DA in DeKalb County, the DA in the Augusta District, the DA, a Republican, by the way, in Tawaglia, and the Democratic DA in Cobb County have filed a lawsuit saying that this committee violates the First Amendment of federal law and the Georgia Constitution. So Brian Kemp doesn't have to get in this. The dirty work has been handled by the law that goes into place October the 1st. Let's not forget that this is the white nationalist who showed up running his first

campaign with a gun across his lap and talking out, crying, talking right now. He did nothing today. I mean, this didn't do anything. He doesn't have to do anything. Let's see what he does when the committee decides that, damn the Constitution of the United States and the Georgia Constitution, we're going to try to remove Fannie Willis. Then I'll be impressed. Until now, this was nothing. Indeed, indeed. All right, hold tight one second when we come back. It was something today in court in D.C. where one of the Proud Boys,

let's just say he's going to have a whole lot of time, a long time to think about standing with dumbass Donald Trump on January 6, 2021. Wait till I tell y'all how many years this fool is going to prison.

I don't feel bad at all. At all. 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 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 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. Sometimes as dads, I think we're too hard on ourselves. We get down on ourselves on not being able to, you know, we're the providers.

But we also have to learn to take care of ourselves. A wrap-away, you've got to pray for yourself as well as for everybody else. But never forget yourself. Self-love made me a better dad because I realized my worth. Never stop being a dad. That's dedication. Find out more at fatherhood.gov. Brought to you by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the Ad Council.

I might take a drink. You're watching Rolling Button on the filter of the Black Star Network. Back in a moment. Hatred on the streets. A horrific scene. A white nationalist rally that descended into deadly violence white people are losing their damn lives

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

There's all the Proud Boys, guys. This country is getting increasingly racist in its behaviors and its attitudes because of the fear of white people. The fear that they're taking our jobs, they're taking our resources, they're taking our women. This is white fear. On a next A Balanced Life with me, Dr. Jackie, summer is flying by and back to school is just around the corner and fall is here. That's right. A new season is upon us. On our next show, we talk about jumping into action and putting procrastination in the rearview mirror.

That's on the next A Balanced Life with Dr. Jackie here on Blackstar Network. Hi, everybody. I'm Kim Coles. Hey, I'm Donnie Simpson. Yo, it's your man Deon Cole from Black-ish, and you're watching... Roland Martin, unfiltered. So, my man Scarface from Houston, he has a song called No Tears. It's a fantastic song. You know what?

And I really think, I really wish there was a DJ in a federal court. Because when Joe Biggs was being sentenced today, Joe Biggs, one of the leaders of the Proud Boys, it would have been perfect to play no tears. See, this is Joe Biggs smiling on January 6, 2021. But today, Joe Biggs was crying, was sobbing in court. In fact, Kyle Cheney was tweeting what took place in court. And Biggs' attorney said that what took place was not an act of terrorism. The attorney said, quote, we live in a violent country.

Go to my iPad. Then it says, Biggs is now speaking and urging a lenient sentence. He tells the judge and his staff, you've done a hell of a job. Ass kissing. Biggs, I don't hate anybody in here. I don't hate the prosecutors. I pray for all of you. I definitely don't want to be a person affiliated with any more groups

unless it's my daughter's PTA. Oh. Oh. Now you don't want to be affiliated with any groups. Okay. Big says he refuses

to talk politics with other January 6th inmates at the D.C. jail. He also says that before January 6th, he was planning to quit the Proud Boys because he wanted to be more focused on his daughter. Oh. Oh, so before January 6th, you were going to quit. So let's get in one last hurrah, huh? I love this quote here.

Biggs, I was seduced by the crowd, and I just moved forward. I was curious. I wanted to see what would happen. My curiosity got the best of me, and I'm going to have to live with that for the rest of my life. In tears, Biggs in tears. He was sitting there. He was crying.

I know that I have to be punished. He pleads with Kelly to allow him, quote, to take my daughter to school one day and pick her up. Well, if he's going to be picking his daughter up from school one day, her ass going to be in college. Because Joe

Beas got hit with 17 years in prison for his efforts leading the Proud Boys on January 6th. Now, the Lincoln Project put out a video, and y'all got to wait for the end of the video because it's absolutely beautiful. Because the chant that they made, the chant that they made, I think really applies to what he actually did. Roll it. So we just stormed the fucking Capitol, took the motherfucking place back. That was so much fun.

Joseph Biggs, a leader of the Proud Boys who led the far-right organization's infamous march on January 6, 2021, was sentenced a short time ago to 17 years in prison. A leader of this violent attack on the U.S. Capitol, showing images of him with a bullhorn leading the mob towards the Capitol. Joe Biggs ultimately made it onto the floor, was in the gallery of the U.S. Senate during the attack and subsequently celebrated. January 6th will be a day in infamy. This is just one of a number of Proud Boys that we're going to see sentenced here at this federal courthouse in the coming days. Well, Candace, they were chanting, fuck around and find out. And they did.

Yeah, they did. And listen, prosecutors were asking for 33 years. 17 years is not a slap on the wrist. It's actually, I think so far, the second highest sentence of anybody who's going to be prosecuted, which we're looking at 1,100 people. But this is not a man who was simply seduced. I mean, when we look at the charges, seditious conspiracy, conspiracy to use intimidation or threats to prevent officials from discharging their duties, interference with law enforcement during civil disorder. This was not a seduction. He went all the way. He was more than seduced. And so I don't think that he could have been surprised at what he

was going to get, which is why we saw the drama in the courtroom. He asked the judge, please have mercy on me. His daughter was molested. He started drinking. But this was a man who went to the Iraq war, served the country, and then came back and used those particular skills in order to commit terroristic acts in relationship to the transition of power, trying to displace democracy, and was a part of an act that killed several people, not only that day, but thereafter, people who died from injuries and then commit suicide. So this is nothing to sneeze at. This is something that I'm sure he could not have not expected, but his mercies and pleas on the court, they just didn't work out. But I do think he got lucky in a sense in that he didn't get that 33 years.

But 17 is a long time, too. Matt, he was standing there in his orange jumpsuit. And also in another sentence, Zachary Rell, who formerly headed the Proud Boys in Philadelphia, he got slapped with 15 years in prison. Well, look, I don't practice federal criminal defense, but they have all kinds of guidelines and various ways that judges approach sentencing. But I'll tell you unequivocally, I think they got off way too lightly. Cats get way longer than 17 years for drug offenses and multiple, you know, secondary felonies. If you are plotting a coup and you are involved in an insurrection at the United States Capitol,

17 years is a slap on the wrist. And I get it. I mean, I'm a lawyer. I stand next to people all the time in court, and I have to present the best possible case to the judge. I don't begrudge his lawyer doing that. But, I mean, attacking the hall of power while people are making decisions with, you know, the intent to hurt them, and then trying to come in and give a sob story, crocodile tears. I think he got off easy.

I think he should get considerably more than 17 years. And I'm surprised that federal law doesn't provide for that, and maybe that's my ignorance in a circumstance like this. This is treason. It's treasonous, and as such, he should be hit with way more time. So I'm surprised the judge didn't go harder than that. Go back to my iPad, Anthony. The judge said what happened that day, it broke our tradition of the peaceful transfer of power, which is the most precious thing we had as Americans.

Notice I say had. We don't have it anymore. Now, Rails bragged in communication with Proud Boys about being, quote, proud of what we accomplished following the Capitol attack. Guess what, Greg? He sobbed during his sentencing. He said, quote, a complete lapse in judgment cost me everything. I am done peddling lies for people who do not care about me.

Yeah, that's what you say when your ass got caught. Well, you quoted your homie Scarface, and I agree with Matt. They got off pretty light. The tears fall fairly easily for dudes like this. Scarface said, when it comes to us, Scarface said, I never saw a man cry until I saw a man die. In this case, you're alive, sir. Why are you weeping?

And as you say, you can drive your daughter, you can pick her up at law school or grad school, because I think she'd probably be done with undergrad depending on how old she is if he gets out. Then again, maybe he'll get a little release for good behavior, but I agree with Matt. I mean, you know, they throw the book at people for far less.

And in this case, the judge also said, it's not my job to label you a terrorist, and my sentence today won't do that, no matter what it is. Well, if this wasn't terrorism, then what is, Judge? What is? Judge Kelly? You know, so I mean, yeah, it's funny about these things, isn't it? When it's us, the book gets thrown.

When it's them, they can tear up the whole United States Capitol and still get out in, relatively speaking, reasonable amount of time. Yep. Look, I know you two might hit us with a strike, but, you know, I just couldn't. Guys, come on. Turn it up. The funeral is over and all the tears are dried up. Niggas hanging deep on the cut, getting fired up.

Working for the nigga who pulled the pizza on my homie. And I'm going up. Oh, I do not feel sorry for any of these punks. I want them to throw all of them in jail. I am overjoyed every single time I see one of them go to prison, Candace, because what these thugs did, and they were thugs. They were white domestic terrorists. They were there. They had guns on the outside of D.C.

They were ready to commit harm. And so they're getting everything they deserve. And every time I see one of these punk asses like Charlie Kirk to tweet about, oh, how Ashley Babbitt was a hero, I say, well, guess what? She a dead ass domestic terrorist because she tried to jump ass through that door and got shot. Matter of fact, the other day, Kirk was complaining at the cop, the officer who shot Ashley Babbitt got promoted. And I was like, hell, keep getting promoted.

He should have shot ass. Listen, today what we saw was a lieutenant and the Proud Boys get the second longest conviction. And that is meaningful because when we look at the Proud Boys and the ones that are going to be sentenced, especially Enrique Terrio, right? He would have already been sentenced, but for a judge's illness. The Proud Boys are almost effectively no longer in existence in terms of what we know. Now, we know there's probably some rumblings online and they're still doing what they need to do in terms of putting people in political office. That's what they've been working on lately, making sure that they know their rights and doing things the right way.

So there might be a recreation of the Proud Boys. But in terms of the Proud Boys that we have known and have been hearing of all of these years, the lieutenant's gone. We've got the chairman that's going to be sentenced. Though what's going to be interesting about that, Roland, is that this is someone who has been an informant for the government. So we don't know what deals he has made. We don't know what information he has given. So I think that that will be the most interesting thing to come. But you are correct. These are terrorists. There is no other way to put it. They tried to use the Constitution and say that it was working on their behalf to use their First Amendment rights. But

you can't storm a Capitol and kill people in the process and expect to get away. These are people who are privileged, who thought that they could get away with anything, because for so long, actually, they had been getting away with a lot. And so now the chickens have come home to roost, and this is what we're seeing next week. Enrique Terrio. And I can't wait to talk about him and see what he gets. Oh, absolutely. I absolutely love it. All right, folks.

Guess what? One of the one of the Trump co-defendants, he's out of Fulton County Jail. Harrison Floyd. Harrison Floyd finally got a bond. The first thing he did was run to Steve Bannon's war room and right-wing media, whining and complaining. Here's him talking to that white nationalist Greg Kelly on Newsmax. Listen to this idiot. I know you can't talk.

I think you can't talk specifically about the case against you and anything you say. They're watching. So you want to be careful about that. But overall, what do you want to say about this case? I have family in Georgia. I have a cousin who was shot six times waiting for an Uber. And they still haven't found my cousin's shooter, but they found the time to indict me and 18 others for this silliness. I really wish that they would get their act together and serve the people of Fulton County, Georgia,

like they're supposed to, and get these people out of jail. And get these people out of jail. 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 is. Benny the Butcher. Brent Smith from Shinedown. We got Be Real from Cypress Hill. NHL enforcer Riley Cote. Marine Corvette.

MMA fighter Liz Karamush. What we're doing now isn't working and we need to change things. Stories matter and it brings a face to them. It makes it real. It really does. It makes it real. Listen to new episodes of the 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 podcast 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 podcast We asked parents who adopted teens to share their journey. We just kind of knew from the beginning that we were family. They showcased a sense of love that I never had before. I mean, he's not only my parent, like, he's like my best friend. At the end of the day, it's all been worth it. I wouldn't change a thing about our lives. Learn about adopting a teen from foster care. Visit AdoptUSKids.org to learn more.

Brought to you by AdoptUSKids, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, and the Ad Council. These conditions that they shouldn't be in. If we're going to walk around and call ourselves the greatest nation on earth, we shouldn't be treating each other and folks like this. Oh! See, I love it how now all of a sudden, now all of a sudden, Greg, the right wing cares about jail conditions. Now all of a sudden,

now all of a sudden they care about people who are dying in prisons. I remember when there were people who were dying in the jails of that bootleg, bootlicking sheriff in Milwaukee. I can't even remember that fool's name. Oh, they were talking about he should run for higher office. But now, and now Trump is running around saying young thugs should get

a bond. Isn't it amazing what happens, what a mugshot will do to you when it comes to your concern about the criminal justice system? Again, I mean, it's all much more complicated than it appears on the surface. I was talking with some undergraduate students yesterday about Young Thug.

In fact, one young brother had a Young Thug shirt on. And they swear that Fanny Willis is against hip hop in Atlanta. It's a war on hip hop, they're saying. And I'm listening to them back and forth. And I said, well, you know, it's interesting because she's also after Donald Trump. And they were like, yeah, but, you know, and for that. But it's more complicated than just saying the law is on one side or the other. And when it comes to race, we know that's true.

We know when they were searching for Chandra Levy, everybody remembers her, in Rock Creek Park. They found other bodies there, people who were unhoused, people who made something that happened to foul play. We know in Mississippi, when they were looking for Schwerner, Goodman, and Chaney, they found so many black people that the Snick Singers made the song in the Mississippi River. They said, we've been trying to tell y'all

what they do now here, but until the white people died, you didn't come looking. I mean, it's funny, Jahan Jones has an article on MSNBC website, and Jahan says MAGA movements, DEI program looks like a pathway to prison. Every one of these people, we heard Candace mentioned Enrique Tarrio. Let's see what's going to happen to him. And here's Harrison Floyd.

Every time y'all try to diversify MAGA, you seem to end up in jail. You better. That's right. I just think it's laughable to listen to idiots like Harrison Floyd now all of a sudden be really concerned because you notice they haven't said, well, Trump, you had a Department of Justice for four years. Why do you investigate these jails? Hmm.

In fact, the Biden-Harris Department of Justice has been far more aggressive, Matt, in throwing wardens and jail officers and others in prison far more than what happened under Donald Trump. Look, I was having this conversation with a colleague today. Republicans, conservatives, and white people, we're going to be 100% honest, don't want diversionary programs until it's Muffy getting arrested

when she got too drunk in Georgetown and got a DWI. That's when you want reform. You don't want reform any other time when it's just brothers getting arrested, right? Then don't look at it. Then we're just mongrels and you don't care. We're demonized, right? But then when it's them, it's now, oh, now we need to have a concern about all these things. And the first thing I'll say is I don't understand any of these lawyers letting people under federal indictments appear on a TV show. Donald Trump is the only one who seems to be able to get away

with that because he has the juice to get indicted in four different places and not immediately be held in lockdown. But Harrison Floyd's lawyer shouldn't be letting him make a comment anywhere at any time, so that's going to come back to bite him in the butt. But the larger issue is you're exactly right, and that's true. And to that extent, we've also seen that with the characterization of law enforcement that you've seen from the conservatives. What did they seen that with the characterization of law enforcement that you've seen from the conservatives. What did they talk about at the beginning? You know, back to blue, we support law enforcement, all this stuff. And then once Trump started getting in trouble, it's like you can't trust the FBI. Remember we used to tell you to trust all the law enforcement?

Don't trust them anymore because now they're out to get all of us. And part of that is political gamesmanship. But also part of that is they don't care unless it's happening to them. And that's a sad reality, but we shouldn't be surprised that there's no care for reform until it's rich white people going to jail. But look, you do the time, you do the crime based on their own ethos for, what, 50 years, right? y'all because this absolutely is pure comedy. You think you were singled out because you're an African-American and particularly a MAGA? You're MAGA. You're a Trump supporter.

You're a patriot. You're a veteran. Do you think you were singled out because of that? Part of it, you know, part of the black culture is always voting Democrat. I went against the code, if you will, at the highest order. And so the district attorney decided she wanted to send me what we call a Negro wake up call. And she dialed the wrong number because it didn't go through. You think you were singled out because you're an African-American?

Can I get one of those every morning? Because I never heard of a Negro wake-up call. I need that. It's because you're not a Negro. Oh, okay. All right. I need the wake-up because you got a need. Oh, okay. All right. I need, I need, I need to make that call. You tell me. Um,

Candace, I'm, um, first of all, he said the call didn't go through. Oh, yes, it did. That's why your ass sat in jail all that damn time Oh the call went through

Now what's hilarious to me 19 folk got indicted Two black So what do we call the white folk Not only Did he pick up But he gave them instructions on how to come get him He called it silliness.

That was not almost 100 pages of silliness that came across the media. That's number one. He is a part of a larger conspiracy where they have evidence, two grand juries. They have everything written for him to see. He knows what's going on. And like Matt said, what are you talking about? Because you shouldn't even be on TV to begin with. You know what you should be doing because two of your co-defendants have asked for a speedy trial and it might happen, what, October 23rd?

You should be preparing your case because there are two co-defendants of yours that think that they are ready to go to trial. There is no reason why you are not going to be scooped up in that formal presentation of going to trial. They are ready. He should not be on TV. We just heard about somebody from the Proud Boys, right, asking for mercy on the court. What he's doing right now, calling it silliness and talking about a Negro wake-up call, Lord knows what that is. That is not going to have any place in the courts. He has ruined his chance to have any sympathy or have any friendship or alignment with anybody in that courtroom. His attorney has to stop him from being on TV.

And he needs to stop himself from saying silly things and phrases that even the black culture doesn't know what he's talking about. OK, y'all, I just need a little bit more comedy. So, Harrison, I got my Negro wake-up call, Floyd, held a news conference, and if y'all really want to laugh, this fool even said, I'm running for Congress. Mm.

First, I just want to give thanks to God, who's the head of my life, for keeping me safe while I was in there. Second, I want to give thanks to God, who's the head of my life, for keeping me safe while I was in there. Second, I want to thank my wife, who's been a tremendous support. And I want to thank everyone outside who's been praying for their well wishes, and especially for all the kind contributions to the legal fund. They're greatly appreciated. And last but not least, I would like to thank District Attorney Fannie Willis for giving me what we call in our community a Negro wake-up call

because she has reminded me that our country and the state of Georgia will not be able to be a righteous nation if we stand on pillars of corruption, racism, lying, and cheating. And when we are governed by men and women who are more concerned about things in the world, rather than serving the citizens they're sworn to protect, we end up going into more and deeper darkness. So the only thing we can do is follow God and lead by example. And so I'm also announcing right now that I am exploring running for congressional seat in Georgia. I'm coming back here to get things right. Thank you. Yeah. Greg, did that.

Go ahead, Doc. No. Hey, look, it's not a bad strategy. I mean, as of a few days ago, three or four days ago, he had a quarter million dollars in his crowdsourced legal defense fund. If he doesn't do the up to 20 years and he runs for office, I guess he won't give any of that money back. Can he convert it over to his back? Can he put it, I mean, you know, the grip is real. Look at the fools that are in the federal legislature right now. Hey, this is your 15 minutes of fame. Clearly the MAGA DEI program leads to unintended consequences for non-whites. But in this case, why the hell not run for Congress? I mean, if you're

in Georgia, you might have a chance. Look at the hillbillies and the damn legislature. Look at Herschel Walker. Why the hell not? Oh, Matt! I just, I love these black MAGA people. All you damn black Democrats, all y'all

do is play the victim. Y'all just pay the victim. There ain't no damn victim. Don't break the law. You're not going to be in trouble. Now, your little punk ass, now his little punk ass, now he running his mouth trying to look like a martyr. I'm like, man, go sit your silly ass down.

And Clint, I hope your wife got some money set aside because boo, his ass going to jail. Boo, he going to jail. He's one of the three people who pressured those two black election workers. So just so y'all understand what this punk Harrison Floyd did.

He was there attacking these two sisters. He can go to hell. Go ahead, Matt. I was just going to say, can we... I know a lot of cops, and they get asked all the time, have you ever had to shoot your gun? Sometimes the answer is yes. But there's a company dedicated to a future where the answer will always be no.

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

This is Absolute Season One. Taser Incorporated. I get right back there and it's bad. It's really, really, really bad. Listen to new episodes of Absolute Season 1, Taser Incorporated, on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Binge episodes 1, 2, and 3 on May 21st,

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

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

this quote-unquote drug man. Benny the Butcher. Brent Smith from Shinedown. 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. Sometimes as dads, I think we're too hard on ourselves. We get down on ourselves on not being able to, you know, we're the providers.

But we also have to learn to take care of ourselves. A wrap-away, you got to pray for yourself as well as for everybody else, but never forget yourself. Self-love made me a better dad because I realized my worth. Never stop being a dad. That's dedication. Find out more at fatherhood.gov. Brought to you by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the Ad Council.

Talk about how he's talking about playing Negro cards. He started with the blackest thing you can do by saying exactly what you hear at every black church. I just want to give honor to God who's the head of my life. First of all, I don't know if y'all caught that. Hold on, hold on. Y'all go ahead and run that back. Go ahead and run that back. Let's hear the church testimony of Harrison Black Maga Floyd.

First, I just want to give thanks to God, who's the head of my life, for keeping me safe while I was in there. Second, I want to thank my wife who's been a tremendous support. And I want to thank everyone outside who's been praying. Is he accepting the Grammy Award? Go ahead, Matt. It sounded like he was about to try to testify,

but that's neither here nor there. I'll tell you, look, what I think you see here is you see the tokenism that a lot of times black people in these spaces try to leverage until they realize that they are a token. You are dispensable. Of those 19 people, he's going to be the one that they throw to the wolves. And they should be. If you're attacking people and pressuring them the way he did and the evidence bears that out, then he gets what he deserves. But beyond that, there is a foolhardy delusion you have to engage in if you don't recognize when you're Deacon Harrison Floyd or Herschel Walker or whomever that you are a means to an end. You are the modern means to an end to say, hey,

we got Negroes too. And the moment that you are no longer advantageous to that, you get left by the wayside. And I wouldn't be surprised if Trump's lawyers are telling him, look, Floyd and these other folks, you need to sacrifice them to the rules. Because here's the thing. When co-defendants, when people get indicted and there's a bunch of co-defendants, they start rolling and they start snitching. We haven't seen the statements yet, but I would not be surprised if Trump and the others are like, look, you're at the top of the heap. You have arm's length to what they're alleging you did, with the exception of a phone call and maybe some other things, you need to throw that on them. That might be my strategy if I represented Trump, right?

Throw it on the other people. And I guarantee you Harrison Floyd is going to be one of those sacrificial lambs, as black people in these spaces often are. And you know that when you go into this space. So that's on him. Lord, I am here for all of the comedy from Black Maga World. And again, I want to keep seeing them go to jail. I want to see the Pride Boys go to jail. I want to see the Oat Keepers go to jail.

Can't wait for Donald Trump to go to jail. Tish to see the Oakeepers go to jail. Can't wait for Donald Trump to go to jail. Tish James is on his ass. And so all of this is just fabulous that we are seeing play out right now. And then, of course, all these Republicans doing all they can to actually stand with him and defend him. And they're calling this all stuff free speech. But I'm just loving how they're just trying to make excuses for an absolute nutcase idiot. Now, we come back. Remember I told you all about how the white conservatives are playing up this mural of don

trump and how they're trying to make it seem like that, ooh, the inner city is just loving it. I'm just loving it. I'm just loving it. I'm just loving it. I'm just loving it. conservatives are playing up this mural of Donald Trump and how they're trying to make it make it seem like uh that oh the inner city is just loving Donald Trump well uh we're gonna show y'all the actual full full mural which is utterly hilarious can't wait to actually have that for you we're

gonna talk about what's happening in Tennessee uh as well we got Michael Bibbins joining us y'all it's a whole lot we got to talk about oh and this just came across um we to talk about what's happening in Tennessee as well. We got Michael Bibbins joining us. Y'all, there's a whole lot we got to talk about. Oh, and this just came across. We're going to talk about this in the second half of the show. The white owner of a radio station in Detroit that has black programming, he's cut that out and is now replacing that programming with right wing talkers like Glenn Beck and Clay Travis. Oh, by the way, all you black preachers, y'all help make his ass wealthy

because he owns the word network. I'll unpack it later right here on Roland Martin Unfiltered on the Blackstar Network. You go to a barbershop and a 500 credit score, equal brilliance, but bad culture, they're talking about other people. You go to a winner's barbershop, here's what I'm doing. You go to the barbershop where people feel defeated, they're talking about other people, either celebrities or people they admire. But also often, I don't like Joe.

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

They're succeeding. They're killing it. All you should be is, that's fantastic. But if I don't like me, I'm not going to like you. If I don't feel good about me, it's hard for me to feel good about you. If I don't respect me, don't expect me to respect you. If I don't love me, I don't have a clue how to love you.

And here's the big one. If I don't have a purpose in my life, I'm gonna make your, 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 Black Star Network. Me, Sherri Sheppard, with Sammy Roman.

I'm Dr. Robin B., pharmacist and fitness coach, and you're watching Roland Martin Unfiltered. All right, folks, I told y'all yesterday about this mural of Donald Trump in Atlanta that these white conservatives have just been going crazy by saying, see the inner city, the blacks, they're loving Donald Trump. They're sitting here doing murals, showcasing and showing how wonderful and great he is. Here's the problem. Go ahead and show it. The mural actually says, MAGA, my ass got arrested.

Muralist Chris Veal told a land TV station he just wanted to be one of the first to capitalize on the historic movement. You had to paint cans ready. We were ready to go on this one. Why do you think it was so important to get this up fast? Got to be fast before somebody else jumps on the idea. So I know there's going to be a lot of people painting this picture, so I try to get out fast as I can. How quickly do you think other artists are going to hop on this

and make their renditions of it? I've already seen canvases of it. I've seen T-shirts, mugs, everything. So, I mean, it's going to be one of the most iconic pictures in the country for years to come. What do you hope people take away as they pass this mug shot in mural form on the Atlanta Beltline? I hope they get a kick out of it. I hope they keep up with it and get out and vote. Oh, I just love it.

See, here's the thing here, Matt, that's been kind of interesting. Again, we've been talking about how the right wing tries to lie. So they took this and they said, see, see, look at this. They're loving them some Donald Trump. We're going to be winning the black vote. They really believe that black people are stupid. They believe that black people really are stupid. Yeah, I think that's right. I think they believe black people are stupid, but I also think they

believe that all of us have short memories. And I think they believe that, you know, there's too many people. And it's true, unfortunately, with how votes come out sometimes. There are too many people who are easily enamored by the dog and pony show. The problem is when you do that dog and pony show too long and you do stupid things incidental to that, you end up having to take mug shots. And what I'm still lost by is the idea that a former president is under indictment in four locations. Right. You know, if there were one case, maybe they could credibly argue this is political assassination. They're out to get me, whatever. But in four places, and we got phone calls and we got receipts, I mean, that's a bad

look, right? And I think that this mugshot, of course, Donald Trump is doing what he does and capitalizing on that and selling t-shirts and all that. But I think what was indicative of the principle that even the wider group of people outside of black people are not rocking with Trump was that lieutenant governor speaking on CNN. Because I think that's what you're starting to see. He said, look, the dashboard has a lot of lights and bells and stuff going off. And I think right now we're seeing the theatrical part of this. But just like Mr. Biggs and all these other cats, I think we're very soon going to be seeing Donald Trump either being found guilty by a jury or entering a plea. And that's going to change the course of everything. But if that does not happen,

I'm concerned about how that bodes for democracy, because the idea that somebody can be indicted in all these jurisdictions and just walk away scot-free is not only indicative of the duality of the system, but it's terrifying because it shows you the system, which we already know is broken, most definitely is not working the way it should. Go to my iPad. Ken, here's this old dumbass Charlie Kirk. I see why he dropped out of college.

He goes, truck mugshot mural in Atlanta. The backfire continues. A fool. It's mocking him. This is how dumb they are. And now here's the truth. Back in the day, Trump was one of those people who in pop culture, he was somebody that black people revered. Remember, he made, you know, his name was in rap songs all the time.

Saturday Night Live. I remember when he was in Home Alone, right? So he was somebody who was in mainstream pop culture who people liked at one time. artist who has always painted things that have to do with liberal-related causes or causes that have to do with humanity and social change and think that the audience would think that this was anything different than it was. This was not a win for the Republicans. This was not something that, you know, Black people are proud of in terms of Donald Trump. This is something that, obviously, they were making fun of him, making fun of his slogan, and they just don't want to admit it.

But that's what happens when you get the media to kind of seize on something. Then you add AI and bots, and it spits it out over and over again. And then all of a sudden, it's a story that's not even the truth. And that's just the world that we're living in. A bunch of stories that add up to not even the truth.

But you have to decipher it yourself. And obviously from this picture, we can decipher that this was nothing that was positive for Donald Trump. See, Greg, I keep warning folks what they're doing. And again, they play. We discussed this yesterday. They're playing this game. Oh, blacks are really standing with Trump because of the mugshot.

And they really are leaning into this whole deal that we are so attracted to criminals that we're going to stand with Donald Trump through his tumultuous moments. Yeah, and we know that that's not the case, but I mean, we certainly shouldn't discount or underplay apathy. You know, something that the artist said there, Chris Veal, he's already seen the image on mugs and T-shirts, and you know, can't have just said it. I mean, it's everywhere. He is reminded of the apocryphal statement that's often attributed to Barry Gordy. It's not just a thing, it's bad publicity. You spelled my name

right. Donald Trump took a picture. When I saw that mugshot, I immediately thought of the smiling, young, skinny kid from Hoboken, Frank Sinatra, and his mugshot that is on t-shirts and everything, the bad boy image. Donald Trump, that picture right there, that's a campaign poster. And yes, the Republicans did

not win. It's not a victory, but let's be very clear. We're talking about it, aren't we? And whether it's mocking him, whether it's making fun of him, it's the same pitch. And ultimately, if they're going to rally their troops in a kind of pop culture style, and certainly they won't be black votes picked off, but iconic. Even Veal said iconic. What is an icon? An icon technically is a figure of

uncritical praise. I don't know if that's the word he should have used, but we're far from out of the woods with this. We need to, as he said, I want people to go out and vote. Yeah, register and get out there and vote. Why? Because apathy might be the thing that decides this, and this may just be a rally. And there you go right there, apathy.

And that's why I keep trying to explain to people. I keep trying to walk people through what the Republicans have in store. If Trump gets back into the Oval Office. It's nothing that we have ever seen. And y'all, these people can sit out here watching, and they can play around and joke around and act like this ain't no big thing, but I'm trying to tell y'all, don't play around with this if you think what has been happening in Florida, in Texas, in Georgia, when it comes to CRT and the teaching of slavery and textbooks and DEI, the affirmative action decision by the Supreme Court, if you think that you pissed off with that stuff, you can't imagine what they have planned. I'm telling y'all.

Y'all can sit here and go for that old lesser to evils and segregationist Biden and all that sort of stuff. I'm telling you right now. The evil that these people are planning,

we have never, those of us who are, I'm not saying the country, but we living right now have never seen before. They are planning to gut the federal government. They are planning to get rid of thousands of people, and many of them look like us. They have made it clear they only want Trump loyalist in positions. Trump has already said he is going to use the DOJ and the IRS to terrorize his political opponents. He's very clear. Don't think he's bluffing.

So, I'm just trying to tell y'all what these folks are planning in this dojo. Alright, y'all. When we come back, I'm going to chat with Michael Bivens about his new documentary. We'll also talk in this hour about what's happening in Tennessee. And, black folks made Kevin a deal a whole bunch of money.

A lot of you black preachers out there with your church services on the word network, y'all might be saying, what is he doing about flipping a major radio station in Detroit from black Talk Radio to Right Wing Hate featuring Glenn Beck and Clay Travis. It's happened. You're watching Roland Martin on the Black Star Network.

Hey, folks, don't forget, you're on YouTube. Hit the like button, y'all. Appreciate all of you doing so. Also, supporters of what we do, download the Black Star. First of all, contribute to our show. It's critically important that you, contribute to our show. It's critically important that you become contributors to our show. I appreciate everybody who comes to me and they tell me we love the show.

We're praying for you. Keep it up. But here's the whole deal, y'all. Without money, we can't pay staff. We can't pay for all things that we're doing right here. And so I appreciate all of that. I love people saying, man, oh, my God, the quality is great. Yeah, guess what? We pay for all this. And so your donations are critically important. Our goal is real simple, to get 20,000 of our fans contributing on average 50 bucks each. If 20,000 of our fans contribute on average 50 bucks each, that means we would raise a million

dollars a year from our fans. A million dollars a year. Folks, right now, we are right now in about to go into September. We are behind, way behind. Right now, we are on track to only raise about $700,000. So we need you to support us in what we do. If you can't get $50, hey, we appreciate $1, $2, $5, $10. It doesn't matter. If you can get more, that would be great as well.

And so send your check and money orders to PO Box 57196, Washington, D.C., 20037-0196. And y'all heard me say it, and I'm not lying. I'm the one who has to cut the checks. All of this costs $195,000 a month. This show, all the shows on the Black Star Network, the production, everything, travel, you name it, $195,000 a month. And so that's just the reality.

Cash app is Dallas Sign, RM Unfiltered, PayPal, RMartin Unfiltered. Venmo is RM Unfiltered. Zelle, Roland at RolandSMartin.com. Roland at RolandMartinUnfiltered.com. And I'll say this here to everybody who's watching. Let me be clear. There is no, let me be real clear.

Come to me with this here. There is no, there is no black-owned media outlet. There is no Black-owned media outlet. There is no Black-owned media outlet in the country that does more original news per day than we do. We have five hours of original news every single day right here on the network. There is none. Nobody.

Not the Griot. Not Black Enterprise. Not Essence. Not Blavity. Not not a tv one not urban one nobody that does what we i know a lot of cops and they get asked all the time have you ever had to shoot your gun sometimes the answer is yes but there's a company dedicated to a future where the answer will always be no. Across the country, cops called this taser the revolution. But not everyone was convinced it was that simple.

Cops believed everything that taser told them. From Lava for Good and the team that brought you Bone Valley comes a story about what happened when a multi-billion dollar company dedicated itself to one visionary mission. This is Absolute Season One, Taser Incorporated. I get right back there and it's bad. It's really, really, really bad. Listen to new episodes of Absolute Season One, Taser Incorporated, on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Binge episodes 1, 2, and 3 on May 21st, and episodes 4, 5, and 6 on June 4th.

Add free at Lava for Good Plus on Apple Podcasts. I'm Clayton English. I'm Greg Lott. And this is Season 2 of the War on Drugs podcast. Yes, sir. We are back. In a big way. In a very big way.

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

Brent Smith from Shinedown. We got B-Real from Cypress Hill. NHL enforcer Riley Cote. Marine Corvette. MMA fighter Liz Karamush. What we're doing now isn't working, and we need to change things stories matter

and it brings a face to them it makes it real it really does it makes it real listen to new episodes of the War on Drugs podcast season 2 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. see who I am on paper. The paper ceiling. The limitations from degree screens to stereotypes that are holding back over 70 million stars. Workers skilled through alternative routes rather than a bachelor's degree. It's time for skills to speak for themselves. Find resources for breaking through barriers at taylorpapersceiling.org

Brought to you by Opportunity at Work and the Ad Council. So your support matters. Also get my book, White Fear, How the Browning of America is Making White Folks Lose Their Mind, available at bookstores nationwide. When you buy the book, that money comes right back into the show. I'll be right back. Next on The Black Table with me, Greg Carr.

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

right here on the Black Star Network. Up next on The Frequency with me, Dee Barnes, we're going to talk to Leslie Segar, a.k.a. Big Les, and talk about her incredible career as a dancer, choreographer, and DJ of Rap City. Magic Johnson was there,

so half the NBA was there. He modeled the supermodels, so all the supermodels were there every day. Like it was a who's who of who's who right here on The Frequency and the Black Star Network. On the next Get Wealthy with me, Deborah Owens, America's Wealth Coach, I'm sure you've heard that saying that the only thing guaranteed is debt and taxes. The truth is that the wealthy get wealthier by understanding tax strategy. And that's exactly the conversation that we're going to have on the next Get Wealthy, where you're going to learn wealth hacks that help

you turn your wages into wealth. Taxes is one of the largest expenses you ever have. You really got to know how to manage that thing and get that under control so that you can do well. That's right here on Get Wealthy, only on Blackstar Network. Bruce Smith, creator and executive producer of The Proud Family, Louder and Prouder. You're watching Roland Martin Unfiltered. All right, folks. Welcome back to Roland Martin Unfiltered right here on the Black Star Network.

Many of you, of course, know Michael Bibbins as being a member of New Edition and BBD. Of course, one of the original members has been involved in the music business for a number of years. Also, signed artists like Boyz II Men and Another Bad Creation. A new documentary on All Black AMC Network details how Bivens became a staple in R&B and hip-hop music. It's called

The Hustle of Mike Bivens. That's, of course, his Twitter handle. Here is a look. Who's called The Hustle of at 617 Mike B. That's of course his Twitter handle. Here is a look. Who's Michael Bivens? Sometimes he can be an asshole. Michael's a superstar basketball player. We was just kids from the project

having a good time. Mike was the golden child. He had a swag. One of the coolest businessmen in the game. He was popular on his side and on my side in the projects. Since day one, we clicked. I did what I had to do, and I did it by any means necessary. It changed my life.

The music game ain't no different than the drug game. I feel like I went to different than the drug game. I feel like I went to jail in the music industry. I'm mentally institutionalized. I realized I was protected a little bit differently. Mike, Mike, Project Mike. It is a trendsetter. You signed the most successful R&B group, Poisonous.

You're down with him, he's down with you. I always wanted to save the story for this. All right, y'all. Joining us from Boston is Michael Bibbins, CEO of Sport Rich Enterprises. Mike, what up? What up, Roland? You got to put that Y on that.

Sporty Rich, Roland. Ah, Sporty Rich. Well, they had it wrong on the teleprompter. So it's Sporty Rich. Sporty Rich. Yeah. One of the things that, again, that people, I think, will learn from this is that it's not just Michael Bivens' new edition BBD. That there are so many other facets of the business that you have been involved in.

Yes. I think, first of all, it's real. You know, through my 40 years, which is our 40th anniversary, we were able to do the new edition story. You saw other stories of other members in the group. And I just think that there's more stories in this group. And I was just happy to step into my, you know, being an artist, an executive, a family man, a businessman, and more importantly, a community man. So it's a lot of facets. You're right. When you look at all of these years, one of the things that is still amazing, just the number of people who still enjoy the music. Your fan base is tremendous. When you had the previous concert tour,

when you asked me to do a video, I said that new edition is this generation's temptations. How does it feel even when you still go on tour now? Packing arenas out and again, not playing small venues, but still packing them out and so many people just

loving the new edition of Sound. And BBT. It's a powerful fan base. It's 40 years. You know, we call them any for life. They've been there since we was 14. You know, I just turned 55. Presently, as we speak, all

three members of Bell Bibb DeVoe are 55. Me, Ron, and Rick are 55. To Ricky, turned 56 on September 18th. Man, you can't pay for that type of fan base. That's just a direct connect, man. Just beautiful women, beautiful men, all colors. And they've been there since Candy Girls. So the Legacy Tour, the Culture Tour,

was just a celebration of good music and all of us just growing up together. But did you ever just sit down and go, damn, we still in this thing and still doing well? Look, it's a whole bunch of artists who came and went. They're not still going 40 years later. And there's a whole bunch of them are going to be unsung with the broke stories

talking about how things used to be. And it's not like y'all didn't go through your own financial issues as well, but y'all have written that wave. Well, you know, you gotta go through it, man. You know what I mean? Jordan, it took him a minute to win them six

championships, you know, when you take those hits, those hits are jewels. It's how you use them. Do you let it defeat you? Do you let it build you up? And how you apply to get yourself to get back on your feet. And New Edition is the testament to, you know, hanging in there, blood, sweat, and tears,

getting kicked in the butt, getting taken advantage of. And, I mean, look at that. Wow. Wow. Wow, look at that. Wow. Wow. Wow. That's precision, baby. That's a lot of hard work and rehearsal. And, you know, that's why we love what we do,

because when the money got funny with the records, we knew the only way we could survive is if we go on tour. And we've been on tour our whole career. We might have made about, what, six albums as a group in the course of our whole career and our solo albums, but we spent more times at the box office and the arena than we did in the recording studio making albums every summer. Well, absolutely. This, of course, is you guys last year at Essence performing there as well.

I really love the piece about Boyz II Men and founding. How did that actually happen? The Boyz II Men? Yeah. I mean, it's in the documentary, which we want to bring them to see it on the all-black TV network and it's on all the platforms. As we sit now, it was number one on apple

tv it was um the most popular on amazon prime um it just happened accidentally like ron and ricky really met boys to men before i did i was conversing with um keep sweat backstage and they sang for them and you know i heard it but i didn't see them and And, you know, I heard it, but I didn't see them. And I guess, you know, they told them to send a demo. So when I came around, they was like, yo, Mike, can we sing for you? And I'm like, all right, go for it. So they sang and, you know, we got quiet and they were waiting for our response. And, you know, like I say in the doc, I don't know what am I supposed to say. Y'all sound better than us.

Like, it's kind of funny. You know, they asked me for the number, whatever. I gave them the number where I'm going to be in two weeks. And, uh, me and Nate Morris, we spoke for about 30 days plus. And, um, he's the one that actually convinced me to be an executive. He told me I could do it because I wasn't thinking about it. I was trying to be BBD and poison wasn't out yet. So he's the one that pushed me into an executive seat. But you also, for a long time, thought you were one of the baddest ballers in the country.

Well, now I can get a little more funky with you. You know, you're like, oh, I'm a hooper. I mean, you know, when you play ball, man, that's a different swagger, bro. That's like your whole mission is to just murder this dude and take his heart out and make him not want to stick you, put the funky, funky dribbles on him and the passing and laying it up. And it psychologically messes with your opponent. And I've been doing that since eight, man.

I love ball. And in my heart and mind, I went to the NBA in dreams years for years. And I was able, honestly, to bring celebrity street ball to the music business. So when you see a celebrity basketball game, you will always know that it started with five boys from the projects of Boston, because that was our pastime from doing interviews, playing radio DJs who were grown men. And we was 14, late 30, 40. And then we started playing artists. So it's a part of the contribution to the culture. Questions of my panel. Candace you're first well first of all hello michael you listen to songs since my name is candace and i grew up candy that's been my song for my whole

life um but i am wondering yeah i am wondering in terms of how the business has changed what do you think boys to men i'm sorry what you would have done, your group, New Edition, would have had to have done differently today to get into the game? How have things changed in terms of all the moving pieces that would have changed how you would have had to have been discovered and make it? Well, the talent shows, Candice, is kind of like American Idol and Boy Snap. See, when we was coming up, it was sign your name on a piece of paper, go perform with, you know, groups, and the crowd would pick the winner. And now, you know, they got all this voting stuff and, you know, things to get you in the game. So I don't know what we would have done different.

I mean, we would have still been performing for the girls. We would have still tried to get it. But now you could just make a record in your crib and load it up online. And in their mind, they're in the music business just because of the bad thing. You had to really, really audition. You had to win over the president, the A&R, whoever, to even get a record deal. And it's just different. The doors are a little wide open.

But the one thing we're learning is whoever we hear all day long on radio might not be able to sell out a theater. The reality at the box office is the only thing that ain't changed. The tricknology will never fool a ticket-goer into buying your ticket if they don't like your record. Just gotta stay there with me for a minute. Some records are being played because they're just being played, but they don't necessarily be a hit

that resonates with the people. Right, right. Thank you for that. Matt. Well, let me first say it's a great honor to get to talk to you, brother. Thank you for sharing your talent with us for all these years. I guess my question would be to you, at this age, at 55, looking back 41 years ago, what have you learned in your journey that you would tell young entrepreneurs

or young people who are trying to distill their talents and bring them to the world? What have you learned about your journey that you think is impactful for them to know? You know what, Marnie? I probably wouldn't even tell them too much about my journey because like Candace said, times have changed and um if I get to talking about the ugly side I might discourage them so now that I am older I don't really talk

about the dark side because what we've been through is going to make it easier for them so I would just show them yo your left hand and your left foot is a little offbeat and this and that in the studio. The record is this, that. This record is better than that. I would try to keep them where they could see the fun in it before I start killing them on the horror story. Because you could really take somebody out if we talk about what we've been doing. So, I would probably just stay on the fun side, you know, keep it at the amusement park.

Everything is good. You know, consult them and just move them along if we get in business. But I wouldn't put the war story on them. I put the war story on their parents so they can understand how important of a role they play in it if they're younger. And if they're of age, then I would just say, hey, listen, you own 100% of your life until you start signing papers. So be cautious

of how much you put away. I do think it's the reality of what I call the business of the business. And I think, Michael, I've interviewed so many different artists, and when you look at even now, I saw a clip the other day

where Neil talked about how he wanted to, his album was finished. He wanted to go back and do a couple other songs. And they were like, yeah, let's do more money. And then he realized like all of the dinners, they were taking him out to dinner, that it was coming out of his budget. And a lot of these folks, when they have these record label deals, not understanding that it's the business of the business. You've been on both sides.

You've been on the artist side, then you've been on the label side. And what did you learn on the artist side that caused you to say, when I'm on the owner's side, I'm going to operate differently? Well, with ABC, I made sure they had a trust fund. You know, I was young. You know, they took advantage of us. And I knew the importance of that 15 minutes of fame. So 50% of the money that they made off the music, we put 50% of away from them, put them in the blue book and we saved it. So when they turned 18, each one of them got a book with their money in it. That was the first thing.

Wow. Other than that, you know, you just try to do a fair deal. You know, it's, it's easier to be fair and plus Roland. And I say this, you know, humbly and just prayfully. I ain't never met my artist broke. You know, when I, when I met my artist, I was coming off two or three tours. So my money was good. So I never felt like I had to take something from somebody. Those wasn't our problems was how many hit records can we make, not how much money can we take.

You know, that didn't happen in that Biff 10. If you look at it, Boyz II Men to this day has a residency at the Mirage. They might have been on that block since Celine Dion came down and then Usher slid in there. But they done been there for years. And ABC are older. You know, they haven't made music in a long time, but when you play that music, it resonates to their age group.

So to me, I'm very proud that the artists I work with became real entertainers and household names, man. It's a testament to the imagery, the vision, and the execution. Greg? Thank you, Roland. Brother Michael Bivens, among so many other things you've contributed to the music and to the culture, one of the most widely debated

and contested lyrics in American popular music, never trust a big and a smile. But I must say, I must say, brother, I must say, brother, I must say, the question I'm going to ask you, what did Candace do on that question?

Did she put her head down? What did Candace do on that question? Most of us hear poison as a blues, brother. So, I mean, I'm just saying it's like a hip-hop blues. But, you know, Roland Mitchell Motown, and he mentions many of the groups. And we think about, of course, the Jacksons and all those, and then the white groups like the Osmonds, and then through the 70s, Earth, Wind & Fire, so many others. But, you know, your groups, whether it be New Edition, BBD, it's like a bridge.

And then you brought other groups in. Could you say something about really how the music has either moved away from groups? What is the significance of black groups, particularly black male groups, in the history of this music and how you all serve as kind of a bridge to the next iteration of groups? Well, hip-hop is powerful, you know. So a lot of the kids wanted to be rappers when you have a blueprint that's out there that's how you inspire so like juan gay morris's sons juan more they're the ones with the torch right now they had the opportunity to perform on the

um grammys and stuff like that their father was was, you know, a legend in the game. So you have to put one over the fence for the kids to see. That's the cool thing to do. And right now they're still, you know, trying to be on the rap side. Some of them are not really good. Some are better than the others. But once you crack one or two and it becomes the thing, then it'll be all right. Just like the Disney Channel.

If you really look at the Disney Channel, Layla and the other the thing, then it'd be all right. Just like the Disney Channel. If you really look at the Disney Channel, Layla and the other young boy, that's more the rap side of our young black youth. That's not the singing side. So even the younger channels that can program, they're not programming R&B. They're programming the cool, clean lyrics of hip-hop.

And someone has to get in there. Now, if I was still a CEO actively every day, then I would be running that machine and say, yo, you're going to come, you're going to come, somebody's going to win. If one get in, two of y'all going to be the opening act, boom. Now we got three R&B groups on one tour, and we doing our thing.

Someone just has to program it, and that's the problem thank you good greg asked about groups uh and um one of the things that is important as i as how i look at it um is not only how you take care of yourself, but also how you carry yourself. And if anybody actually steps back and studies New Edition, if they study how you dress, how you act, how you performed, I've never heard anybody say, oh my God, they put on a raunchy show. And the reality is you can go to a new edition concert today and you literally are going to see multiple generations of folk in that audience. Was that by design as y'all kept going? Uh-uh. Smack it up, flip it, rub it down.

No, no. I don't know. 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 the War on Drugs podcast. Yes, sir. We are back. In a big way. In a very big way. Real people, real perspectives. This is kind of star-studded a little bit, man.

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

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

And to hear episodes one week early and ad-free with exclusive content, subscribe to Lava for Good Plus on Apple Podcasts. I always had to be so good no one could ignore me. Carve my path with data and drive. But some people only see who I am on paper. The paper ceiling. The limitations from degree screens to stereotypes that are holding back over 70 million stars. Workers skilled through alternative routes

rather than a bachelor's degree. It's time for skills to speak for themselves. Find resources for breaking through barriers at taylorpapersceiling.org, brought to you by Opportunity at Work and the Ad Council. No, no, no, no. I'm not saying. Well, first of all, look, the OJs got some lyrics. A bunch of groups have lyrics. So I get that. But I'm talking about, again, when you're in that audience, the music can appeal to multiple generations.

And it's not like, I don't know of a single song i don't think y'all cuss in any song no but what i'm saying is i thought we were slick how we did it i was trying to tell you we smack it up flip it we slipped in me and the crew used to do it you know um i want to rock with you but I was rocking them in the chair on stage. So we I guess the way we did it, it wasn't offensive. It seemed like it was just a lyric. And maybe that's a testament to our personalities on and off stage. So when you see someone delivering something kind of slick, you'd be like, oh, that was cute. As opposed to something that just feels too derogatory,

too aggressive. And I thought we was the masters of that. To be honest with you, when we doing those parts, it's the women that singing it the loudest. So right there, it's working. Indeed, indeed. Michael Bivens, the documentary, it airs on the All Black Channel on AMC.

Folks, absolutely check it out. Mike, it's always good to see you. Good to chat with you. Last saw you in Chicago. Had an opportunity to go backstage. Y'all performed at the United Center, got a chance to introduce y'all to the brother who is now the mayor of Chicago, Brandon Johnson. And you know what, man? We got to tell the audience and the squad, we on speed dial, bro. We text each other. It's all year long. It's not just interview time. And more importantly, Roland, I want you to know something. I invested in this doc. I took my own money. I bet it on

myself. This is the best deal I ever made in 40 years in this career. And I also directed it. So to me, I didn't have no rules. I didn't have no bar. I just knew that I wanted to tell a chronological story, and I wanted it to be real, and I wanted it to be factual. So to be here today, I know that my lighting has been changing, so hopefully you can see my hand. We got you. Yeah, as I say goodbye, but I just want people to know, when you pull up 20 minutes before we go on stage,

you always know I'm going to have a pass for you at the back door. Oh, absolutely. That's how we've been getting down. And that's how we've been getting down. And that's what makes us brothers on and off stage. And that means a lot to me. Absolutely, absolutely. And what, again, when people don't know when something

is happening out there politically, you'll hit me up and be like, yo, give me the 411 on what's going on. I'll make you run the box. You already know I'm on your jack. Because you know what? When I tell you, I feel like the message has been delivered, and you're going to go do what you do in your way.

And that's all that's important to me, that I was able to say what I had to say. And then you go do what you do, and that's what makes you who you are. Indeed. So this was backstage in Chicago, and again, Brandon was about to leave, and I said, no, man, I said, we're about to go downstairs. He was tired. He'd been campaigning all day. I said, so we walked in.

So I said, Mike, Ronnie, Bobby, Johnny, everybody, this here about to be the next mayor of Chicago. And he is the mayor of Chicago. So he loved that night. Yeah, man, that picture look good. I'm purple. Jackets is fly, too. Thank you, bro.

No problem. Mike, I appreciate it, my brother. Chat soon. Squad, all right. As long as y'all can see me, bye-bye. We got you. We got enough light left to see the outline of you. We got you. Thanks, Mike.

All right, folks, going to a break. We're going to come back. We're going to talk about a couple more stories, the drama in Tennessee and also what's happening in Detroit with the Black Talk radio station. That's next on Roller Mart Unfiltered on the Black Star Network. When you talk about blackness and what happens in black culture, you're about covering these things that matter to us,

speaking to our issues and concerns. This is a genuine people-powered movement. A lot of stuff that we're not getting, you get it, and you spread the word. We wish to plead our own cause to long have others spoken for us. We cannot tell our own story if we can't pay for it. This is about covering us. Invest in black-owned media.

Your dollars matter. We don't have to keep asking them to cover our stuff. So please support us in what we do, folks. We want to hit 2,000 people. $50 this month. Rates $100,000. We're behind $100,000. So we want to hit that.

Y'all 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 ismartin unfiltered. Venmo is rm unfiltered. Zelle is rolling at rollingsmartin.com. On the next Get Wealthy with me, Deborah Owens, America's Wealth Coach. I'm sure you've heard that saying that the only thing guaranteed is death and taxes. The truth is that the wealthy get wealthier by understanding tax strategy. And that's exactly the conversation that we're going to have on the next Get Wealthy,

where you're going to learn wealth hacks that help you turn your wages into wealth. Taxes is one of the largest expenses you ever have. You've really got to know how to manage that thing and get that under control so that you can do well. That's right here on Get Wealthy, only on Blackstar Network. I am Tommy Davidson. I play Oscar on Proud Family, Louder and Prouder. Right now, I'm rolling with Roland Martin,

unfiltered, uncut, unplugged, and undamned believable. You hear me? All right, the white nashers in Tennessee continue doing what they do. Representative Justin Pearson is contemplating whether the press charges against Republican House Speaker Cameron Sexton after a scuffle following the special session on Tuesday. Republican lawmakers rushed through an adjournment of the House, ending the special session on public safety. Democrats were not happy with the ending of the session, which led to protests and a physical altercation that was caught on camera between Sexton and Pearson.

During an interview with Tennessee radio station, Sexton said he didn't initiate the shoulder check and Pearson is playing the victim. I come off the diocese and then when I came down and was walking out the chamber, they decided to try to circle up on me and as I was walking, my security was behind me, as you can see from the video, especially from the top angle. Looks like they stumbled, but they put their hand on me, and it pushes me forward. And then there's a camera guy on my left who's wearing a green, I believe a green jacket or shirt that you can see, which then we move to the right to avoid him as kind of the push comes from the back. And I move to the right, and I keep walking.

And if you look in the video, there's no look back to Pearson, who appeared to be on my right. And so we keep walking. And then at that point, when I get around the camera person, Pearson decides to come in from my right side and come up and take his body and try to or actually did bump into my right side. And that's when we turned, or I turned, and then we had some words with one another. Yeah, we're looking at the video right now on mixtv.tv,

and I can see there's a man behind you. I guess that's a security person, is that right? Yes. And so, yeah, there's the riot. In Tennessee, they are doing all they can to shut down any dissent. And they're targeting these black state reps. They literally told these white moms who were demanding justice, y'all put your signs down.

They didn't go to court to stop them. These are absolute dictators and they are wielding their power and they do not care about the people. Greg. Yes. No, absolutely. I mean, looking at Sexton, looking at his behavior—of course, we all know Megan Lyons Lane and the controversy there—I encourage this type of behavior, because what it's doing is drawing a very clear line.

I was born and raised in Tennessee. There was a time when some of the criminal enterprise and the administration of Governor Ray Blanton when I was a kid was on the Democratic side. But one thing's for sure, good old boy politics like this is forcing people to pick sides. When you see white women in Tennessee, in Nashville

crying in the state legislature, when you see people who are for... White Republican women! That is exactly right. That is exactly right. That is exactly right. That is exactly right. I encourage Cameron Sexton to continue with this behavior because ultimately, and of course there in Texas, we saw what happened with Ken Paxton. You're going to keep going until people say enough. But in the short term, that might be the only way to break this fever in the state of Tennessee because they do, as you said, have a lock on the legislature.

So with that type of hubris, shortly thereafter comes the fall. So we can only hope that he just gets even more ridiculous. And that might be what's enough to build a coalition to at least blunt some of this stuff. That's good. This is—the Tennessee holler put this video out, Candace, of Governor Bill Lee proclaiming that this was a very good special session. And, yeah, these white women are not happy. I want to speak particularly to the Covenant parents who were a part of that engagement process in an important way. Their presence made a difference.

We took no meaningful action. They also reminded Tennesseans that there is hope in the midst of tragedy, and they brought that hope into this process. 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 Glott. And this is Season 2 of the War on Drugs podcast. Yes, sir. We are back. In a big way.

In a very big way. Real people, real perspectives. This kind of starts that 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, 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. Here's the deal. We got to set ourselves up.

See, retirement is the long game. We got to make moves and make them early. Set up goals. Don't worry about a setback. Just save up and stack up to reach them. Let's put ourselves in the right position. Pregame to greater things. Start building your retirement plan at thisispretirement.org. Brought to you by AARP and the Ad Council. We were also mansplained, interrogated, silenced, kicked out of meetings, and insulted. They also reminded us that civility, because of their engagement, is not a weakness. So I'm thankful to them. I have done. I have held my composure. I have stayed calm. I have been silent and quiet and composed, and I am sick of it. Listen to me. I am a pleading mother. I don't want

any one of you to feel what this feels like. It not only matters what happened here this past week. It's not only important to the people of Middle Tennessee, it matters to the people of Memphis, it matters to the people of East Tennessee. This lack of action is a choice they are making and speaks volumes about their lack of compassion and their priority of personal agendas over the people of Tennessee, even their own Republican constituents, including myself. The shooter confronted our children with guns, but now you are stabbing our families and all Tennesseans in the back. And we will go forward and we'll continue to build upon our efforts in public safety because it does matter. Candace, a lot of these white women are now talking about running against these Republicans next year. And you know what? When they get together, because you know how they do get together, whether it's online,

the mothers that get together when they try to make the point, oh, they can move mountains. And I would be very, very afraid if I were a Republican in that district who saw them coming, because there is a different voice. There's a different way that they do things. And at the end of the day, we know that a lot of women in the community, whether you're black or white, they have their tentacles in what is really on the ground of the community. Because ultimately what they were talking about was, you know, school shootings and the fact that nothing was being done. And, you know, we look at Pearson, we look at the response, we look at all of that put together. This is something that Republicans do not want to see coming. Pearson can go ahead, too, and he can go ahead and file charges if he wants. It probably won't do that much in terms of an outcome that's going to be in his favor, because that's a video that can really be deciphered, and there's always two and three

sides of every story. But it does drive the point home that you've got a different collective now on one side in terms of dealing with the mostly white men that are on that floor making a difference. This is kind of unprecedented when we see all of these factions, factors together. And it will be very, very interesting to see what the outcome of this will be. But if they say they're running, believe them, they will. They will galvanize people and they will get somebody in office. Watch. Hey, bottom line is, Matt, and we've been saying this, when these white folks wake up and see that these Republicans in power don't give a damn about them, they got a decision to make. Do you want to keep voting for your taxes? You want to keep voting against LGBTQ, against black people, against all their

attacks, or are they going to wake the hell up and then realize that, listen, y'all need to understand the battle that is going on here. And so that's what's needed. And I think, and hopefully the folks in Tennessee are waking up to this reality. I think so. And I think Candace and Doc hit the nail on the head in terms of talking about, you know, kind of how they're going to be able to move mountains and how they're galvanizing. But you know what I think is interesting? Look at Bill Lee's comments.

He still played on all the stereotypes of white women being demure and their civility and how they did it the right way and how these unruly Negroes are doing that, right? And that's one problematic because, again, you're pitting that whiteness against the rest of your constituency. But beyond that, I was talking to my father about this the other day. What I don't understand is how we do not have a crisis across the board of all citizens

with our representative democracy. How are people walking into schools and shooting kids and we still allow our legislatures to not pass meaningful legislation? Like outside of the race, outside of the gender, all of the other things we're talking about, it is absurd to me as a father and as a person who attended public schools that people can routinely be getting killed by guns on campus, and our legislatures can continue to not do anything about it. And now we're having a conversation because a bunch of wealthy white women are angry about it. And while that might move the needle a little bit, it should infuriate us that our legislatures across this country are not doing something

meaningful about gun violence. And I'm hoping that now a different contingent of people screaming into the void causes that void to close up and something actually happens. But until then, I won't be impressed by anything. And until then, you'll see exactly what Bill Lee did, which is where he played on stereotypes and tried to sanitize their response, when when in reality they were mansplained, as she said, and not listened to. And that really is indicative to me of the crisis that I see around this country. What is the point of representative democracy if they don't work for us at all? The idea that we do not have meaningful gun legislation with a spate of

school shootings basically every week should infuriate every one of us. What are we paying your salaries for? What are we sending you there for? And why don't we have a better mechanism to compel you to actually do something? Indeed. All right, folks, hold on, hold on real quick and go to break. We're going to come back. We're going to tell you about a lot of people not happy in Detroit, where the only black talk radio station there, owned by a rich white guy, is flipping to a right-wing hate network. I'll tell you what's happening on Rolling Rock Unfiltered on the Black Star Network. Hatred on the streets, a horrific scene, a white nationalist rally that descended into deadly

violence white people are losing their damn lives there's an angry pro-trump mob storm to the u.s capital we're about to see the rise of what i call white minority resistance we have seen white folks in this country who simply cannot tolerate black folks voting. I think what we're seeing is the inevitable result of violent denial. This is part of American history. Every time that people of color have made progress, whether real or symbolic, there has been what Carol Anderson at Emory University calls white rage as a backlash. This is the rise of the Proud Boys and the Boogaloo Boys. America, there's going to be more of this.

There's all the Proud Boys, guys. This country is getting increasingly racist in its behaviors and its attitudes because of the fear of white people. The fear that they're taking our jobs, they're taking our resources, they're taking our women. This is White Beat. I'm Faraji Muhammad, live from LA.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. We days at three only 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. How many times have I told y'all why owning is important? I've said this on numerous occasions.

See, when you own, then you're the one who's calling the shots. When you own, then you're not the one who is then begging somebody to cover you, to talk about you. It's the same as when people talk about gentrification. And I keep telling people that those who own houses and own apartments and own brownstones, they're the ones with power, not those who rent. And how many times have y'all heard me say that one of the greatest fears that I have is that we are going to be asking other people to please, baby, please, can you please keep covering us? Can you please, please tell our story? No, that's what's happening in Detroit, where a 50,000-watt radio station that, for the last decade,

has been a black talk station, is now flipping to a right-wing hate station. That's right. Go to my iPad. So Superstation 910 AM in Detroit is now going to be the home of, guess what? Glenn Beck, Clay Travis, Buck Sexton, these right wingers whose peddle conspiracy theories left and right. Now, Kevin Adele, the white man who owns the station, he said the black talk show format. Go back to my iPad, please. He said the black talk show format was no longer profitable and only attracted about 21,100 listeners a month. And then he also, now, he initially replaced it with ESPN Radio and denied that he was going to switch to a conservative talk format. Now, here's what's interesting when you look at the particular story here from the Metro Times.

Okay, so on the station, the format, Bank of Lake Thompson used to be at the Michigan Chronicle, had a show on there. Reverend Alice Sharpton's radio show was syndicated on there as well. But here's a line that y'all may want to see. But Adele didn't pay most of his hosts, making it difficult to attract experienced commentators and retain consistent voices. Hmm. Now, Kevin Adele, y'all, also owns a TV station in Detroit. He also owns the Word Network. Oh, yeah. I know a lot of y'all thought the Word Network was black. No.

He owns the Word Network. Yep. So all you black preachers who have been lining Kevin Adele's pockets, well, now he's flipping his radio station. Now, I had a little back and forth with Kevin and Dale when he was going after George Blumer, removed George Blumer from the network. They still are involved in a lawsuit. Dale tried to trash me, which was funny because Dale actually tried to offer me a radio show and a TV show, but I don't work for free. And even what he was offering was a pittance.

And I was like, oh, hell no. But this right here is a perfect example, Candace, of what I keep saying. Here you have Detroit. OK, we know black Detroit is history. And now you do not have a black talk station because Radio One years ago, a few years ago, got rid of their black talk network. Now you don't have a format for black folks to have an outlet to be able to go talk about our issues. And I keep saying to people, as long as you keep asking somebody else to cover our story, they can make moves like this and move on and don't sweat what anybody black got to say. You know, you're exactly right.

And here's one thing that people need to remember about radio. While a lot of people may be tuning into their phones and tuning into their televisions, most of the country does still listen to radio. Radio has big, big numbers. You may not go to the AM dial, but radio has huge, huge numbers. And when we talk about that dial, it's kind of like what you were saying with property. You've got to buy the property. There's only but so much property that goes around and then it's all bought up. That's the same with the spectrum.

When you go to 9, 10 AM, you get that spectrum, you're right on that dial. There's not a whole lot of places to go on that dial for people to be coming and saying, hey, you know what? Let me get in the game. It does not work that way when it comes to the spectrum. What he has is prime property. And what he did was he made a business move because like you said, somebody came and said, it's okay for you to undervalue me and I'll just work for free. You can't do that when you're in the game. You have to speak up and say what you want or else you are caught up in the situation like now and you are these hosts who no longer even have a channel to voice their opinions. What he did was made a business decision. We know where the world is going. Look at your neighbor on both sides. One of your neighbors

likes that station on 910 that it's eventually going to be. That is where this country is. It's a sheer reminder of the types of people in this world that we know are going to go out and vote in droves, listen in droves, be inspired in droves, and listen to lies in droves. What he should make sure he has is an insurance policy for when the lawsuits come, just like they do with Alex Jones, because that's what they do. They lie. And as we know from Rudy Giuliani today, you can't lie on someone and think that you have a First Amendment right. So he needs to be prepared for the types of things that people are going to say that, because it's going to be nothing but lawsuits. Watch. You know, Matt, people keep hearing me talk about this here.

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 two of the War on Drugs podcast. Yes, sir. We are back. In a big way.

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

Brent Smith from Shinedown. 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 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.

Here's the deal. We got to set ourselves up. See, retirement is the long game. We got to make moves and make them early. Set up goals. Don't worry about a setback. Just save up and stack up to reach them. Let's put ourselves in the right position. Pre-game to greater things.

Start building your retirement plan at this is pre-tirement dot org. Brought to you by AARP and the Ad Council. And they think, oh, man, I've had some some silly negros. I mean, you out here, you big and, you know, on your show talking about for people to give. And I keep saying, this is real simple. If you look at right now, black-owned media, well, the Telecommunications Act that Bill Clinton signed into law, that actually led to a dramatic decrease in black ownership. Why? Because a lot of those stations got sold. A lot of those black folks didn't have the capital to build the stations. Then when you look at how the demise of black newspapers, they are not even remotely in the position they were in even a decade ago.

You look at black magazines, Ebony is a shell of itself. Essence, pretty much, it's the Essence Festival. They're not doing lots of content. Black Enterprise is not covering a lot of black business news. We could go on and on and on. And the bottom line is, if you look at the information that we're getting, the people don't understand, even today, most African-Americans, they get their news and information from radio. And the reality is fewer and fewer of these stations are black owned. And those folks do not care about black content. Well, you know, nobody will save us but ourselves, right? And I think this is actually a matter of

duty. I do not expect a capitalist to do anything other than seek capital. It does not surprise me that he thought it was not profitable and decided to pivot away from that. That is not a surprise. And to your point, I think in order to make sure that our people are getting the right information and are getting the true information, then we have to control the channels of that information. Because as you know, in this day and age, there's an all-out assault on information, right? I mean, one of the big things you see from Trump and his cronies these days is that people can't even really discern what is the truth and what is not the truth, which means that if you're in the media, I think you have a duty to provide the right information. And if you're a black person, particularly a black person in the media, you have a duty to try to control those channels as much as possible to ensure that what's being disseminated is right and true and important to the people.

So I'm not surprised that Adele did this. I mean, none of that surprises me. But I would hope that what happens is going forward, we find not only the import of radio, and I'm surprised, to be honest. I didn't realize as many people listen to radio as much as you and Candace have educated me on that tonight. And if that's the case, then obviously we have to marshal our resources to make sure Black radio and Black newspapers and other Black outlets are safe. But it's a matter of duty. I mean, you, you have this show and you have a duty to give the people the truth,

which you do. But Adele doesn't necessarily feel he has a duty to do that. And that doesn't surprise me, which is why it's incumbent on us to make sure we support journalists like you giving us the truth. And that's the thing, Greg,

that a lot of people simply don't understand. It comes down to mission. Sure, it could be. Look, I could very easily, Greg that a lot of people simply don't understand. It comes down to mission. Sure. Look, I could very easily focus on gossip and entertainment

and sports and draw a lot of clicks and do those things. I could have some of these Sukihana and some of these other people sit down and do interviews with them. We could have some of these, Sukihana and some of these other people sit down, do interviews with them. We could spend a lot of our time covering red carpets

and stuff along those lines, but I purposely don't because there has to be value to the things that absolutely matter. This is a perfect example of what I keep saying to people. That wasn't black owned. And so you're not going to have the same sensibilities or the same commitment or focus. And that is what we see. There are people, and there are some people who are black, who own media properties, who don't give a damn about blackness. And they're also about the

almighty dollar. And what people need to understand is that when these things happen it's like oh my goodness um uh i i wish we had known i and i'm sitting going but what the hell are you watching and stop just sitting here watching somebody's instagram post that's not black news and people have understand, and this is how these rumors get, over the weekend, some blogger threw out some BS that Marjorie Harvey was cheating on Steve Harvey. They're getting divorced and she's demanding $200 million. And all of these nutcases ran with it. And a very prominent comedian commented on it.

And I called him. I was like, take that bullshit down. I said, you're commenting on a lie. And it was a flat out lie. And we see this constantly over and over and over. And I keep telling people, we

are going to rule the day. Again, black people are going to rule the day when we are going to rule the day when we are going to be in a position and we're saying, can y'all please cover us? Can you please cover our story?

Can you please showcase this? And the answer is going to be, no, because we don't have to. That's right. That's right. I mean, this is a sad day, really. I've been on 910 when we've had events at the Charles Wright Museum and Black History, African Liberation Day. And for a lot of black Detroiters, there's a class issue involved in this as well. I

mean, Candace has said this. People get their elders, people in the black community, organizers, Black Nationalists, Pan-Africanists, and we know Detroit is one of the blackest cities in the country. Like WVON in Chicago, with which you are well familiar, you know, people rely on that as a pulse. For years, WHAT or WURD in Philadelphia, the Anderson family, Walter Lomax, the Lomax family, you know, radio matters, talk radio matters. And, of course, our friend and brother, Michael M. Hotep. That was his broadcast radio station. So, you know, it'll be interesting to hear what Mike has to say tomorrow about this. But, you know, the African History Network, you know, you know, and whatever this man is doing, this millionaire, and he might say 2,100 people a month, that's a lie.

And if it isn't a lie, who are those people? Because I can guarantee you when whenever anything was happening in Detroit, whether it be the African World Festival or whether it be something going on to Charles Wright Museum, people you would see there say, I heard about it can't express my gratitude enough for you for saying, for imagining, you know, let's craft an arrow with this black table where we can do something that's not being done anywhere else. You know, you're very serious and thoughtful and really deliberate about providing content that is a different caliber. And for our people, that is the difference between being able to make thoughtful decisions and being awash in garbage that is out there in cyberspace. And so this is a sad day for the black folk of Detroit. I just want people, I'm going to make this final point, I just want people to understand again what happens when you own, when you control, and when you are not in a position to where you are asking permission and you are purposely using platforms to educate and inform. I've had a lot of people.

Dave Chappelle hit me up. Chuck D just posted the other day about my breakdown of the sale or the aborted sale of BET by Paramount. And again, folks, this is not, as many people understand, this is not about, oh, just saying, oh my goodness, how great I am. But first of all, we've had nearly 600,000 views of the video. Go to my iPad. Nearly 600,000 views of the video. But what I want y'all to do, though, is I want y'all to actually go to the comments. And I want y'all to see what people are saying in the comments on that video.

Folks are saying, my goodness, this was a master class. I didn't know any of this information. Thank you for the lesson that Bounce was white owned. There's all sorts of stuff like this. I'm saying all of this so our people understand that when we have our own platforms, when we are able to take the time, this segment, that segment, that BET segment, that was a 59-minute segment we did. A 59-minute segment that we did, folks. That's what it was.

And so I just need you to understand that when you own, you control. When you own, you control. I, and let me be real clear, we don't, ain't no votes around here. This is to be real clear, ain't no votes. And I remember I went after a particular company, and the company reached out to my third-party salespeople, and they were trying to figure out who to call to get me to stop. And my sales guy said, ain't nobody to call.

They were like, what do you mean? They said, he ain't got no boss. He owns it. I said, the only boss I got is God. That's it. The only person who can stop me from talking is God. And so I need our people to realize, and when y'all hear me talk about why I need you to give, y'all, I'm not joking.

There literally is no black-owned media company that is doing what we do every day. I got great respect for DJ Envy and Charlamagne the Breakfast Club. I Heart owns them. It's not black-owned. I Heart owns the Black Information Network network My commentaries run on there They're not black owned They're not Do y'all know who these campaigns

Give more of the black Targeted dollars advertising Dollars to on the digital side Complex All y'all black folks who go to complex And y'all reading all those black stories, they in turn get a lot of those black targeted advertising dollars. Who owns Complex?

BuzzFeed. Paramount owns BET. And so you need to understand the media game. And when we're able, and in a couple of weeks, I'm gonna do my follow up, I'm gonna be doing this every three months y'all. Every three months I'm gonna dedicate a two hour show to black owned media and advertising.

And I'ma tell y'all the people who we've been reaching out to who ain't spent no money. And I'ma tell y'all the people who we've been reaching out to who ain't spent no money. And I'm going to tell y'all the people who we've had numerous meetings with and all they rewarded us with is more meetings. And so we need to understand, and I love all the people, Duke for self, but then when you check their names, you don't see them on our list of people who give into the Black Star Network. And so all of the people who are upset in Detroit, you understand, I just got a text message. There is a radio station in it's a radio station in Richmond, Virginia. WREJ.

WREJ. My man Gary Flowers used to be Rainbow Push. That station has been sold for $500,000. The owners, they do Catholic spoken word. And guess what? As of spoken word. And guess what? As of August 31st, guess what? All of those programming is gone. So today, as of today, that's it.

That's it. They're gone. And Gary announced it. You should see it right here. You should see it. So same thing. and Gary announced it. You should see it right here. You should see it. So same thing. All those black folks in Richmond,

that that was the outlet they were reading from, well, guess what? That station is no more, and all of the black programming is gone. This, y'all, is what I keep telling y'all should be your greatest fear. Because when you cut, I'm going to use this analogy, but I just want y'all to be very clear. Cutting off their information flow to people is the same as cutting off the supply flow. 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 thing is. Benny the Butcher. Brent Smith from Shinedown.

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

It makes it real. Listen to new episodes of the War on Drugs podcast season two on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. And to hear episodes one week early and ad free with exclusive content, subscribe to Lava for Good Plus on Apple Podcasts. and drive. But some people only see who I am on paper. The paper ceiling, the limitations from degree screens to stereotypes that are holding back over 70 million stars. Workers skilled through alternative routes rather than a bachelor's degree. It's time for skills to speak for themselves. Find resources for breaking through barriers at taylorpapersceiling.org, brought to you by Opportunity at Work and the Ad Council. To a military. If you cut off their supplies, then you starve them.

In fact, in Ukraine, there was a story done how Elon Musk has been shutting off Starlink, which has allowed the Ukrainian forces to communicate with fellow battalions to be able to decide where to shift resources to win the war. We are in an information war. And the problem with black America, we have Elon Musk's who are controlling the communication apparatus, which allows for us to be able to get information, to be aware of what's happening in Atlanta, in Jacksonville, in Charlotte, in Mississippi, in Alabama, all of these stories that we do. So if you shut off the information flow, then the people

are completely starved from what's happening in and around them. That should be the greatest fear for Black America. Candace, Matt, Greg, I appreciate it. Thanks for joining us on today's show.

To all of you who are watching, if y'all are on YouTube, y'all, seriously, hit the like button. Almost 4,000 of y'all sitting here watching live. When you hit the like button, you impact the algorithm and YouTube being able to recommend watching this show. It ain't hard. It's literally click, like. It ain't that hard. So when I sit here and see 4,000 watching, there's no reason I don't see 4,000 likes.

There's no reason I don't see 4,000 likes. That makes no sense to me. That's one. But two, your dollars matter. Y'all have heard me lay this whole thing out. All of this costs. This costs. Our expenses are literally $195,000 a month.

And so when you give, you're paying for this. You have seen the reward of stuff that you pay for. When you see the quality of this show, graphics and the cameras and the background and the monitors and everything, you pay for that. And so your giving is critically important. When I say we need 20,000 of our people giving on average of 50 bucks each a year, if you've given last year, we appreciate it,

but we also need you giving this year. And so I've been, I had, we ran the numbers, and the reality is we right now are at 12,000 donors for 2023. We're 8,000 short. Those 12,000 donors have given about $600,000. So we need 8,000 people to give 50 bucks, 4,000 people to give 100 bucks. But if you give less, you give less. I totally appreciate it. Every dollar absolutely matters. That is how we're able to control our destiny. And yes, we're on YouTube and Facebook and Instagram. We're on Plex TV. We're on Amazon News. We also have our own OTT network. And so, and let me tell y'all right now, so y'all understand, okay? I'm going to just do the math. $160,000 divided by

$50, okay? Now, you might be saying, why am I saying $160,000, okay? All right. So, if 3,200 of the 8,000 give 50 bucks, you are paying for our OTT channel. Our OTT network, the Blackstone Network app, is $160,000 a year. Why do we do that? Because if one day YouTube says we're not going to run your content and Facebook says it and Instagram says it we still can run our own content we are not going to be beholden to these platforms when it comes to our content so that's why we have our OTT Network and so senior checking money orders to peel box five seven one nine six 57196 Washington, D.C. 20037-0196. Cash app is

dollar sign RM unfiltered. That's the only one we have. Cash app is dollar sign RM unfiltered. PayPal is paypal.me forward slash rmartin unfiltered.

Venmo is venmo.com forward slash RM unfiltered. Zelle, Roland at Roland S. Martin.com forward slash RM Unfiltered. Zale, Roland at RolandSMartin.com. Roland at RolandMartinUnfiltered.com. And so that's where you have it right there, folks.

We appreciate all that you have done. Also, don't forget to copy my book, White Fear, The Proudly of America's Making White Folks Lose Their Minds, available at bookstores nationwide. Download the audio version on Audible. You get it at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Target, Books A Million. And remember, all of that money goes right back into the show. Hopefully you learned a lot from this show. Folks, tomorrow, staff has the day off. And so we'll be, of course, Labor Day is on Monday. We'll be live

again on Tuesday. We're going to have tape programming on the show tomorrow as well as on Monday as well. Don't forget Labor Day. Labor unions made that possible. And so we're going to again keep telling those stories and keep and look this show is also made possible because ask me the American Federation of State County Municipal Employees

they were our first sponsor. So we thank Lee Sonders my alpha brother for that so understand we understand the importance of labor. Folks, that's it. We'll see you guys on Tuesday live. But, of course, our content is live every single day. Of course, our 24-hour, seven-day-a-week streaming channel. You can see it on Amazon News.

Go to Amazon Fire. Go to Amazon News. You can also tell Alexa, Alexa, play news from the Black Star Network. You can also, right there tell Alexa, Alexa, play news from the Black Star Network. You can also, right there, again, Alexa, play news from the Black Star Network. You can also watch our 24-hour, seven-day-a-week streaming channel on Plex TV. So search for Black

Star Network. Find us on the live TV, news and opinion, or just go to the search box and type in Black Star Network. I checked it out today. The channel is looking great. And so again, we thank all of you supporting this show. We'll see you folks again live on Tuesday.

Have a great, great weekend. Holla! Folks, Blackstar Network is here. Hold no punches! I'm real revolutionary right now. Support this man, Black Media. He makes sure that our stories are told. Thank you for being the voice of Black America, Roller.

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 scary. It's time to be smart bring your eyeballs home you dig 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. 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 Glod. And this is Season 2 of the War on Drugs podcast. Last year, a lot of the problems of the drug war. This year, a lot of the biggest names in music and sports. This kind of starts that a little bit, man. We met them at their homes.

We met them at their recording studios. Stories matter, and it brings a face to them. It makes it real. It really does. It makes it real. Listen to new episodes of the War on Drugs podcast season two on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. We asked parents who adopted teens to share their journey.

We just kind of knew from the beginning that we were family. They showcased a sense of love that I never had before. I mean, he's not only my parent, like he's like my best friend. At the end of the day, it's all been worth it. I wouldn't change a thing about our lives. Learn about adopting a teen from foster care. Visit AdoptUSKids.org to learn more. Brought to you by AdoptUSKids, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, and the Ad Council. This is an iHeart Podcast.