#RolandMartinUnfiltered - GOP cuts Black House seat; teacher fired for using N-word; Black Ala. woman found dead in police van

Episode Date: October 16, 2021

10.15.21 #RolandMartinUnfiltered: GOP cuts Black House seat; teacher fired for using N-word; Black Ala. woman found dead in police vanAlabama family seeking answers after their missing relative was found dead in the back of an unused police vehicle - in the parking lot of the police headquarters. Representatives Al Green and Sheila Jackson may face off in the next congressional election if new redistricting plan becomes law. Benton Harbor mayors says current news reports are not telling the whole story about the city's water crisis. Medial battle to change test keeping thousands of black patients off the kidney transplant list. #RolandMartinUnfiltered partners:Nissan | Check out the ALL NEW 2022 Nissan Frontier! As Efficient As It Is Powerful! 👉🏾 https://bit.ly/3FqR7bPAmazon | Get 2-hour grocery delivery, set up you Amazon Day deliveries, watch Amazon Originals with Prime Video and save up to 80% on meds with Amazon Prime 👉🏾 https://bit.ly/3ArwxEh+ Don’t miss Epic Daily Deals that rival Black Friday blockbuster sales 👉🏾 https://bit.ly/3iP9zkvBuick | It's ALL about you! The 2022 Envision has more than enough style, power and technology to make every day an occasion. 👉🏾 https://bit.ly/3iJ6ouPSupport #RolandMartinUnfiltered and #BlackStarNetwork via the Cash App ☛ https://cash.app/$rmunfiltered or via PayPal ☛ https://www.paypal.me/rmartinunfilteredDownload the #BlackStarNetwork app on iOS, AppleTV, Android, Android TV, Roku, FireTV, SamsungTV and XBox 👉🏾 http://www.blackstarnetwork.com#RolandMartinUnfiltered and the #BlackStarNetwork are news reporting platforms covered under Copyright Disclaimer Under Section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976, allowance is made for "fair use" for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This is an iHeart Podcast. self. 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 know a lot of cops. They get asked all the time, have you ever had to shoot your gun? Sometimes the answer is yes. But there's a company dedicated to a future where the answer will always be no. This is Absolute Season 1, Taser Incorporated. I get right back there and it's bad. Listen to Absolute Season 1, Taser Incorporated on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. I'm Clayton English.

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October 15, 2021. Coming up on Roland Martin Unfiltered, streaming live on the Black Star Network in Huntsville, Alabama. A black woman reported missing, found dead days later in an unused police van in the city's public safety complex parking lot. What the hell?

The new Texas map could pit two black lawmakers against each other. Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee and Al Green costing one of them their job. We will be talking with Congressman Al Green about the GOP's plan. Another Texas teacher resigned from getting caught on video being stupid in a classroom.

In Virginia, a white woman wants to remove books from Virginia Beach schools, including those by Toni Morrison, which she hasn't even read. We've been talking about the Benton Harbor water crisis tonight. The city's mayor will join us to talk about what is going on there. Thousands of black Americans need a kidney transplant,

but a scientific test eliminates that possibility. I talked to a doctor who explained how a medical test eliminates that possibility. I talked to a doctor who will explain how a medical test uses race to keep people off the transplant list. And in our Education Matters segment, we'll take a look at how Southern Illinois University Edwardsville ensures kids have a pathway to college through its charter school. It is time to bring the funk on Roland Martin Unfiltered on the

Black Star Network. Let's go. He's got it. Whatever the biz, he's on it. Whatever it is, he's got the scoop, the fact, the fine. And when it breaks, he's right on time. And it's rolling. Best belief he's knowing.

Putting it down from sports to news to politics. With entertainment just for kicks, he'sin' With Uncle Roro, yo Yeah, yeah It's Rollin' Martin Yeah, yeah Rollin' with Rollin' now Yeah, yeah He's broke, he's fresh, he's real the best

You know he's rolling, Martel Martel All right, folks, we have gotten used to some strange stories out of Alabama, and here is another one. A family is seeking answers after their missing relative was found dead in the back of an unused police vehicle in the parking lot of the police headquarters. On October 7th, Christina Nance's body was discovered in the unused vehicle outside of a Huntsville Police Department. Huntsville Police say surveillance video shows Christina Nance entering the van at the city's public safety complex on September 25th, 12 days before her body was discovered.

Now, the 29-year-old's cause of death has yet to be determined. However, the autopsy report says no foul play was involved. Now, Nance's family wants the surveillance video from the surrounding area released. We don't know how our relative's body was found inside a police van on police property. And we need some justice. We need some clarity. And Christina cannot speak for herself. So today we have about 10 to 15 voices that's echoing. So Nancy's family reported her missing two weeks ago. This is Beyond Strange.

My panel, Michael Inhotep, host of the African History Network show, Kelly Betheaa communication strategist and Brianna Cartwright political strategist. Um, I Don't know what to say here Michael First of all Why would she be getting into an empty van? body found there and you mean to tell me no one even drove that van? A police van

just unlocked and somebody just pops in? Well, see, you know, once again, Roland, thanks for having me back, but this is crazy. Now, we don't know if the police van was unlocked. I've been reading this story. I haven't seen anything that says it was unlocked.

Could have been unlocked. Could have been jimmied open. That's one of the first questions I have to ask, okay? Do you all leave police vans unlocked, or did somebody jimmy it open? Number one. Number two, you would think, you know, I've never been in law enforcement, but I would think

if I had been in law enforcement, and a dead body showed up in the police van, okay, you would want, like, to release everything that you have, you know, regarding this case, that does not the police van, okay, you would want, like, to release everything that you have, you know, regarding this case that does not compromise the case, okay? So, yeah, there's a whole lot of questions to ask you.

And then one of the other questions I have, and maybe you know this, Roland, looking at the reporting on this from the Griot, it talked about how Christina had been arrested for multiple non-violent offenses over the past eight years. What were those offenses? Is it believed that maybe those surrounding that, I don't know what the offenses were,

but is there a belief that the connection to those offenses had anything to do with her death? There's a whole lot of questions here. It makes no sense, Kelly, what is going on here. And again, I'm just sitting here going, how does somebody spend that long in a police van and nobody notice? I couldn't tell you because for what I know about police office locations and the like, there's rarely a time where someone is not coming in and out by way of going on patrol, going to a scene, what have you. And considering that you have to use these vehicles for transport on a regular basis, again, it baffles me as well how someone did not notice a body in a police vehicle. It is upsetting to me how if it weren't for

media like yours and other Black-owned media sources, this story would have been swept under the rug. Who knows how many other stories are like this one in which a Black woman is in peril or even deceased by way of some shady police officer work. Not saying that happens all the time, but God knows how many times it happens and we don't know about it. So thank you for bringing this issue to light, and hopefully we can get some answers for the family.

And Breonna, if you're this police department, you may want to be a hell of a lot more aggressive to figure out what's going on. How about conduct an investigation like you would if it didn't involve the police department? Right, Roland. That's the key part. How about conduct an investigation like you would if it didn't involve the police department? Right, Roland. That's the key part. We don't know where the forensic evidence is. If that's the case, then release those surveillance. You know enough coming and going.

And there's too many questions. And it's obvious right now that facts are being hidden. And we're unclear of the motives of why someone else would want to kill her, what previous issues were, if there's mental health problems. It just doesn't make sense. And if this local police does not want to investigate, then truly the FBI needs to get involved. Because, frankly, we've seen our people get shot in the street, already arrested, killed. You know, there's so much distrust there. And so knowing this, they should be up front and showing at least their surveillance video.

It needs to be properly investigated, period. Yeah, I'm just not understanding, you know, at all this. And look, it's a very, very strange story that we're going to continue to follow as best that we can. All right, folks, got to go to break. We come back.

We're going to talk about Texas and the redrawing of maps. This is happening all across the country. They could be pitting, Republicans in Texas could be pitting two blacking of maps, this is happening all across the country. They could be pitting, Republicans in Texas could be pitting two black members of Congress, the only two from Houston, against one another, causing one of them to lose their job. We'll talk with Texas Congressman Al Green about this issue next on Roller Uniltered on the black star network ТРЕВОЖНАЯ МУЗЫКА I'm going to go to bed. Betty is saving big holiday shopping at Amazon. So now, she's free to become Bear Hug Betty. Settle in, kids.

You'll be there a while. Ooh, where you going? Hey, what's up, everybody? It's Godfrey, the funniest dude on the planet. Hey, I'm Taj. I'm Coco. And I'm Lili. And we're SWB. What's up, y'all? It's Ryan Destiny, and you're watching

Roland Martin Unfiltered. Alright, the proposed new maps in Texas may pit two black lawmakers against each other if the maps get approved. Members of Congress Al Green and Sheila Jackson Lee, are both from Houston. They may face off in the next congressional election

if the plan that the GOP is putting forth becomes law. Both members of Congress plan to go to court to fight this move if it is passed. Joining me now is Congressman Al Green out of Houston, Texas. Frack, glad to have you back on the show. What the Republicans are trying to do is they want to consolidate two so-called black districts, shifting voters elsewhere.

Just your assessment of what they're trying to get away with in our home state. Well, if they can get away with it, what they would do is eliminate a person from Congress by gerrymandering the person who's been elected out of Congress. As you know, the House is very close, just a handful of votes separating the two parties. They pick up two additional seats here in Texas, gerrymander one person out. That's three seats in Texas alone. So we have good reason all over this country to be concerned about this type of activity, because if it succeeds here, it won't end here. And what we're seeing, what we're seeing, not only this, so this is a headline in the Texas Tribune. Folks, go to my iPad.

With surgical precision, Republicans draw two congressional districts that dilute power of Hispanic and Asian voters because they have been getting their butts kicked in the Texas suburbs in Houston and Dallas. And so they are trying to maintain white power by screwing over minority voters in Texas. Absolutely. The 38th district that was drawn just outside of Houston is going to elect an Anglo Republican. It's designed to do such. You couple that with what's happening with the 18th and the 9th, and then you couple that with the fact that the growth in Texas,

95% of it was among minority persons. So the people who bring the seats to Texas will not benefit from the seats, and they get closer to the 218 in the House. It's more than politics, however, because the only two people in the state pitted against each other from the same party happen to be African-Americans. I think it's a little bit more than politics when you see this kind of thing happen. Well, here's the subhead of this Texas Tribune article. The GOP is losing its hold on suburbs of Dallas and Fort Worth as they grow more diverse. Two proposed districts show how far the party is reaching to entrench rural white electoral power. Again, by screwing over black voters in Houston, same thing.

This is about white power. This is what the whole deal is. Ninety-five percent of all of the population growth in Texas in the last ten years has been from non-white voters. The Republican Party is trying to reward whiteness. Well, the Republican Party has tried not only this as a means of holding on to power, they're challenging elections. As you know, the president at that time, Trump, he carried Texas.

Yet there's a desire to recount ballots in Texas. They're setting up this scheme such that even when they lose, they can claim they won. And if they have people in proper places, they can challenge elections. What happened at the Capitol was no accident. Those people were there to challenge the election. They were there to subvert the election. And if they had gotten away with it, only God knows what this country would be like today. I believe that there is this sincere effort on their part, while I don't think it's a good thing, to bring Trump back to office.

And if they can bring him back and they can do it with impunity, then they will have the opportunity to run this country with probably little oversight because we know now that the only thing you can do when a president is engaged in transgressions is impeach him, literally. That's what you have to do. And if they have the Senate or the House, there won't be impeachment. And what we're also seeing here is very simple.

We're seeing the impact of voting. We're seeing what happens, one, we're seeing what happens when folks don't vote and therefore Republicans are in control of the Texas legislature. We're also seeing what happens, frankly, when people don't fill out their census. Because we reported yesterday

about the undercount of black voters. Texas chose not to even spend money on the census. Then when they realized late in the game, oh, my goodness, we could potentially lose out. And they tried to hurry up and ramp up because they did not want to count black and Latino voters. Here's a graphic here that shows who's going to be losing. Seven states will lose House seats, California, Illinois, Michigan, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia. If you look at those states, California is blue, Illinois is blue, Michigan, even though Biden won, is red, New York is blue, Ohio is red,

Pennsylvania is red, West Virginia is red. They're going to be, they're going to try to knock Democrats out. Now, in Illinois, you have Republican Adam Kinzinger who is complaining that Democrats have redrawn his district, but you have Republicans in Florida who want to redraw the districts. They want to take over the House literally by just redrawing districts in Texas and Florida. Gerrymandering people out of office, literally. I said it earlier and I'll say it again. Jackson Lee and I were duly elected. We were elected from districts that were approved by the court because last time we had to file lawsuits. And now there's an effort to gerrymander out of office people who were duly elected

by the people in Texas. But Texas has proven to be the proving ground, if you will. This is where trial balloons have floated. And if they can succeed in Texas, they can succeed elsewhere. Remember, Texas was a state that had white primaries. And when the Supreme Court said, Texas, you can't have a white primary in 1944, Texas then went to white pre-primaries. This has been the state that has been before the courts since we've had that Voting Rights Act. Texas has always been in and out of court. We cannot allow them to succeed in Texas. So I'm asking persons to please understand what's at stake and govern yourselves accordingly. And obviously, you and Congresswoman Jackson Lee are prepared to go to court if

necessary. Are you going to make the argument that this effort here dilutes the voting power of black voters? We'll make that argument coupled with the fact that it separates communities of interest, coupled with the fact that the persons who happen to be holding office are persons of African ancestry. And quite frankly, there can be some invidious discrimination involved in this. We have to make all of these arguments. I don't think we leave anything on the table. And I think we take it all the way to the Supreme Court if we have to. But the important thing to remember is what you said earlier. We must vote. We must vote.

When we fail to vote and we lose the presidency and we see judges appointed to the Supreme Court using 51 votes, not going to cloture to get it done, then we understand how important this vote is. That Supreme Court is an entity that can make a difference in the lives of people. 435 members of Congress and 100 senators can vote to make something a law, and the Supreme Court with nine members, five of them voting for something, can change it. Five people on the Supreme Court can undo what 535 members of the House and Senate have done. Questions from my panelists. I'll first start with you, Brianna. Yes, thank you. It's been very frustrating. I've been focusing on Michigan with Delta Sigma Theta Sorority Incorporated.

And there's been a lot of open commission meetings and allow for us to submit our maps and discuss it and keep our community of interest together. So they say now. But I know in Texas, there's been a 95% of population growth from people of color, and it was centered in suburban communities, knowing that our maps should be drawn accordingly. I'm not as familiar with Texas's process, because I know everyone does it differently. And in Michigan, it was voted

that we have commissions. But how involved was the meetings? How are they being ignored or not? How are they being told to people to engage? Just what is the process within? And is it still too late to bring people in to have our voices heard and keep our voices together? Because as we know, and as Roland said, you know, there's power in our vote. And not only have they been restricting us to vote, but also, you know, once we vote, they dilute it, right? And so we want to keep our vote and our communities of interest together. And so what has been the process up to this point and how can we get more involved in Texas? Excellent questions. Let's start with the process. We were not given the opportunity to present our maps and to have

our voices heard to the same extent as our colleagues across the aisle. They had an opportunity to meet and to confer, and literally they put together a map that Congresswoman Jackson Lee and I opposed. In fact, we went before the Senate and opposed it. In so doing, we discovered something about the rules. If there could be a change made, it would have to be made with the consent of all of the persons that might be impacted by the change. For example, if we wanted to move a line that impacted a district that might be adjacent to my district, I'd have to get the consent of that person. Well, that's rather difficult to do when that person has already approved the map that we are trying to change.

So that created a problem for us. With reference to the House, we didn't get to the House in time. We spoke before the House this week. And we got there such that we could ask for the opportunity to present a map. We did present a map map and we're hoping that that map will get some consideration. I believe that this is a time for us to negotiate our way out of this if it can be done. But if it can't, then we have to litigate our way out. And if nothing else helps us along the way other than litigation

and negotiation, then we deal with protestation. I think that people do have a role in this, and this is the second part of the question. I think people have to express themselves peacefully, but using the constitutional right to assemble and to march and to protest. There's a role for everyone, and protestation is an acceptable remedy in this country. I beg that it be peaceful protest. I'm a real staunch believer in peaceful protest. I also would add this final thing. As we're doing all of these things, and I thank you for asking the question about what we can do, I think people have to also contact people, let people know where you stand. There's nothing wrong with letting people know where you stand

in this country. I can't tell you who to call, but I can tell you that you've got the right to call and also to send emails. These kinds of things work. And I would hope that people would give some consideration. Kelly, your question. Thank you, Representative Green. First and foremost, it's a privilege to speak with you, and thank you for your service on the Hill. Considering just how Republicans play the game of politics and constantly moving the bar unethically, such as what they're doing right now, and the fact that they can't rest on their laurels in recruiting and getting their own votes because they have no laurels to rest on anymore. And also considering what we saw in 2020 with Stacey Abrams and the grassroots movement that she did to get two senators on the Hill from Georgia. With all of that in mind, how effective would a grassroots effort be in your state considering how often and how unethically the bar is moving as far as standards are concerned? Well, the grassroots effort can be most efficacious because we have to learn one lesson that's very important. If you have people who are recalcitrant, we can't waste our time trying to convince them

that they should vote a certain way. We have to bring in new voters. And in Texas, we've got plenty of new people coming into their own, and we have to bring them into the process. There are young people who are organizing currently to do just this. And then we mobilize them, and we get them to the polls.

So we have to expand our base. The potential is there for us to expand our base. We simply have to work it. It's not going to be easy. It's not going to be something that can be of benefit to the constituents we serve. Michael. Representative Al Green, thanks for coming on today and sharing this information with us. I'm glad you talked about a lawsuit and taking this to court.

And I wanted to relate this to what happened in 1957 in Alabama, where the state legislature tried to redraw the district lines in Tuskegee, Alabama, to lock out almost all of the 400 African-American registered voters, leave in about 1,300 white voters. And this went to the U.S. Supreme Court. It's the case of Gomellion v. Lightfoot, 1960 U.S. Supreme Court case. And the Supreme Court ruled in favor of the African-Americans. And they said it was unconstitutional to redraw the district lines, and they said it was based upon race. One of the other things the African-Americans did to fight back is they launched economic boycotts in Tuskegee against white businesses and shut down

about 100 businesses. The boycotts went on for four years. So have you studied that case of Gourmillion v. Lightfoot, 1960, number one? Number two, is there any talk about economic boycotts against corporations to help finance these Republicans that redrew these district lines? Well, I went to Tuskegee Institute of Technology. I made engineering there. I was a part of the protest there on the campus. I was there when we decided that we were no longer going to divide the leadership. At one time, there was a pattern of African Americans could only have certain positions, couldn't become mayor, could hold some other lower positions. Well, the young people on the campus at Tuskegee got engaged in that process and change came about. So I'm familiar with Tuskegee, but I'm also very much familiar with the fact that you can engage in selective bargaining, selected bargaining.

I was the president of the Houston branch of the NAACP for about a decade. One of the things that we learned early on that you have to be very careful with your language. People can choose to buy from whomever they want, but you have to be careful how you style that buying. I think the NAACP in Houston is very much active and is looking into means by which we can marshal our forces, make sure we get people registered to vote, and make sure we get them to the polls on election day. All right. Congressman Al Green, we will be watching this story very carefully to see what happens there in Texas. We appreciate it. Thanks a lot. Well, thank you very much. Please, everyone, encourage people to vote.

That's going to be very important. All right. Congressman Al Green of Houston, thank you so very much. All right, folks, going to pay some bills. And we certainly want to appreciate our sponsors, Amazon, Buick, as well as Nissan, for being partners with us here at Roland Martin Unfiltered and the Black Star Network. When we come back, our black and missing person of the day, showing you trying to make sure that she gets a return home. And they've started jury selection in the case of the man accused of murdering Ahmaud Arbery.

We'll tell you all about that when we come back on Roland Martin Unfiltered on the Black Star Network. Oh, that spin class was brutal. Well, you can try using the Buick's massaging seat. Oh, yeah, that's nice. Can I use Apple CarPlay to put some music on? Sure. It's wireless. Pick something we all like. OK, hold on. What's your Buick's massaging seat. Ooh, yeah, that's nice. Can I use Apple CarPlay to put some music on? Sure. It's wireless.

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What's up, y'all? I'm Will Packer. I'm Chrisette Michelle. Hi, I'm Chaley Rose, and you're watching Roland Martin Unfiltered. 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

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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. 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. 30-year-old Italian Nisha Taylor, of course, was last seen in Newport News, Virginia on September 1st.

Taylor is 5'6", 5'6", 5'6", tall, weighs about 100 pounds, and has dark brown dreads with blonde tips. She also has a tattoo on her lower back, dark spots on her leg, and a burn mark on one of her arms. She was last seen wearing black pants and a black shirt with a white stripe across her sleeve. where she might be, please call the Newport News Police Department at 757-247-2500. 757-247-2500. Folks, more than 1,000 potential jurors are expected at the Glynn County, Georgia, courthouse Monday to begin jury selection in the murder trial of the man accused of killing Ahmaud Arbery. Glynn County Superior Court Clerk Ronald Adams says pretrial publicity surrounding the February 2020 slaying required to summon such a large jury pool.

Greg and Travis McMichael and their neighbor, William Roddy Bryan, are charged with murder for chasing and shooting the black man as he ran in their neighborhood. The trio is also facing a federal trial related to the murder of Ahmaud Arbery. That jury selection for that trial is set for February 7, 2022. This is going to be certainly a trial that people are paying lots of attention to, Kelly.

And again, it is the trial of the man accused of killing Ahmaud Arbery, not the Ahmaud Arbery trial. Sure. I think people need to look at this similar to how they did the George Floyd case in that, again, like you said, it is the killer who is on trial, or the alleged killer on trial,

and not the victim himself. The facts of the case will come to light, and hopefully we will get a conviction that is in favor of justice for Ahmaud Arbery's family. But as far as putting Ahmaud Arbery on trial by way of social media and other things, you know, things that come to light regarding his character or what he's done, all of that is irrelevant because at the end of the day, he did not die at the hands of what he did. He allegedly died at the hands of what this man is on trial for. So that's what we need to focus on. Brianna? Yes, exactly. Clearly this was a murder, despite the fact that, you know, they're claiming self-defense, but

they pursued and chased him. They hit him with their truck and then started altercations that killed him. And it's all recorded. And even the fact right now that they're trying to have Aubrey's mental health records admissible in court to someone paint an aggressive person is already foul play because we know for the rule of evidence that it wouldn't allow for Aubrey's mental health. And so I'm glad the judge made sure and did a fair call on not allowing that to happen. This is about white men in the South in a pickup truck with guns that pursues down a black man in broad daylight. You see it right there in broad daylight to shoot him like it was a sporting game. And this is a modern day lynch mob. And so, you know, black people don't have faith in the judicial system. The odds are

stacked against us. And there needs to be repercussions for white people who execute us in the street. And there's recorded video of it. And, you know, we're all shocked when the guilty verdict came in to George Floyd. And we hope that the right thing is done in this case as well, and that the jury is selected correctly and that the jury does the right thing. Michael. Well, Roland, you know, this is going to be an interesting trial. You just had last week, you had Travis McMichael, who did not want the confetted battle flag of vanity plate on his truck at the time that Ahmaud Arbery was killed. He does not want that admitted into evidence, even though that was on his truck at the time Ahmaud Arbery was killed. He does not want that admitted into evidence, even though that was on his truck at the time

Ahmaud Arbery was killed. You have their defense who wants to enter into trial the fact that Ahmaud Arbery was on probation when he died, like that has something to do with him being killed and you chasing him. You didn't know that before you chased him and hunted him down like a dog. And then they want Ahmaud Arbery's mental health records to be admitted into evidence as well. But white supremacy will make you crazy, especially in Georgia, which has the largest Confederate

monument in the country. It's called Stone Mountain. So this is going to be an interesting trial. But a thousand jury notices sent out. This is another reason why it's important to register to vote, because you can only get a jury notice if you actually registered to vote, because that's where they get the names and addresses from to send the jury notices to. OK, so this is also an example of the electoral process as well and the importance of it. Let's talk about this Minneapolis trial.

A former Minneapolis cop charged with the death of Daunte Wright during a traffic stop will be using it was an accident as her defense in her upcoming trial. Kim Potter is charged with first degree and second degree manslaughter after she shot and killed Daunte Wright. Her attorneys may argue Wright's death was an innocent accident or an innocent mistake during the November trial. Potter thought she was drawing her taser, not her gun, when she fired at Wright. Prosecutors plan to show her use of force was reckless and endangered, right? The trial is set to begin November 30th. Okay, I mean, I get it, Michael.

Saying it's an accident, but somebody still died. Absolutely. I mean, you can oh, my bad, but he's still dead. Right. Well, this is what I said she was going to say. But he's still dead. Right. Well, this is what I said she was going to say.

I told my listeners this. I said she's going to get on the witness stand, break down crime. She's going to have a Bible. She's going to say, I didn't mean to kill that boy. I feel so sorry about this little baby, all this stuff. It's not going to work. This is what's going to happen. Well, let's keep in mind, Betty Shelby, she in Tulsa, Betty Shelby rehearsed her testimony about a thousand times.

Betty Shelby is now teaching officers how to get off. Betty Shelby was the only officer who fired a gun. She was there with other officers. She felt so threatened. She had to shoot Terrence Crutcher. She was the only one who fired her gun. And she's a free woman teaching other officers how to get off. Now, hopefully, hopefully, this officer

here is Kim Potter's convicted, but I ain't... Watch whiteness work. I ain't so sure about this one here. Yeah, I'm there, Kelly. The reality is, we've seen numerous police officers get away with stuff.

We absolutely have. And this is kind of what I was afraid of when it came to the George Floyd case. Don't get me wrong. I am happy and pleased with the outcome of that case and that, you know, the right man was convicted and sentenced properly. Although the length of the sentence is neither here nor there, but the justice system worked in that one case. But look at the facts of George Floyd case. Everything had to be perfect, above reproach, and beyond the standard of beyond a reasonable doubt in order for Chauvin to be convicted. In this case here, we're talking about a woman who is claiming that there was an accident, even though accidents

happen every single day and people get jailed for accidents every single day, we are still dealing with, like Michael said, whiteness and not to mention white woman-ness in that, you know, she's an empathetic, may I say sympathetic character when it comes to juries, jury selection, and even judges' decisions in court. So that is my issue here, the fact that it is not always going to be a perfect case. It is not always going to be something that is, you know, all T's crossed, all I's dotted in the worst way, meaning there's no way you can say that this person didn't do it without malice, et cetera, et cetera. She still killed somebody. Whether it was accident or not, she had a duty not to do her due diligence

and make sure it wasn't a gun that was in her hand. At the end of the day, someone still died, and someone still needs to be held accountable, and it should be her. Brianna? Yeah, so my whole thing is not talking about it as an accident. I've discussed this case with a sheriff, and most police officers are trained to carry the taser on the opposite side of the gun, so they do not make that mistake.

And so I do not think that's going to hold in court. But as it's stated, legally, even if it was an accident, manslaughter is still something that they can be charged for. And definitely they're accountable for taking a life. And so to see how it plays out is going to be very interesting. But sorry, I made a mistake, does not allow for the officer to be let go. And so, you know, it's interesting. You know, officers are trained how to deal with the public, but we aren't necessarily trained how to deal with police officers. I do think that we should have part of our driving training process, how we should go into some of these situations.

I don't think that's going to solve it entirely, but it is something that we need to start talking about. We, you know, we just, as Kelly said, a year ago, we watched George Floyd murdered. And so that memory has been seared into our souls. And, you know, we still need, we need justice, you know. Of course, we got the guilty verdict, but that is not enough. And so, you know, as we speak to previously, Roland, the George Ford Act and, you know, getting that passed. So like the countless other, you know, Breonna Taylor, Daunte Wright, and, you know, as the list goes on, that this is not a chronic issue. So we keep talking about these one-off situations and these very deadly, sad situations, and they keep happening. We need to have something a lot more done.

Folks, let's talk about the Virginia governor's race where former Virginia Governor Terry McAuliffe is facing Republican Glenn Youngkin. I mean, first of all, this is, there's no reason why this race should be this close. McAuliffe is supposed to be a superstar raising money. He's now calling out all the big guns. President Barack Obama and others will be in Virginia this weekend and over the next couple of weeks, of course, campaigning for him. What was real strange was Steve Bannon,

the white supremacist, held an event for Youngkin's campaign. And what was real strange was Steve Bannon, the white supremacist, held an event for Youngkin's campaign. And watch this. This is where these idiots actually pledged allegiance to a flag that was used on January 6th. Okay, this is strange. I also want to invite Kim from Chesapeake. She's carrying an American flag that was carried at the peaceful rally with Donald J. Trump on January 6th. I ask you all to rise and join us as Mark Lloyd leads us in the pledge. Face the flag.

I pledge allegiance to the flag. I also... These folks are out of their damn mind. Obviously, Youngkin is trying to distance himself. This is what Terry McCullough said. He said, Glenn Youngkin is trying to distance himself.

This is what Terry McCullough said. He said, Glenn Youngkin was endorsed again tonight by Trump at a rally where attendees pledged allegiance to a flag flown at the deadly January 6th insurrection. Beyond disturbing, this is sick, and Glenn is honored to have Trump's endorsement. Youngkin, of course, has distanced himself from that particular rally as well. What you have here is McCullough, who is trying to tie Youngkin to Donald Trump at every chance he can get. But the question, though, is will that work? Democrats are really concerned about losing the governor's mansion. Republicans could take over one of the state bodies in Virginia as well. Some people are trying to blame Joe Biden, President Joe Biden, for his decreasing

polling numbers for this. No, could be. A lot of people are simply not enthusiastic about McAuliffe seeking re-election. Who's that question for? Anybody? Well, yeah, I think that's very interesting that you said that, because on the one hand, you've got Terry McAuliffe and he's got a vision for Virginia's future. And every single person has a chance to succeed. We're working families get the support they need and we're voting rights and health care access aren't even in question anymore. Right. We have that. Right. We have the Democrat. And then on the other hand, there's Glenn Youngkin. And he has a truckload of money and full-throttle endorsement of Donald Trump.

And we keep on hearing, you know, we need help, we need help. What we know about this is Virginia is Donald Trump's first real shot of regaining relevance after his 2020 thumping. He's already planning a 2024 campaign, supposedly. And getting Glenn Youngkin elected this year is a huge part of his plan. And so... So why is McCullough struggling so bad? I mean, why are voters not enthusiastic about McCullough? I mean, look, he won the Democratic primary.

You had three black candidates who were running. So what's going on here? Yes, I think that. I don't necessarily know. Right. I haven't been in Virginia this cycle physically. I know it virtually. But I do think that there's not enough messaging around the link, really, yet, of Youngkin and Trump. You know, it was tossed out. But that's all McCullough keeps talking about. I mean, again, you can message all day about Trump and Youngkin, but you kind of got to have your own message to call somebody to say, hey, I want to go out and vote for you.

Mm hmm. Exactly. Exactly. A lot of this has to do with messaging and talking about how you being in office is going to make people's lives better. Connect your policies with people's conditions and how you're going to make it better and then show how the policies of the opposition is going to make their lives worse and then connect it to Trump, okay? But just talking about this guy's connected to Trump, Yunkin is connected to Trump, et cetera, he's going to be Trump 3.0, what have you, that's not going to be enough, okay? So you have to talk about...

And Democrats tend to suffer from a messaging problem. They're suffering from messaging right now. You talked about this a few days ago when you had Demario Solomon-Simmons on. They should be talking about how the $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan that only Democrats voted for in the House and the Senate are helping people in Virginia right now and helping Americans.

No Republicans voted for that bill. The forty six and a half billion dollars of rental assistance for renters and landlords is only because of Democrats. No Republicans voted for that deal. That's in the one1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan. So you have to connect policies and your administration to people's conditions and their lives. I mean, look, I live in Virginia, Kelly, and I don't know what the hell McCullough's message is. 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 Lott. And this is season two of the War on Drugs podcast. We are back. In a big way. In a very big way. Real people, real perspectives. This is kind of star-studded a little bit, man. We got Ricky Williams, NFL player, Heisman Trophy winner.

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

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

on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. And to hear episodes one week early and ad-free with exclusive content, subscribe to Lava for Good Plus on Apple Podcasts. 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. I don't. Your message can't be, hey, that dude's with Trump. You kind of got to have something more. I don't even know what his message specifically to African-Americans is. And, you know, I don't live in Virginia, but I live in D.C.,

which means I get a majority of the commercials for this gubernatorial race, even though I live in D.C. And you're absolutely right. You do not hear a clear message coming out of McCullough so much as you hear a I'm not Trump, therefore you should vote for me message. And people are forgetting that, you know, and Virginians aren't forgetting, and I think this might be the crux of the issue,

he was already governor. He's running again for governor. Northam is in between between him and who I'm the next governor is going to be. In Virginia, the Virginia Constitution limits you to one term. Now, frankly, I think that's stupid, but limits you to one term. One term. Now, frankly, I think that's stupid. But limits you to one term.

Right. So he was governor. Northam became governor. Justin Fairfax, lieutenant governor. Many said he was going to be the favorite to run. Then he had two allegations of sexual assault against him. Neither one was proven. There was no impeachment hearing.

The two women who made the allegation didn't even file any complaints with the district attorneys. The two black DAs who said they would actually investigate it in Boston and North Carolina. So that just torpedoed his campaign. You had a couple of other African-Americans who ran. They didn't make a dent as well. So McAuliffe, he then runs, you know, name recognition and the money, wins the nomination. But you got to have something else there.

I don't know what's there there. No, hold on one second. Kelly, go ahead. No, but that is exactly my point. You cannot run a campaign, any campaign, just on your namesake alone anymore, especially in the Democratic Party, because frankly, Democrats are fed up. And a lot of people also forget that Virginia, if it weren't for Northern Virginia being Alexandria, Arlington, everything kind of sort of surrounding D.C., Virginia would be a very red state. And Terry McAuliffe would not have a chance in the hell of winning if it were not for

that population basically evening the scales as far as who can win or not. So you have to keep that in mind when you talk about these numbers. You have to keep that in mind when it comes to fundraising and why he's not getting the fundraising and all of those things. But on the other hand, you have Youngkin, who is straddling his own kind of fence in that he's supportive of Trump and getting his recognition and his endorsement, but when it comes to being interviewed about it or, you know, any type of press coverage on it, he kind of distances himself. He's like, I'm thankful for anybody's support. I'm over here like,

rep your set. He's an ass. But politically, he doesn't have to. Here's the whole deal. He doesn't have to. I'm just saying, you know. But he's not. I mean, politically, he's not. And actually, that's smart politics. If you're going to get the Trump people

and Trump is out there campaigning for you, I don't need to sit here and openly hug you. I'm going to get it anyway. So what he wants to do is, he wants to run away from it. Look, I saw a commercial the other day, actually last night, the Republican who's running for Attorney General doesn't even mention

he's a Republican. That's true. You see the ad, and all he has is his name, for Attorney General does not say that he's a Republican, and so I was like, is he a Democrat? I don't think Youngkin does that either. I don't think Youngkin does that in his

commercials either. Yeah, because what he's trying to do is, he wants to be able to stand a shot away from it. He's straddling the fence there. Again, you know, look, I just hope I had Terry Bacala's number. I just sent him a text saying, hey, you need to come on the show. Breonna, again, I don't know. I don't know. The race is very tight.

Some have it within three points, within the margin of error. You would think that this is a safe state for Democrats. Bottom line is, and I warned people about this in 2016, okay? Look, this whole deal with Fox News and critical race theory and all that BS and all these white folks going to school board meetings all pissed off, there's enthusiasm on the Republican side. You cannot, you cannot underestimate enthusiasm. If they turn out and you've got lackluster turn on the Democratic side,

McCullough goes down, Republicans control the governor's mansion in Virginia. Go ahead. So there's a couple of things I want to state. And I, just from this conversation, I agree with a lot of what Kelly said. As you know, she focused on communications and branding. And just within that, every single time that you, Roland, have said,

brought it up, right, you called him McAuliffe. If you even go back to his logo, right, for this campaign, it says Terry, right? So when Kelly says that, I don't think many realize it's the same person who's been in office. They're not putting two, two together. I think that's first. I think it's the branding. That's what I was saying of the messaging. But I also want to remind everybody that Youngkin dropped out of the debate. So every gubernatorial candidate since

1985 has participated in the debate. And it didn't occur. Right? And so, you know, it probably is because, you know... How many folks saw the previous debates? I mean, is that, like... Is that going to actually result in losing votes? No, but, you know, as one thing you were saying

is, like, you haven't heard enough about his platform. A lot of times that comes into play when you have the debates, and I'll say from the campaign side, people take clips from that and run it, even within the campaign for ads, or even people like, oh, he said this, you know, and then you start talking about the platform. But there hasn't really been that space in this campaign. And so it has, as I agree with you, Roland, been very concentrated on needing this money to get the message out because of the bad man, right? And I think, you know, the thought behind it is, you know, in 2020, people came out to make sure that the bad man

didn't win. I don't, and I don't think there's a big enough connection for people to understand that this is still part of what that was in 2020, right? Because as you know, Roland, 2020 didn't start in 2020. 2020 started in 2016. And those people who created the awareness around what we needed for 2020 were frankly tired. And they don't want to keep getting beat over the head of like, Trump is bad, Trump is bad, Trump is bad. We got it. We got him out. You know, let me rest. It's kind of in a lot of the back of the heads of people

who... But he's not on the ballot. Again, you can invoke it, and I know what McCullough is doing. You can invoke it, but he's not on the ballot, unlike in 2020, which helped down ballot candidates. All I'm simply saying is this race is extremely tight, so I don't know where Terry McCAuliffe is spending all this money.

And I can tell you right now, I have not heard, even among African-Americans, again, I go back to enthusiasm, enthusiasm, enthusiasm. Democrats are going to lose if they do not shore up the enthusiasm gap. And I agree. The right is pissed off because they lost. And you can't just go, oh, okay, y'all come on out. No, it's going to matter.

All right, folks, got to go to a break. When we come back, we're going to talk about Benton Harbor, the water crisis that's happening in that particular city. We'll talk with the mayor of Benton Harbor, Michigan, next on Roller Martin Unfiltered. Don't forget, folks, you can download the Blackstar Network app, available on all platforms. Apple TV, excuse me, Apple phone, Android phone,

Apple TV, Android TV, Roku, Amazon Fire Stick, Xbox, Samsung as well. And be sure to join our Bring the Funk fan club. Every dollar you give goes to support this show. Cash, Shep, Dollar Sign, RM Unfiltered. PayPal is RMartinUnfiltered. Venmo is RMUnfiltered. Zelle, Roland at RolandSMartin.com.

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We'll be back in a moment. I'm sorry. I'm going to go. Maureen is saving big holiday shopping at Amazon. So now she's free to become Maureen the Marrier. Food is her love language. And she really loves her grandson. Like, really loves. My name is Charlie Wilson. Hi, I'm Sally Richardson-Whitfield. And I'm Dodger Whitfield. Hey everybody,

this is your man Fred Hammond, and you're watching Roland Martin, my man, Unfiltered. Earlier this week, we told you about Benton Harbor, Michigan's water crisis. It's described as being worse than Flint, Michigan. Well, now we've been talking about the officials there. Now let's talk with the mayor of the city, Mark Muhammad, who joins us

now from Benton Harbor. Mayor, glad to have you on the show. We talked with a doctor yesterday. He talked about it was a timeline of this. How long has this been a problem in Benton Harbor? So first of all, thank you, Roland, for having me on the show. This began in 2018 in terms of the actual testing. But like Flint, the city of Benton Harbor was under emergency management from 2010 to 2017. So when local control was restored, and it was very abruptly, a lot of parts were flying and a lot of moving parts. So this is when we were approached by EGLE, Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes Energy, and they began to work with us under an administrative consent order on the water quality. And they tested 30 homes and found that of the 30, eight homes exceeded the lead levels and 22 did not. And this is where the process of every six months testing,

notifications being sent out. And like in most black cities, bad news spreads fast. So it was very well publicized. However, we waited for resources. So yesterday we had a doctor on the show who said that the company that works, that you guys work with, that when it comes to the water said, hey, if you guys raise water rates, then we can replace these pipes over the next 20 years. And the city council agreed to that. That true? 20 years?

Right. So, you know, it's been a lot of misinformation that has been disseminated. So initially, as I stated, the city of Benton Harbor just came out of receivership where a financial emergency was declared. So money was dire straits. When you say came out, came out when? What year? 2017. Okay, so 2017, you came out of emergency management.

Which means that local control has been, so you've had local control in place at Benton Harbor since when? Since 2017. Gotcha. And you said testing began in 2018. Correct. But you have to understand, Martin, this is a $30 million job. So when you start talking about a $10 million per year operating budget, a city who has traditionally robbed Peter to pay Paul, you know, this is a great undertaking

that will require federal, state resources to lean in to help a struggling city like Benton Harbor, which is happening now. But when we first identified the problem, those resources were not available. So when the city vote, when that city vote took place, when was that? So So when the city vote, when that city vote took place, when was that? So there was no city vote. So that's misinformation. Okay. So it was presented to us

that this is a timeline based upon the money that was available. Because remember, you know, the check engine light can be on, but if you don't have the resources and the monies to correct it, then you just continue to drive with it on. So there was no decision to raise water rates in order to pay for the replacement of these pipes? No, sir. Okay. So folks have known there since 2018 there's a problem with the pipes there in Benton Harbor, correct? That is correct. Okay. So, three years. So, residents there, for how long have they been advised not to drink the water, not to cook with it, not to bathe with it so as i stated initially it was eight homes and then when we continued the testing

after 108 homes we found that 89 was below the limit while 19 was above but since we had three consecutive years of lead exceedances that's when the state came in, and we know that we have approximately 6,000 lead lines currently in the ground. And since we have not tested every single home, then, you know, we want to take the greatest caution moving forward in order to make sure that residents are not drinking lead in the water.

So 89 out of 108 homes had lead issues, correct? No, tested below. Tested below, okay. How many total homes in Benton Harbor? Approximately 4,000. 4,000. So if 89 out of 108 tested, then you can extrapolate tested below.

How many tested above? 89. So we're looking at out of 10 homes, eight tested below. Right. Two tested above. Right.

But the thing about it, Roland, one is too many. And since we have not tested all the homes, it's important that we do that. Are you going to test all the homes? Yes, we're in the process of doing that right now. How far are you along?

So have you done 10%, 20%? How far along are you in the testing? So currently we've replaced about 50 lead lines in homes. 50 lead lines in 50 homes. 50 homes. Out of how many? We're just about 4,000 homes. Gotcha. So we start with another 100 next month, this coming November. But see, again, this is where the money comes in.

So you replace so far little more than 1% of the homes, the pipes in the homes. You have so 50 out of 4,000. Your plan is to replace all 4,000, right? That's correct. But in 18 months. Okay. So in 18 months, you're saying you're going to replace all of the pipes in all the homes? Let me tell you how. So currently, we have $5.6 million. We worked with Congressman Upton from the Obama administration. We received $5.6 million from the EPA. The governor proposed $20 million from the ARPA funds, but a deal was struck with the Republican legislator where they took $10 million out of the state budget, and that's going toward Benton Harbor, along with the other 10 that will come from the ARPA. And then we get another $3 million this month from EGLE. So we'll

have a total of $28 million at our fingertips. But the big thing is, you know, as we remove the lead lines, the governor signed a directive, executive directive, where it's an all-hands-on-deck approach, where all the resources, all the agencies that's at her disposal will be working and bidding hard. So we have currently, starting Monday, up to 30,000 cases of water will be delivered per week. And we'll be able to hire residents, expand our sites, decrease the lines so we can get people clean and safe drinking water. Michael, you have a question. 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 21st and episodes four, five, and six 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. We are back. In a big way. In a very big way. Real people, real perspectives. This is kind of star-studded a little bit, man. We got Ricky Williams, NFL player, Heisman Trophy winner. It's just a compassionate choice to allow players all reasonable means to care for themselves.

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

What we're doing now isn't working, and we need to change things. Stories matter, and it brings a face to them. It makes it real. It really does. It makes it real. Listen to new episodes of the War on Drugs podcast season two on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. And to hear episodes one week early and ad free with exclusive content, subscribe to Lava for Good Plus on Apple Podcasts.

We 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. All right, Mayor Muhammad, I'm here in Detroit, so we're neighbors, man. Thanks for coming on today and explaining this to us. A question for you. In replacing the pipes in 4,000 homes, can you explain a little bit who's doing the placing? Is this contracted out to companies, or is this the state, or what have you? And if it's contracted out to companies, are there opportunities for African Americans to get contracts and maybe employ African-Americans, et cetera?

And also, how can people watching around the country help you all as well? I know you need water and different types of things like this. How can people help also who are watching? Thank you for that question. So the $5.6 million that we currently have, we just awarded $500,000 of those dollars to a local black contractor, Meeks Construction. And we hope to continue to work with other local contractors in the process. But one of the things that we have coming from the arm and muscle of the state is the 20 million there. They're going to work with us in the procurement process because we don't have time at this point. You know, as Roland stated,

we've already dealt with three years. We lost a year with COVID. 2020 just basically wiped out the little progress that we started to make in 2019. But now, you know, we have to move aggressively. So the state is going to help us with that. But I did share with the lieutenant governor that we have a 25 percent clause in our city ordinance that 25 percent has to go, the work has to go to local residents. So, you know, we're going to do all we can to make sure that local people work. However, you know, as the mayor of the city, I'm responsible and I'm owning. You know, I didn't put the lead lines in the ground.

I'm not putting the lead in the water. However, I'm responsible for cleaning it up and solving this problem once and for all. Right. How can we help? So, you know, we're working with local pastors where you can reach out. You can call 269-861-6504. And, you know, that's my direct number. And I can connect you with local pastors that are on the ground working with the local government. But it's small-town politics, but it's surrounded in a big field. And this is what I want people to know, Roland. Benton Harbor is surrounded by four bodies

of water. Lake Michigan, Pawpaw River, St. Joe River, and Ox Creek. We have 625 acres of virgin riverfront property that's poised to be developed about

400 million as it stands. So I don't want for people that's watching, even though we're dealing with a water crisis, you know, from years of neglect and abandonment and lack of resources, but being harvested by fire from a toxic dump. You know, Whirlpool Corporation is their global

and their North American headquarters, along with a host of other developments. So great work is taking place, but this is something that has to be handled and dealt with right now once and for all. Okay. Mayor Mark Muhammad, we certainly appreciate it. Thanks a lot for joining us. Thank you so much, Roland, for the opportunity.

All right. Thank you so very much. Got to go to break. When we come back, we're going to talk about African Americans and transplants. What's going on where we're not making transplant lists? We'll explain next on Roland Martin Unfiltered on the Black Star Network. Oh, that spin class was brutal.

Well, you can try using the Buick's massaging seat. Oh, yeah, that's nice. Can I use Apple CarPlay to put some music on? Sure. It's wireless. Pick something we all like. Okay, hold on. What's your Buick's Wi-Fi password?

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And the prince, well, who cares? Prime changes everything. But I'm back at it and I'm filling myself. Hi, I'm B.B. Winans. Hey, I'm Donnie Simpson. What's up? I'm Lance Gross, and you're watching Roland Martin Unfiltered. Black Americans make up 13% of the population, but account for a third of kidney failures in America. African Americans have high rates of high blood pressure and diabetes,

which exacerbate kidney failure symptoms. More than 30,000 African Americans are waiting for an organ. More than 28,000 are waiting on a kidney. Last year, over 8,000 organ transplants were performed on African Americans. More than 2,000 of those donors were black. One of the tests used to determine the need for kidney transplants, the Glomerular Filtration Rate or EGFR tests, it raises kidney function for black patients up to 16%. Now, why would the kidneys of African Americans function higher than any other group?

To answer that question, the attending nephrologist and assistant professor of medicine and epidemiology at the University of Pennsylvania. Doctor, let me get this right, Micah Aninia. Did I get it right? Aninia. Pretty close. Pretty close. Thank you for having me on.

Glad to have you here. So explain what this issue is because, you know, there are a number of African Americans who have kidney issues. And so explain this test and what the whole problem is. Yeah, so it's pretty complicated. I'll try my best to make it very simple. So there's a test, a lab test that is called EGFR, like you said, that is an estimate of how well somebody's kidneys are functioning. And the kidneys primarily remove waste and extra water from the blood. And so the EGFR number, how we explain it when we see patients, or how I explain it when I see patients, is that if the EGFR is, let's say, 60,

I say your kidneys are working about 60%. Now, this equation was developed two decades ago, and what they found was that African-Americans had a higher biomarker. We use creatinine in these EGFR equations. It's a biomarker that we all have in our bodies that detects how well our kidneys are working. African-Americans in that study had higher creatinine levels compared to all of the other racial groups that were looked at, primarily white individuals. And so what they did was to introduce a multiplication factor to account for that difference. And so what happened, as you stated, is that most laboratories and institutions report two EGFR numbers, one for African Americans, which is usually 16 up to 21% higher than

non-African Americans. And so there's usually two EGFR values that are reported in the lab. So for the person who is sitting at home who's saying, okay, how does this impact me? What can I do about it? What do you tell them? Well, what we say is, first of all, you should always ask your doctor, what race is in the medical record? Like, what race is being used for me,

and how is that affecting my care? So the issue with using black race in EGFR equations is that we have international guidelines that say someone can be listed for a kidney transplant when your EGFR is equal to or less than 20. Now, you can imagine if you have two people, black and white, who are the same sex and the same age, they're going to have different EGFRs, which means that a black person would have to wait to get listed for a kidney transplant because they're seen as healthier than the non-black person. And so what I would tell people who have kidney disease is that you ask your clinician, is race being used in my clinical care? And if you have severe

kidney disease and you are needing a kidney transplant, ask them to use a different test that does not use race to assess their kidney function because we do have a few options. Questions from my panelists. First up, Kelly. Hi. Given what you just said about asking your doctor about whether testing includes, you know, race as a factor in your testing, is there a way to figure that out on your own volition, or do you have to go to a doctor? And I ask that because, you know, worst-case scenario, the doctor is shady or not entirely forthcoming with that information. What can patients do to be as proactive as possible in their care in this situation?

Yeah, that's a great question. So, I mean, you do need to have a doctor order test to determine what your EGFR is. So there's not a way that they can kind of assess that at home. There's no kit that you can get from a drugstore. So you need to have your doctor order blood tests to see how well your kidneys are functioning. Now, the good news is, is that as of September 23rd, we have national guidelines that say race should not be used in any EGFR equation or report. And so there is a new now that everybody that applies to everybody, regardless of their race. And so the number one, the number two question after is, are you using race in my clinical case? Do you know about this new EGFR equation that does not have race? Can you use that for me if it's not being used? Michael.

Hello, doctor. Thanks for coming on today. In trying to wrap my head around this and researching this a little bit, can you talk about, well, first of all, can you talk about is it true or not that the, because the question was asked, do African-American kidneys work differently somehow? Okay. One. Number two, how is it that for about the past 20 years, this study had, well, this process has overestimated the function of African-American kidneys as well? Great question. Great question. So absolutely not. Black kidneys work the same as every other racial group. We have studies that have shown that. We have the Human Genome Project that was published in 2003 that shows that biologically or genetically, we are more similar in between racial groups than within racial groups. So there should be no reason why African-American or black patients have different kidney function. That's one.

To answer your second question about why was this being used? Well, it was being taught that African-Americans, for instance, had more muscle mass than every other racial group, and that affects creatinine levels. And so we've been, we were taught in medical school that, you know, biologically black people are more muscular and therefore their creatinine levels, which are used in EGFR equations, are higher. And it was really medical students that have kind of catalyzed this racial reckoning in medicine where they were being taught this kind of fallacy of blacks having more muscle mass, and they totally challenged the status quo. There were a group of medical students

at Harvard Medical School that actually threw out in their EGFR reporting systems at Beth Israel Deaconess in Boston. And so that started the movement, and then with organizing, petitions, my scientific advocacy, some research, we really moved the needle quickly over a year's time to come up with a new equation to get rid of this flawed practice. Wow. Thank you. Brianna.

Yes. Thank you, doctor, for coming on and alighting us on this very important issue. I just have a couple questions. One is how do you verify if race is used once you ask the question, for example, and then they say no, is there a way for you to double check? And then also, would this still be an issue if black doctors are being used? Are black doctors aware of this and would be less likely to take race into effect when determining the care for your kidneys? So to answer your first question, I think an easy way after you ask your doctor is to say, can you just print up the labs for me so I can look at them and go over them with my family or with myself at home. That's a nice way to verify so you can actually see how it's being reported in that doctor's office or that hospital. That's one way to do

it. I think that's the best way to do it. And then the second question is, do having an African American physician help with looking at clinical care in a health equity lens? And I would say, absolutely. You know, I trained at a historically black medical school, Meharry Medical College, and we learned about the social determinants of health. So really, if we could go back in time and look at that original study, what we should have done is incorporated things like diet, medication. Those are the things that can really affect creatinine levels and would have affected the EGFR equation. So what we really should have done is introduce health equity at that time and looked at different social determinants of health that can actually, you know, cause racial differences. And we know that for a fact. I mean, Dr. Du Bois

published the Philadelphia Negro in 1899 that showed it was social inequalities that led to racial health inequalities. And so I think, you know, many black physicians are more attuned to looking at clinical care with a health equity lens. So I do think it's powerful to have more black physicians caring for patients. All right, then. Well, Doc, we certainly appreciate it. If people want to just get more information on this very issue, where should they go? What sites should they go to? So there's been a lot published in the lay media recently. If you just type in race and EGFR, you'll find many articles. There was an MSN article that was just published, a USA Today

article that was published. And there have been numerous lay media presses on Google that you can find over the last year that can help with informing people about this topic. All right, then. We sure appreciate it. Thanks a lot. Thanks so much. Thanks for having me. All right, then. Folks, I've got to go to a break. We come back. Teacher in Texas uses the N-word. See you later. And what the hell is this one administrator talking about that if you're going to teach about the Holocaust,

you should teach the other side? There's another side. That's next in Roller Martin Unfiltered. I'm going to go get some food. Nå er det en avorske Norske. Maureen is saving big holiday shopping at Amazon. So now she's free to become Maureen the Marrier. Food is her love language, and she really loves her grandson, like, really loves. 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 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.

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

Stories matter and it brings a face to them. It makes it real. It really does. It makes it real. Listen to new episodes of the War on Drugs podcast season two on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. And to hear episodes one week early and ad-free with exclusive content, subscribe to Lava for Good Plus on Apple Podcasts. 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 thisispreetirement.org. Brought to you by AARP and the Ad Council. Yo, it's your man Deon Cole from Black-ish and you're watching... Roland Martin, unfiltered. Stay woke. at Council. are allowed. I'm white. I got you, Carl. Illegally selling water without a permit. On my property. Whoa! Hey! Give me your ID. I'm uncomfortable. A Texas teacher is out of a job after a recording caught him saying the N-word'all check this out we have to have you know like you say people get

really upset and the tension in the room rises because we're not allowed to have a difference of opinion i mean if there's a word that you're not supposed to say why are you saying it i don't know why why why do the guys in my class go, you know, say, man, nigga, you crazy? Why do they say that? And why is it? Because I'm a white guy. I can't say that. Because your ass white. Norman Grunich, who is now a former teacher at Klein Collins High School in Spring, Texas. Yeah, you heard him. Guess what? He ain't got a job.

Klein ISD released the following statement about the incident. They said, in Klein ISD, we pride ourselves on our ability to create safe spaces for every child in our schools. The former employee failed to do that and is no longer employed in Klein ISD. The statements made by this former employee do not reflect our district shared vision, our employees, or anything about Klein ISD. We regret that our students were impacted by this language, and if any of them would like to talk to any of our counselors, we will make them available. Every child deserves to feel

safe and have a positive learning experience at school. We are deeply sorry that this former employee failed to do this for our students. This incident is still under investigation at this time. Kelly, really? I'm just saying, do we actually need a debate

on this one? Dude. Why, girl, I can't say it. Hold up. Now, since you no longer have a job, now you know why. I mean, but not only that, a couple things here. One, why are you upset that you can't say the same thing as a minor who probably doesn't understand the grovement of that word in the first place either?

You know, like the responsibility scales have shifted here. You are the adult and you should know better. Why are you trying to stoop to the level of a student who doesn't? Just point blank on that one. allowed to do something or not allowed to say something because they are so used to being in a position where they are telling other people what to do and telling other people what to say. So that when, you know, something as egregious and as offensive and historically wrong as the N-word is coming out of their mouths, and they know that, they still can't envision not being able to say it.

That is baffling to me on many levels, not just because they are white, but that is a psychological issue to me. Michael? Roland. He's a dumbass, okay? Some people should not be in classes. Okay. Now, uh, I'm, I'm a person, I don't use the N word and I'm black. Okay. I don't do it. But when you go and research this, and once again, this is in Texas as well, you know, and there's some crazy things going on in Texas. He also could be heard in the recording asking why there is no White History Month.

And he pointed to the treatment of some Irish people. He said, why don't we have a White History Month talking about what the Irish went through? Well, March is Irish American History Month, dumbass. It's been in existence since 1991. OK, the U.S. government recognizes Irish American History Month. This is what happens when you have unqualified people in the classroom. So, yeah, he should be fired. And this is another example of why America needs a massive history lesson as well, especially in Texas, which is a former Confederate state that came into the Union in 1845 as a slave-holding state. These are some crazy times, and history's repeating

itself also. Brianna? Yeah, so I'll say that I wasn't familiar with Texas, but I want to highlight something further than just this, right? Because this is happening not just in Texas. I have a friend who received a call, this week, right, about a teacher at a school within Greenville County Schools in South Carolina who allegedly called a student the N-word, and the teacher was only suspended. Of course, we'll be asking for the employee to be terminated. But there's also been history in that same school last year for tsunami calling, being called the N-word and suspended for two weeks at that same school. So it's not a one-off instance, right? And it's not just happening in one state. And you can remember probably in the past in South Carolina, the Malden police officer called a student the N-word and was terminated from the school district and the police department. and hold the teacher accountable, fully accountable,

or else really more names need to be released and other pertinent information because it's not just happening in one state. We see this and, you know, it seems like just ridiculous and we can laugh at it because of how ridiculous it is in 2021. But this is happening in other states and grievously. And fortunately here in Texas, he got fired. There's other places occurring and they're not firing the teachers. And this is a really big issue

that's occurring right now in schools. All right, we got another one. Roll it. No child girls are allowed. I'm white. I got you, Carl. Illegally selling water without a permit. On my property.

Whoa! Give me back. I'm uncomfortable. Well, a Virginia woman is doing all she can to remove six books from Virginia Beach schools, including Toni Morrison's The Bluest Eyes, which this fool admits she hasn't read. School board members Victoria Manning and Laura Hughes have come together to demand that four books be removed from curriculums based on pornographic nature. Those books include Lawn Boy by Jonathan Everson, Gender Queer by Maya Kibai, A Lesson Before Dying by Ernest Gaines,

and The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison. Listen to what she had to say about Morrison's book specifically. The next book that I did some research on, and I have it here, is called The Bluest Eye. Now, this is approved for high school curriculum in our schools here in Virginia Beach. The bluest eye in in several parts and if you google this you can find the language I'm not going

to read it it is extremely disturbing It talks in great detail about a father raping and molesting his child and how he got pleasure in it. And this is approved for use in our high school curriculum. These books are vetted. These books are vetted and it got approved. Manning did add Beyond Magenta by Susan Coughlin and Good Trouble, Lessons from the Civil Rights Playbook by Christopher Nixon on the list, but it's unclear why they are being questioned. Okay, you haven't read the book,

but you want to ban the book. And she's like, this is not stuff that high school students should be reading. Are high school students that fragile, Brianna? No. And honestly, it's not surprising that they want to ban. They continue to want to ban the truth. And so and honestly, the people who need to hear it the most want to. Right supremacy is still a thing.

And I would love to see efforts locally. these books read and provide discussions, even if they're saying Virginia Beach School Board is not going to do it, but really promoting some of this. And I think it's important in high school to dissect what literature is. These people, if you want to understand what's really going on right now, Kelly, this is why you see the attacks on school boards, this whole BS over critical race theory. It's when idiots like these two get elected. That's part of the problem. I mean, it's a huge problem.

Clearly, she does not understand what The Bluest Eye is about, aside from her not reading it. The fact that that is what she pulled out of it as rationale behind not reading it just shows me how dense she is and how ignorant she is about literature as a whole. I could go into why The Bluest Eye needs to be not only read, but studied in high schools. But beyond that, how is it that The Bluest Eye is banned, but not even Shakespeare? That also deals with core themes that she is against. How come we can still, or high school students can still read Mark Twain,

or even the author of To Kill a Mockingbird. All of those books, and then some, deal with some really complicated, layered issues that, by her standards, shouldn't be discussed at all. The whole point of having a diversity of literature in schools, especially something as dynamic as a Tori Morrison novel, ban the mind of what is out there in the world beyond the classroom, how to write about your world beyond that of how to write a basic essay or some standardized test model. Literature is important. Black literature is important. And clearly she doesn't understand that at all.

But we're not dealing with the smartest or the sharpest knife in the drawer, Michael. Well, this is, you know, this whole takeover, this whole initiative to run for school board offices and take over school board offices by conservatives. Part of this is coming from Steve Bannon, who did a podcast on this. This podcast has been downloaded millions of times. And this is an effort also that's financed by conservative right wing think tanks as well. And they turned their animosity towards mask mandates. They've turned this towards taking over school boards. And Steve Bannon said the way the political power in America now is through local school boards. So this is one of the things that we're seeing, either bans on books targeting African-Americans and non-white people. We saw this in York, Pennsylvania. We see something like this, a call for a ban on children's books,

four children's books targeting that deal with the civil rights movement in Tennessee that's taking place right now as well. So, yeah, and you're going to see this continue as well. Now, we have to have an opposite force that fights back against this because this is the organized finance effort also. This is not just, even though they're crazy people, they're

organized crazy people. This is what we have to understand. That is the case. All right, y'all, got to go to a break when we come back. We'll talk Innovative Charter School and the work that they are doing to help students uh that is the case all right yeah gotta go to a break we come back uh we'll talk uh innovative charter school and the work that they are doing uh to help students in illinois that is next on roland martin unfiltered on the black star network oh that spin class was brutal well you can try using the puke's massaging seat oh yeah that yeah, that's nice. Can I use Apple CarPlay to put some music on?

Sure. It's wireless. Pick something we all like. Okay, hold on. What's your Buick's Wi-Fi password? BuickEnvision2021. Oh, you should pick something stronger. That's really predictable.

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Hi, I'm Eric Nolan. I'm Shantae Moore. Hi, my name is Latoya Luckett, and you're watching Roland Martin Unfiltered. All right, East St. Louis Charter High School is an extension of Southern Illinois University Edwardsville and provides students with an education that will prepare them for college or a productive career. The school offers a pipeline for students to attend the university for a free or reduced cost. The principal of SIUE's charter school, Dr. Gina Jeffries, is here to tell us more about it. Dr. Jock, how you doing? I am doing good, Roland.

Thank you all for having me today. All right, then. So first of all, grade level, what students do you serve at your school? We serve grades nine through 12, and we have 120 rock star scholars. And so how long has the school been in existence? The school has been in existence since 1999.

We're kind of a hidden gem here in East St. Louis, but I will tell you it is a blessing to walk through these hallways each and every single day. And so you talk about this partnership with the university. How does that work? How does that work? How does it actually, I mean, are they getting credits or what's actually happening? Absolutely. Well, how it works is that we are sponsored by SIUE, which stands for Southern Edwardsville University. And we have a partnership where the oversight comes directly from our school of ed, health and human behavior, with our first black female rock star dean, Dr. Robin Hughes. And Roland, I'm very excited that a new partnership that we currently have to get more of our scholars to that SIUE campus is called GEMS.

And that stands for Gentlemen Entering Manhood. And it's specifically designed to mentor our black male scholars to seek education endeavors and to actually seek becoming teachers. We know that in order to direct and to attract diversity, we have to have diversity at the table. So we are excited about that partnership and we know that it is necessary. I wanted to shout out Dr. Nate Williams, who is a professor within the School of Ed that partners with one of our rock star team members, Greg Lagzian, and they do that every single Wednesday, and they even did it during the pandemic as well.

You talk about your students. What is your college acceptance rate? How many of these students actually go from your high school to SIUE? Absolutely. Well, I first want to tell you what our overall enrollment rate is leaving the charter school on to higher education. And that is 82 percent in last school year. And our actual four-year graduation rate was 92. And, Roland, you're familiar with being a public free school of choice in a community that needs it. So that data surpasses the local district's data and the state data. So at our highest, we have sent 20 percent of our high school scholars on to the Edwardsville campus. But we are more excited that we have that 82 percent, which includes our black male students that go on to higher education.

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

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

6 on June 4th. Ad-free at Lava for Good Plus on Apple Podcasts. I'm Clayton English. I'm Greg Lott. And this is Season 2 of the War on Drugs podcast. We are back. In a big way. In a very big way. Real people, real perspectives. This is kind of star-studded a little bit, man. We got Ricky Williams, NFL player,

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

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

It makes it real. Listen to new episodes of the War on Drugs podcast season two on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. And to hear episodes one week early and ad free with exclusive content, subscribe to Lava for Good Plus on Apple Podcasts. 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-up way, 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. Thank you so much for coming on and educating us about,

or I should say informing us about your school. Can you tell us a little bit more about how one would typically gravitate to your school or the advantage of going to your school versus another school? Absolutely. Well, like I said before, we are a charter school, so we are a free public school of choice. And my motto is we got to have some rock star things that we are doing, some innovative things that we are doing for scholars and families to want to choose us.

For us, that means college and career prep courses, STEAM education, failures not an option advisory courses. And then that also just means good old school teacher mentoring and our staff mentoring. Our goal is that we have one adult that is in front of those students every single morning that is speaking life into them. You know, we're in East St. Louis. One of the cities identified as having the most crime rate in the United States. So when they get to our campus, the first thing we have to do is speak life.

We have to tell our scholars, you are well able. You can do this. It doesn't matter what society has said. What matters is that we know, according to our own data, that you can be successful. start at the ninth grade level with giving our students goals and working with them to set those goals and telling them exactly what our mission of the school is, which is to prepare them for college and career prep. Kelly? Yes, thank you. Regarding, because I know that it's through Southern Illinois University at Rootsville. So given that fact, in the event that a child does not, or a student rather, does not want to attend that specific university, are there other programs at play to get them into the school of their choice? Or just how does that work in general? And secondly, I know that all your students are rock stars, but if you can think of like one story that sticks out

that just, you know, really would bring home a great example of a student at your school, I'd love for you to share. Absolutely. So yes, our goal is that you go somewhere in that, whether it's the career pathway or the college pathway. So I came from an HBCU, Lincoln University, Jefferson City, Missouri, where I pledged Delta Sigma Theta Incorporated. And so we bring those personal experiences to our scholars. In today's society, it's not enough to tell them. They have to see it. They have to breathe it. They have to know that just like this adult has achieved success, I can achieve success as well. So we are adamant that during our college and career prep course that our students begin to fill out those college applications. We bring to the virtual world those college visitations to them.

Prior to that, I have a rock star team that has taken our students on college field trips. So we leave East St. Louis and we get out and we give our students career and college surveys to see where their interests are, where their ACT scores, what are their SAT scores, so that we're setting up a realistic plan. A couple of weeks ago, October 1st, when FAFSA opens, we held a FAFSA night for our scholars and their families at 6 p.m. in the evening so that our families could come in and use our technology in order to get those FAFSA paperwork filled out, because we all know first come, first serve. So that's some of the innovative ways. We also do that by bringing in guest speakers, I got to tell you that I really appreciated you being vulnerable and showing off your dance skills yesterday when I was tuning in, because you are

right. Dancing is absolutely a joy. And I encourage my team members and my teachers, what is your number one signature soul-trained teaching strategy that if all else fails, you know you've got that soul-trained strategy. And most of the time it is relationships. Relationships is what kept our scholars in our educational platform during this pandemic. You got to think, I'm here in East St. Louis. The majority of my families are headed up by single moms who are essential workers. And so we did school supply pickups where we gave out $100 grocery cards and food. We knew that our families,

that was a need, so they would come. And I challenged my staff, you have a 30-second window to speak life into that family. But, Roland, we put on some new addition, too. And so some of those single moms, head of households were coming in there dancing. And that 30 second of joy during a pandemic that hit heavy in our community, I know was life changing. Joy is contagious. So just about that story you asked me about, we had a scholar who had one foot in the streets and one foot in the school. And we know that he's smart. We know that he's capable and he's college bound. But when those streets call you and you support your household, we have to be innovative in how we encourage you to get to school. And so school now becomes respite. It becomes a necessity because that scholar knows they're protected when they get in and behind

these school doors. And so this particular scholar started a little bit late because he didn't have school supplies. So once our social worker reached out to let him know, we got you, I envisioned my team and I watched them. They were all standing outside of their doors as he was passing by because it had been a couple of weeks and we were concerned. And each of those teachers,

they did their signature soul train move by high-fiving this scholar, by telling him he was missed, by telling him we're going to get you caught up, that we're going to offer you some graceful grind, because it doesn't matter where you've been. It matters where you're going. All right, then. And he's being successful now.

He's in the classroom. We got him that backpack. We got him those shoes. And so he is being successful. All right. Well, congratulations there. Certainly good luck with the school. And you know what?

We're just going to keep churning out great students. Thank you. I appreciate it. Thank you so much for having me. All right. Thanks a bunch. Folks, real quick with this here. Here in Alaska, whose sales have been provided decades of research, cures, and scientific breakthroughs, received a posthumous award from the World Health Organization.

Lawrence Lacks Sr. thanks scientists and researchers for honoring his mother. This is what he had to say. I am Lawrence Lacks, senior of Henrietta Lacks' son. I want to thank everybody and everything for the award that you ever gave her. And it's very beautiful. And I want to thank you and thank you again. There's no words that say how much this means to me.

Thank everybody. Lacks' cells were taken without her permission from Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore while receiving cervical cancer treatment. The cells known as the Hella line have been pivotal in creating vaccines and medicine for modern-day diseases. The Lacks family is still fighting for compensation and recognition for Henrietta's immortal cells. And, Michael, that's it.

Show me the money. That's what I was just thinking. You know, this is long overdue. Yes, we know the lawsuit that Ben Crump filed on behalf of the family on October 4th, the 70th anniversary of the passing of Henrietta Lacks, but also show us the money as well. You know, more than 50 million metric tons of HeLa cells have been distributed globally and have been the subject of more than 75,000 studies. So awards are nice, but show us the money. Absolutely. That's what it boils down to. globally and have been the subject of more than 75,000 studies.

So awards are nice, but show us the money. Absolutely. That's what it boils down to. All right, y'all got to go to a quick break when we come back. We will tell you about this weekend, the 10th anniversary of the MLK Memorial unveiling. We'll tell you what our plans are on Roland Martin Unfiltered and the Black Star Network. Norske kvartal ТРЕВОЖНАЯ МУЗЫКА Hey, I'm Arnaz Jake.

Black TV does matter, dang it. Hey, what's up, y'all? It's your boy, Jacob Lattimore, and you're now watching Roland Martin right now. Stay woke. It was 10 years ago in October when the MLK Memorial was unveiled in the nation's capital. The first African-American receiving a monument

on the National Mall. I was, of course, with TV One. I actually hosted our coverage on that day. Now remember, it was supposed to take place on August 28th. It was a hurricane that was headed to D.C. They actually canceled it. Hurricane never

hit. It was a gorgeous day. The Alpha still had a ceremony on that day. So here's what's going to happen tomorrow and all throughout the next week. We're going to actually be reliving that and restreaming all of the things that happened at both of those events. Now, next Wednesday, they're going to have a dinner celebrating the 10th anniversary. And then on Thursday, President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris will be speaking at the MLK Memorial. Tomorrow, there's a youth program that is going to be taking place. Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris will be speaking at the MLK Memorial tomorrow. There's a youth program that is going to be taking place tomorrow.

We are going to be, of course, live streaming that program on tomorrow. And so there's a lot of stuff that we have planned. I mean, it is surprising that, again, you think Batman has already been 10 years. That was an amazing, amazing day. There were so many different people who we heard from that day, and included the late, great Cicely Tyson. Here is some of that coverage from 10 years ago. When that video, when I first saw that, the exact same reaction. I always get tears watching that video because the entire, of course, song,

they play all the verses It's a compilation of all these photos and the historic images that led us to this very point And your tears are the same tears that James Weldon Johnson had when he finished Writing lift every voice he broke down in tears standing there in Jacksonville, Florida Looking out over the head that's's every time I see that. I love it. That's right. That was what did it. That's why it's powerful. I have that on my iPod.

And sometimes when stuff get a little rough, I'll actually watch that. Just to remind yourself, folks, we are joined by a very special guest, phenomenal woman, a gorgeous woman. Welcome to our TV one set. Cicely Tice. Thank you, Roland and Joe. Thank you. How are you doing? I'm here.

That's always a good thing. That's all I need to know. Listen, the other night when we were celebrating Reverend Lowry, Vernon Jordan. His 90th birthday in Atlanta last Sunday. That's right. Vernon Jordan, when it was his turn to speak, said, as a lawyer, I have to give you advice.

When you wake up in the morning without pain, you're dead. That's a good point. Ms. Tyson, I got to ask you, this monument, this dedication, your reflections on Dr. King and this amazing movement. Very difficult to define, primarily because it was so monumental. I look at the fact that this was scheduled initially on an earlier date and Irene dispelled it. I have yet to feel comfortable about what happened when the following day was such a glorious day like today. And my mother had a saying about things like this,

man appoints, but God disappoints. And my feelings are that that was not Dr. Martin Luther King. This is closer to being him. He wasn't a man about fanfare. He was a man about doing. And so I'm comfortable about being here because I think that this was closer to who he was than that might have been. Can I ask the question? So, again, folks, amazing, amazing stuff. And the thing that, you know, it's, you know, I was going through the video, Michael, Brianna, and Kelly. So here's what happened.

So last month, Harry Johnson, who runs the Memorial Foundation, hit me up, and I totally forgot it was a 10th anniversary. And he said they were doing this luncheon. They wanted me to actually host the luncheon, the dinner. And I said I couldn't do it because we're going to be in Atlanta for Global Hope Forum. And so I was like, man, so I can't do it. And so then he said, well, I said, look, you know what? I said, do you guys have the video from that particular day?

C-SPAN did all the coverage, but we did a broadcast at TV One. So I hit up Kathy Hughes and I said, hey, it'll be, I said, what if we, what if we partner with you guys and we actually stream that information? And she said, it's a great idea. So I talked with Michelle Rice, who's the general manager of TV One. And today I went over and picked up the hard drive. And so not only do we have the video for that full event. And so, again, you just saw a portion there. You can cut to it right now.

Again, folks, it was just an amazing day, the people who were out there. But we also shot a lot of other events as well. We shot the pre-concert event. We shot the luncheon. And I'm going through this video, and my God, the number of people, the number of people who we talked to who are no longer here. You heard her reference right there, Reverend Dr. Joseph Lowry and Vernon Jordan. We lost Vernon Jordan this year. We lost Reverend Lowry last year. I'm looking at the video and I see Reverend C.T. Vivian. We lost him last year. Congressman John Lewis, we lost him last year. Diane Carroll spoke

on that day as well. We lost her last year. And so when people, when we restreamed this this weekend, you know, people are going to see so many of our elders and luminaries, Kelly, who are now ancestors. But that's the beauty of video like this, right? Because you can relive the moment and honor the moment and respect the moment basically whenever you want to, whenever you hit play, you can do that. I was just looking at it and smiling because Cicely Tyson, I mean, what a queen she was. The other names that you mentioned, what royalty they were to not only just grace this earth, but to, you know, champion us on our behalf when they got very little thanks for it a lot of the time, especially in the early days of it. So I look forward to seeing the footage and just smiling about it and knowing that, you know, it took a long time for this memorial to

come to fruition. And the fact that it did get erected and, you know, it was memorialized in this way, but it's still here, still standing, still strong, still a very active attraction to the National Mall itself. I frequent there anytime I get a minute to just, you know, relax and just want to rest and just honor my ancestors in that way, you know, a perk of living in D.C. But, yeah, I definitely look forward to seeing you stream the footage this weekend. You know, a lot of folks, you know, a lot of people weren't there. A lot of people who didn't see it. You got a whole generation of folks who, some who weren't even alive. And so

the opportunity to be able to do that and, you know, and the beauty of digital, Michael, is that, you know, we look at the linear network and I'll tell you, you know, I had to fight with the programming executives at the time at TV One for us to air the full deal. And I remember we went toe-to-toe. It wasn't the folks in charge right now, but the head of programming who's no longer there, she and I went toe-to-toe about, and I literally said, this ain't going to happen again in history. So we as a black network, why in the hell wouldn't we do it?

I think we can sacrifice our numbers for one day to actually do this major news story. And it was Jonathan Rogers, who was the CEO of TV One. He had let us duke it out. And finally he was like, we're doing this. And so I appreciate Kathy Hughes and Michelle Rice saying, hey, let's do this, because the opportunity for people to hear those speeches, the performance of Aretha Franklin, of Stevie Wonder, President Barack Obama spoke as well.

We also have the video when the Alphas had that event on August, that particular weekend, the weekend in August because there still was an event that day. And so we have all of that. And so we're going to be showing all of that over the course. Then at one of the lunches, the women's luncheon, there were a couple of people who are also no longer with us, Dorothy Cotton.

And it was the first time I got a chance to meet her. And she was so excited to meet me and I was excited to meet her. And also Dr. Maya Angelou. She also spoke at that luncheon as well. And folks will be able to get to see all of that. Well, you know, Roland, this is historic and I'm glad you were able to get the hard drive and I'm glad you're going to re-air this. The day that this originally aired, you know, that should have been like

historic ratings for TV one, because as much as I love TV one, how many times can you watch reruns of The Jeffersons and Saf and the Sun and in good time? So this should have been like historic ratings for TV one, because as much as I love TV one, how many times can you watch reruns of The Jeffersons and Saf and the Sun and Good Times? So this should have been historic. But at the same time, you know, there's a lot of people who have passed away. Dr. King is iconic. Hopefully this weekend people will also read Dr. King's speeches and read his last book. Where do we go from here? Chaos, a, Chapter 2 is called Black Power. It deals with the Black Power Movement. We know today is the 55th anniversary of the founding of the Black Panther Party for Self-Defense.

Bobby Seale and Huey P. Newton. Huey P. Newton, one of my frat brothers, 580 Sigma Fraternity Incorporated. And also you mentioned John Lewis and James Weldon Johnson. James Weldon Johnson wrote the lyrics to Lift Every Voice and Sing, both members of 580 Sigma Fraternity Incorporated. So this is a historic day.

That's all you got. That's all you got. But I just want you to remember, but I just want you to remember, the dedication is the statue, is a monument to an alpha. Just want you to know that. You got to bow down. You got to bow down. You got to bow down.

I understand that, but sometimes you have to get up also. You got to get up, but when you get up and you look up, all you can say is, there goes an alpha man. Right. Oh, yeah, he was a great alpha man. I agree with that also. I just want you to remember that.

Brianna? Yes, I think the ancestors would be very pleased. This is going to be a lovely memorial and reshowing it. The ability to capture and reshow history for future generations, especially the millennials and underneath. It's going to be a great opportunity. And, you know, reflecting on a lot of the Black Americans who came before me, who fiercely broke down barriers and allowed me to do a lot that I'm doing in some of these spaces as being the first Black woman, I think that this space and showing it from Maya Angelou to Martin Luther King is very, very powerful. And so and I love that, you know, it's happening outside of February.

And just, you know, keep on remembering the fight that we're in and, you know, standing up and challenging power and having the opportunity to do this work and just, you know, bask in who came before us while we're still in this fight. Absolutely. And so we look forward to it. And so at 11 a.m. Eastern tomorrow, we're going to live stream

the ceremony that's taking place at the MLK Memorial. Again, that's taking place on tomorrow. We'll live stream that. And then what we'll do is after that, then we will then have the restream of that day, the entire

day. I am going to be reaching out too because on that day the King family, the King estate did allow the replaying of the I Have a Dream speech. And so I got to hit up their attorney to say, all right, can we go ahead and play that? Hopefully they say yes.

But you know how they get sometimes. So we'll see. All right, folks. Brianna, Kelly, Michael, we appreciate it. Thanks a lot. We always end the show with our Bring the Funk fan club. What I'm going to do is, as a preview for tomorrow, this was a promo of the TV one

put together of various voices. So after we play this, then we're going to roll the list of our Bring the Funk fan club members. Don't forget, download the Black Star Network app, all available platforms, Android phone, Apple phone,

Roku, Apple TV, Android TV, Amazon Fire TV, Xbox, Samsung as well. And then you can also support us with our Bring the Funk fan club, supporting us via Cash App, Dollar Sign, RM Unfiltered. PayPal is rmartinunfiltered. Venmo is rmunfiltered. Zelle is roland at rolandsmartin.com. Roland at rolandmartinunfiltered.com.

I will see you guys on Monday, again, 11 a.m. Eastern tomorrow. Then we will, after that, we will have the restream of the MLK Memorial unveiling. It took place 10 years ago in the nation's capital. I will see you then. All right. Y'all take care and have a great weekend. Also, the birthday of Anthony Hampton. Anthony works with us.

Anthony's birthday. He's actually celebrating tonight. His birthday is this week. So shout out to Anthony. All right. I'll see you later. What King did was pull the mirror up in the face of America and say, is this who we are? Is this who we are? And the answer had to be no. And so a great burden was lifted off all of America by what Dr. King did. And his example was so powerful for Americans that it could not just be contained to America. So he became a powerful example to the rest of the world. I believe for those 800 million in poverty and for others in poverty and

Suffering from abuse around the world. Dr. King still has a light that shines forth To say I love you is very nice But when you're in latest challenged and you can return love and in the midst of that challenge That's when you know, it's when you know it's really there. It's really there. It's real at that point. I don't really know that I love you. It's something I repeat because I know how to say the words.

But when you are hating me and I can still love you, that's when rubber hits the road. A private citizen, not a person with an official title, but who influenced the course of his times, the course of our times, changed this nation in fundamental and positive ways. And it is why I think all that we exult about him now, all that we celebrate about him now is totally appropriate. He is a seminal figure in the history of this nation.

Well, you know, I think the essence of Dr. King was that he saw laws that were unjust, he broke them, but was willing to suffer the consequences of breaking those laws. He was a person I think who believed in the rule of law, and he wanted to change those laws that were unfair. Oh, he was a radical. Radical for his time. He seems less radical now because he changed this nation. The situation that he dealt with had been going on for a hundred years.

Segregation was an accepted thing in the South, not paid, I think, too much attention to in the North. And he essentially said, we have to change this, and we have to change this now. In the late 1950s, an interfaith group called the Fellowship of Reconciliation told King's story in a comic book. Half a century later, the story was told again in Arabic. The American Islamic Congress translated that book

into Arabic, and people can download it. People are very excited to have it as a tool to help them in their struggle. The young people in Egypt during the revolution were reading the comic book. And the old people also. They remembered Dr. King. They remembered his legacy. And they were looking at the pictures and they're saying, oh, we remember that guy. He's from, you know, when we are young. And he's inspiring our young people here to take the same action, the nonviolence actions, towards gaining their civil rights. Thank you. 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. 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. Yes, sir. Last year, a lot of the problems of the drug war. This year, a lot of the biggest names

in music and sports. This kind of starts that in 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. This is an iHeart podcast.