#RolandMartinUnfiltered - Haynes Resigns From Rainbow Push, SCOTUS & Jan. 6, Sudan's Civil War, Ark. LEARN Act, Truthing Game

Episode Date: April 17, 2024

4.16.2024 #RolandMartinUnfiltered: Haynes Resigns From Rainbow Push, SCOTUS & Jan. 6, Sudan's Civil War, Ark. LEARN Act, Truthing Game The US Supreme Court considers a January 6 prosecutions law that could impact the Trump election interference case. Dr. Frederick Haynes has resigned as the CEO and President of Rainbow Push Coalition.  #BlackStarNetwork partner:Fanbase 👉🏾 https://www.startengine.com/offering/fanbase The Supreme Court's conservative majority indicated that it may toss out a charge prosecutors have lodged against hundreds of people who violently invaded the Capitol on Jan. 6.   Elie Mystal, the Justice Correspondent for The Nation, is here to break this down.  The Arkansas State Conference of the NAACP and the Lawyers Committee on Civil Rights joined a lawsuit to fight anti-DEI efforts in Arkansas. The Director of the Educational Opportunities Project from the Lawyers' Committee will explain why they filed an injunction to stop the state's Literacy, Empowerment, Accountability, Readiness, Networking, and School Safety Act. It's been a year since Sudan's civil war started. With no end in sight, millions need humanitarian aid, facing acute levels of hunger and on the brink of famine.   Over 18 million black veterans will play a huge part in this year's election. We'll talk to two veterans who will explain why their votes are critical.  And Randi is finally ready to show off her card game "Truthing."  She's our Marketplace feature tonight.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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

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

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

It makes it real. Listen to new episodes of the War on Drugs podcast season two on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Director of the Educational Opportunities Project from the Lawyers Committee will be joining us on today's show. Folks, also on today's show,

more than 18 million black veterans will play a huge part in this year's show. Folks, also on today's show, more than 18 million black veterans will play a huge part in this year's election. We'll talk to two vets who will explain why their votes matter. Plus, DEI disruptor Randy Bryant is finally ready to show off her card game, truthing. So we'll chat with her in our Marketplace segment.

It's time to bring the funk. I'm Roland Martin, unfiltered, with Black Stud Network. Let's go. Whatever the piss, he's on it. Whatever it is, he's got the scoop, the fact, the fine. And when it breaks, he's right on time. And it's rolling.

Best belief he's knowing. Putting it down from sports to news to politics. With entertainment just for kicks, he's knowing Putting it down from sports to news to politics With entertainment just for kicks He's rolling It's Uncle Roro, y'all It's Rolling Martin Rolling with rolling now

He's funky, he's fresh, he's real The best you know he's rolling Martel Martel Today the Supreme Court heard arguments on how the Justice Department used a law enacted by Congress against the January 6th insurrectionists. If the justices decide to toss out this particular charge, it could legally impact hundreds of rioters involved in the attack on the U.S. Capitol. During today's hearing, Justice Brett Kavanaugh questioned why the DOJ charged some January 6th rioters with obstructing an official proceeding

which could carry more prison time. Listen. There's six other counts in the indictment here, which include civil disorder, physical contact with the victim, assault, entering and remaining in a restricted building, disorderly and disruptive conduct, disorderly conduct in the Capitol building. And why aren't those six counts good enough, just from the Justice Department's perspective, given that they don't have any of the hurdles?

Because those counts don't fully reflect the culpability of petitioner's conduct on January 6th. Those counts do not require that petitioner have acted corruptly to obstruct an official proceeding. And obviously, petitioner committed other crimes that we've charged and that we're seeking to hold him accountable for. But one of the distinct strands of harm, one of the root problems with petitioner's conduct is that he knew about that proceeding. He had said in advance of January 6th that he was prepared to storm the Capitol, prepared to use violence. He wanted to intimidate Congress. He said they can't vote if they can't breathe. And then he went to the Capitol on January 6th with that intent in mind and took action, including assaulting a law enforcement officer that did impede the ability of the officers to regain control of the Capitol and let Congress finish

its work in that session. And I think it is entirely appropriate for the government to seek to hold Petitioner accountable for that conduct. Joining us right now is joining us right now is Ellie Mistel, the justice correspondent for The Nation. Ellie, glad to have you here. Okay, Ellie, so this is where I am a wee bit confused. So to hear Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh, first of all, has Brett, just for my sake,

has Brett Kavanaugh ever been a prosecutor? No, I don't believe so. He's been a political hack. He worked for Ken Starr. I don't think he's ever been a prosecutor, but I'm not 100% sure. So a guy who's never been a prosecutor wants to question, why did you, you had these six charters, why do you need this one? I'm sorry. I don't recall somebody asking a prosecutor,

hey, why don't you hit them with 10 charges? Eight was sufficient. Yeah, so what Kavanaugh is doing right there is that he's basically saying, haven't we prosecuted these people enough? Haven't these patriots and tourists been through enough? Why do you have to charge them with this extra charge, too? He's arguing that the Department of Justice is overcharging people, which is something that Brett Kavanaugh

and the rest of the conservatives never do when the defendants are black, right? They never do it when the defendants are Latino. They're They never do it when the defendants are Latino. They're never worried about the Justice Department overcharging, over-prosecuting, going too hard against defendants who are of color. But now that white mega-insurrectionists are feeling the rough end of the Department of Justice, suddenly Kavanaugh is like, no, no, no, these other charges are enough. These extra charges, and remember what we're talking about here, the obstruction of Congress charge,

that's for the people who went into the Capitol looking for Mike Pence, looking for Nancy Pelosi, looking for the electoral ballots, trying to literally stop them from certifying the election. Over a thousand people have been charged in connection with January 6th ballots, trying to literally stop them from certifying the election. Over 1,000 people have been charged in connection with January 6th just for the people who broke in and defecated all over the place and acted like fools, right? These charges are for the 300 or so that we think we're really trying to disrupt the function of the American government.

And Kavanaugh is saying, no, no, no, that's going too far. You're hurting these people too much. Amazing because these people actually said it. They actually said, we're going to stop this. So they made it clear that they were looking to stop impeding them from doing their job. They were kind of clear. These are the people with the zip ties. These are the people, again, as Solicitor General Liz Prelogar said in the clip that you played, this is the guy, the name defended in this case, this is the guy who said they can't vote if they can't breathe.

What is that, right? So what the government did is they used this obstruction charge that came out of the Enron stuff, all right? And that's where the complication comes, right? This is, you know, if people remember Enron, a huge scandal. They did various things to obstruct Congress investigating that scandal, including destroying documents and whatever. And after the Enron scandal was kind of prosecuted, what the government realized is that Enron was kind of using a loophole, right? Previous obstruction charges, like, you needed a very specific thing. And so, put it like this, when you have too much specificity, there are loopholes, there

are gaps. And so, in the Enron situation, Congress created this catch-all provision. That's what we're really talking about here, a catch-all provision to count obstructions of official proceedings, obstructions of Congress, even if they're not specifically named by whatever Congress thinks of that day, right? So it's a fallback position to catch people who obstruct Congress in a way that maybe you haven't thought of before, right? So when the justices, Thomas, Alito, even John Roberts today, started kind of complaining

that, oh, the government has never used this before in this situation, Prelog, the Solicitor General, responded, I think, accurately with, well, ain't nobody ever tried to attack the Capitol before. Right. I mean, like, oh, like, why are you using this? It's the same thing. Oh, Colorado, why are you kicking off the ballot? Oh, because, let's see, we never had a president try this. Right. This has literally never happened before. And this specific provision in the law was meant to catch things that had never happened before. So it's kind of a direct on point application and use of the law.

But because it hurts white folks, because it hurts, you know, certain people's wives, because it implicates people that the conservative justices like, now they don't want to use this charge. And I'll just bring her back around, because I know you talked about this yesterday, and it's important to me as well. Think about what they did yesterday to DeRay, right? To DeRay McKesson, who did not start a riot, did not throw rocks at any officers, did not have anything to do with the people who were injured in the protests that the government is concerned about. Oh, for them, the Supreme Court can use every stitch of law, every trumped

up, never used before operational law to try to go hunt DeRay because they don't like DeRay. So they're trying to get DeRay. And so the Supreme Court says that's fine. But then when you try to extend and use a law specifically designed to implicate the times that we haven't thought of yet, no, no, no. Now that's going too far. Why isn't what we charged them with already enough, according to the conservative Supreme Court justices. So, Clarence Thomas is sitting there as a part of this. He's

married to a woman who was fully supportive of January 6th. That man should not even be near the bench. Look, I don't know why he's there. Like, you get to the point where, like, if y'all are comfortable with this level of open corruption, I don't know what to tell you, right? Because

just as an interesting note, Clarence Thomas was absent from the court yesterday. Yesterday, they were doing a corruption hearing, basically about a public official who had taken gifts in exchange for official acts. Clarence Thomas ain't nowhere to be found yesterday. He was still on his RV. He was still out on his yacht with Harlan Gray. He didn't want no part of yesterday's argument, right? But today, he's back on the job, sitting there to defend insurrectionists like his wife. The simple fact that Clarence Thomas' wife could have, and I would argue should have been charged, along with the very insurrectionists that Thomas now says shouldn't be charged

at all, should disqualify him from this case. And the fact that that isn't kind of like a top-line media story, the fact that that's not going to be talked about in like the New York Times report about this case tomorrow, it's infuriating. And I don't know how to get the country kind of to appreciate just how disgusting this is, just how lawless this is. And I don't know how to get politicians to understand that you need an entirely new ethics code with real teeth to stop this from, to stop, and by this I mean Clarence Thomas, to stop Clarence Thomas and people like him from ever happening again. Well, what's also interesting is that he actually, I love this part where he was like, well, is this really that big of a deal?

Because weren't they just, you know, doing what people do when they shout out in the middle of a proceeding? Thomas, Alito and Gorsuch all made analogies to the January 6th protesters as if they were hecklers, right? Like, well, if you can prosecute them for obstructing Congress for January 6th, couldn't you prosecute a heckler who disrupted this courtroom's proceedings? Yeah, yeah, yeah. A heckler who decided to come out of their seat and run up to a member of Congress and in doing so, knock a cop out and then make a beeline for the member of Congress or the city council member. Yeah, it's yeah. Yeah, you're right. That's the kind of heckler.

Right. Again, Solicitor General Prelogar had the right answer to that. And her answer was basically like, no, that's not the same, because that heckler isn't making you people run for your lives. That's what she said straight up to them, right? But the justices didn't care. Neil Gorsuch had a particularly annoying analogy, because he was like, isn't the January 6th protesters just like, I don't know, pulling a fire alarm during an official proceeding, obviously trying to throw some shade at my congressman and my man, Jamal Bowman, who accidentally pulled a fire alarm

in the Capitol. They always like to make a big thing about that on Fox News. So Neil Gorsuch referenced the fire alarm, not Jamal Bowman, my name, but you know who he was talking about, in Supreme Court oral arguments today, analogizing what Bowman did to, again, the rioters who attacked the Capitol with guns and zip ties and bear spray, looking to do things like, I don't know, hang Vice President Mike Pence. Like, that was the analogy that Neil Gorsuch thought was cool to make today. I said it online. You got to understand that these conservative justices are basically everybody's white racist uncle who just sits at home all day watching Fox News and then thinks that the world is what Fox News tells them it is. Like, that's who these people are,

and you saw it today in horrible stark relief. That's absolutely crazy. Ellie Mesto, anything else that jumped out at you that just had you almost pulling your hair out to a flat top? I mean, look, obviously this case is going to be 6-3 at least. I could even see 7-2. Some of the liberals were a little bit interested in the thing. I don't think it ultimately affects the Trump prosecution.

Trump is being charged with obstruction of Congress. The charges are different for him, because, like, he's literally had fake documents that he was trying to submit to subtract Congress, which is a little bit more like the Enron thing than less like the Enron thing. So I don't think that it affects the Jack Smith case against him. The problem with that, of course, is that the Supreme Court has an entirely different way to defend Trump from Jack Smith. And we're going to hear that next week, of course, is that the Supreme Court has an entirely different way to defend Trump from Jack Smith. And we're going to hear that next week, next Thursday, when the Supreme Court hears Trump's immunity argument. Right. So I don't think this case.

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

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

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

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

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

I'm Clayton English. I'm Greg Lott. And this is Season 2 of the War on Drugs podcast. 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 shine down got be 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. Effects Trump. It's next week where they're going to do the dirty work for Donald. All right, then.

Ellie, Mr., we certainly appreciate it. Thanks a lot. Thanks a lot. All right, going to a quick break. We'll be it. Thanks a lot. Thanks a lot. All right. Going to a quick break. We'll be right back on the filter on the Blackstar Network. Fanbase is pioneering a new era of social media for the creator economy. This next generation social media

app with over 600,000 users is raising $17 million and now is your chance to invest for details on how to invest. Visit start engine.com slash fan base or scan the QR code. Another way we're giving you the freedom to be you without limits. On the next get wealthy with me, Deborah Owens, America's Wealth Coach, Financial Literacy. Without it, wealth is just a pipe dream. And yet, half of our schools in this country don't even teach it to our kids. You're going to hear from a woman who's determined

to change all that, not only here, but around the world. World of Money is the leading provider of immersive financial education for children ages 7 to 18. We provide 120 online and classroom hours of financial education. That's right here on Get Wealthy on Blackstar Network. Hey, what's up, y'all? I'm Devon Franklin. It is always a pleasure to be in the house. You are watching Roland Martin Unfiltered.

Stay right here. Let's go. All right, folks, my pan. I'm Dr. Mustafa Santago Ali, former senior advisor for environmental justice at the EPA out of D.C., Randy Bryant, DEI disruptor out of D.C., Joe Richardson, civil rights attorney out of Los Angeles. Joe, I'll start with you. What the hell is going on in the Supreme Court? I mean,

look, you know what? Just stop even having oral arguments. Just say, hey, if y'all right-wing, we're going to let y'all do whatever y'all want. Yeah, this is how we're going to do this. It doesn't matter. You know, I mean, I guess we knew it was kind of almost cooked into the

cake. I mean, remember, nobody was arrested the day of. You know what I mean? They dealt with it totally different. You had people crawling up the walls like Spider-Man. You know what I mean? If we would have been doing that, that would have been a whole different situation. But what's interesting here, Justice Sotomayor made an example. She said, for instance, if there's a sign in the theater that says it's illegal to take pictures, run video, or otherwise disrupt the theater or disrupt a show, then there will be a penalty. In that case, if somebody yells, I don't think anybody would disagree, this is what she said, that they disrupted it.

They didn't take a picture, they didn't run a video, but they disrupted. And so on purpose, this law, like Ellie said, was made to have a broad catch-all section. That's why in that law, there's a section A and there's a section B, and the whole talk was about section B. And it is broad enough. It doesn't say anywhere that there needs to be some connection to other evidence. But even if you did need a connection to other evidence, as opposed to this, as pertains to this particular individual, like you said in the last segment, this guy went out of his mind. He went out of his way, out of his whole way to state what it was that he was doing. He was looking to obstruct or otherwise obstruct, as they say, obstruction of an official proceeding, obstruction, influence, or impede. That's precisely what he was doing. Or at the very least,

it certainly seems that this was the type of person or the type of issue, even though they didn't have them all listed, because it could be exhaustive and incomplete, the type of issue that this law contemplated. So clearly, yeah, there's totally a double standard, triple standard going on here. It's really crazy that the Supreme Court would minimize basically what these individuals have done and frankly take a lot of teeth out of the punishment that he could potentially otherwise suffer. And the lower courts have approved this and have confirmed it.

So it's going to be interesting to see what happens with the Supreme Court and see how they explain it. They'll dance around it and find a way to explain it. But it lets you know why we have cause for concern. You know what, Mustafa, these people will come up with any excuse to let these insurrectionists get off. You know, the Supreme Court, for quite a while now,

has been focused on the whitewashing of the law. You know, they make sure that certain people have the benefits of the law and the other ones are the ones who carry the burden. So we are all very clear that these were insurrectionists. These were insurrectionists who put a plan together of what they were going to do. They were domestic terrorists who attacked both police officers and others. These individuals also, if you slow down any of the tape, you can see the hate and the

malice that was in their eyes. And they tried to not only obstruct the government proceedings, but to actually take over the government and to be able to find a way to, you know, in relationship to the election, to be able to roll it back. So these are the individuals who were part of this process. And this individual who's on trial today most definitely was an obstructionist and very much in alignment with what the law talks about. So, you know, the Supreme Court is going to continue

to try to minimize the impacts of January the 6th because it is a political court and because they also know that they need to give something back to the January 6th individuals and those who support Trump because, you know, they've continued to take some L's. So as we move closer to this election, they've got to make sure that, you know, the talking points are that they did something, that president or former, you know, person Trump did something and that, you know, they understand that they've got your back. And I mean, look, I mean, we say this all the time, Randy.

Hello, this is what happens when you vote or you don't vote. Absolutely. What it's like is that you are a team that's playing against another team that's cheating, and you look to the referees to help you out, but you realize the referees are cheating too, and they're absolutely on the side of the other team. We need to ensure that we have referees that will at least call the plays fairly and that we can get some help when people cheat. But right now, particularly when you look at this Supreme Court as it is, the referees are against us. And it just makes you throw your hands up in the air. They have tried

to make these shameful people, these criminals, to be just like boys having boys, boys being boys, just another, like they were, I think some people actually were saying that they were tourists and just trying to see the Capitol. So it's incredible to me how black people are always demonized and yet white people, these insurrectionists, mainly white people, they're almost trying to put them in the light of just complete innocence.

It's disgusting and it's absolutely scary. It is. And so we'll wait to see what the Supreme Court decision is. All right, folks, got to go to break. We come back. Shocking resignation. After only a few months, Reverend Frederick Douglass Haynes III

has stepped down as effectively immediately as president and CEO of the Rainbow Push Coalition. We will explain when we come back. Terry and I, we couldn't play in the white clubs in Minnesota. It felt like such a strength

through adversity type moment that I think black people just have to go through. We have to figure it out. We make lemons out of lemonade. But there's a reason we rented a ballroom, did our own show, promoted it, got like 1,500 people to come out. Clubs were sitting empty.

They were like, where's everybody at? And I said, they're down watching the band you wouldn't hire. So it taught us not only that we had to be, we had the talent of musicians, but we also had the talent of entrepreneurship. It wasn't like a seat at the table. It's like, no, let's build the table. That's right. We've got to build the table. And that was the thing.

And of course, after that, we got all kinds of offers. Of course. Right, to come play in the clubs. But we didn't do it. You're like, no, we're good. No, we're good. We're good. And that's what put us on a path of national.

And of course, when prince made it then it was like okay we see it can be done fan base is pioneering a new era of social media for the creator economy. This next generation social media app with over 600,000 users is raising $17 million and now is your chance to invest. For details on how to invest, visit startengine.com. A lot of times the big economic forces we hear about on the news show up in our lives in small ways. Three or four days a week, I would buy two cups of banana pudding.

But the price has gone up, so now I only buy one. The demand curve in action. And that's just one of the things we'll be covering on Everybody's Business from Bloomberg Businessweek. I'm Max Chavkin. And I'm Stacey Vanek-Smith. Every Friday, we will be diving into the biggest stories in business, taking a look at what's going on, why it matters, and how it shows up in our everyday lives. But guests like Businessweek editor Brad Stone, sports reporter Randall Williams, and consumer spending expert Amanda Mull will take you inside the boardrooms, the backrooms,

even the signal chats that make our economy tick. Hey, I want to learn about VeChain. I want to buy some blockchain or whatever it is that they're doing. So listen to Everybody's Business on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. I know a lot of cops, and they get asked all the time, have you ever had to shoot your gun? Sometimes the answer is yes, but there's a company dedicated to a future where the answer will always be no. Across the country, cops called this taser the revolution. But not everyone was convinced it

was that simple. 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. 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. fan base or scan the qr code another way we're giving you the freedom to be you without limits bruce smith creator and executive producer of the proud family louder and prouder you're watching roland martin Thank you. All right, folks, some breaking news. Just months after it was announced that he would become the new president and CEO of the Rainbow Push Coalition, founded by Reverend Jesse Jackson Sr., Reverend Dr. Frederick Douglas Haynes III, announced that he is abruptly resigning as head of the organization. This is a statement that was released about an hour ago. After continual prayer and deliberation,

I have decided to step down from the position of chief executive officer and president of Rainbow Push Coalition effective immediately. I remain committed to honoring the rich history of RPC and the legacy of its esteemed leader, the incomparable Reverend Jesse L. Jackson Sr., and most significantly, the calling and pursuit of social justice.

I extend my heartfelt gratitude to all who have been who expressed their support since my appointment in July of last year. Rest assured that my work in the fight for liberation and freedom continues. Yours in the struggle, Frederick D. Haynes III. Now, my understanding that a joint statement is being prepared as we speak. A statement from Reverend Haynes as well as from Reverend Jesse Jackson, Sr. Now, folks, again, we just showed you this here was the video in July where Haynes spoke, as you see, sitting behind him. This was at Apostolic church in Chicago, was Reverend Jesse Jackson Sr. Over Freddie's right shoulder was Reverend James Meeks, longtime chairman of the board of Rainbow Push, no longer on the board.

Also, the longtime senior pastor there in Chicago as well of Salem Baptist Church, one of the largest churches, the largest black church in Illinois, the second largest church overall. He's no longer on the board, but again, that was that. Then, of course, we were in Dallas just a couple of months ago when Freddie actually raised his hand and was installed as the new president. He always shows up to see the one and only legend icon. So here is the installation video from Dallas, Texas. Founded by Reverend Jesse L. Jackson Sr., Rainbow Push has a rich history of challenging and transforming systems in the pursuit of liberty and justice for all.

And it seeks to empower the vulnerable through the effective use of grassroots advocacy, community mobilization, and issue education. Rainbow Push protects. Rainbow Push defends. Rainbow Push advances the cause of freedom, fights for economic opportunity, educational equity, environmental justice, and the enfranchisement and empowerment of the oppressed and the disheartened. for economic opportunity, educational equity, environmental justice, and the enfranchisement and empowerment of the oppressed and the disheartened.

Therefore, it gives us great honor and joy, Reverend Dr. Frederick Douglas Haynes III, to announce that you have been tapped by the Reverend Jesse Lewis Jackson Sr. himself, confirmed by the boards of Rainbow Push to serve as the second president of Rainbow Push. Will you please come forward? Pastor, do you promise? Now, that was February 1st. Here we are, April 16th, and all of that has now changed.

So, what happened? Well, listen, I spent six years in Chicago. I know a number of different people. Calls are out. I've already talked to a number of different folks involved. Here's what you have here. And everyone knows this. And this is not breaking news. The reality is Rainbow Push Coalition is all Reverend Jesse Jackson Sr. The idea that Reverend Jackson was going to step aside, not going to happen. And so this is really a fundamental question that

Reverend Jackson has to answer. His family has to answer. And the Rainbow Push board of directors has to answer because the reality is he makes the call, not the board. They're going to have to make a decision, and that is, how do you want to truly honor the legacy of Reverend Jesse Jackson Sr.? Do you want to have a shell of an organization that has leadership that bends a knee to Reverend Jackson and the family, or do you want to carry forth Rainbow Push further to the 21st century? We've seen examples.

I'm going to use Reverend James Mix as an example. When he stepped down and retired as a senior pastor of Salem Baptist Church, he had said years before that Reverend Charlie Dates was going to replace him. And when Reverend Dates became the pastor, Reverend Meeks stopped showing up at church. Why? Because you can't have the new leader there and the old leader and people still gravitate to the old leader. What do you think? What do you think about the sermon? What do you think about this? A new leader has to lead. A new

leader has to bring in their system, has to bring in their people. They have to be able to lead. You can't be in a situation where you're constantly asking permission to lead, not when you are the president and CEO. That's really what happened here. Now, you're going to have a lot of people say, well, Freddie Haynes could have done this and the family could have done this. At the end of the day, this is very simple. When the decision was made to make Reverend Frederick Haynes III the president and CEO of Rainbow Push,

was he truly given the reins to leave? Either you're given the reins to lead or you're not. Listen, when the NAACP Legal Defense Fund, when Sheryl Eiffel stepped down as the leader and J'Nai Nelson became the the leader it was a smooth as silk transition that's how it's supposed to be when my man reverend charles jenkins when he left still a young pastor as a leader of fellowship in chicago he replaced Reverend Clay Evans. When he transitioned to his successor,

guess what? Smooth transition. That's how it's supposed to be. You cannot have folk fighting the transition. Whether it's a church, civil rights group, corporation, you can't do it.

You've got to allow new leadership to lead. Look at Disney. Bob Iger picks Bob Chapik. Guess what? Iger stays on longer, longer, longer, longer, finally leaves the board, pining for Iger to come back. Chibbit doesn't last long. Guess what?

He gets fired. Who replaces him? Iger. It's because they were all pining for him. So you've got to make a decision whether you're going to actually move forward. Now, why does this matter? Because we as African Americans, we should never be in a position where we're starting over.

We shouldn't be starting over. The reality is, Reverend Jackson is still here. He is still among us. But we have to be honest. And it's hard to be honest. The fact of the matter is, because of his Parkinson's disease, Reverend Jackson is incapacitated. He simply can't travel like he used to. He can't speak like he used to.

He can't lead like he used to. He can't lead like he used to. Which means there must be new leadership allowed to lead. I'll give you a perfect example. And again, I was there. Every Saturday, had the Saturday morning workshop, which dates back to the early 70s. When I was there, save for a few major events, place wasn't packed. It wasn't 200 people there. So you got this cavernous facility being broadcast and I get how it's done but guess what? Freddie Haynes or whoever's new leader, they could actually go live on Instagram and have more people watch them live

than sitting in the audience. So why hold on to an old model? Here's what I also know. Rainbow pushes the shell of itself financially. They aren't even considered one of the major civil rights groups anymore. I'm just being honest. And so tonight, there needs to be some serious soul searching by everybody involved as to what are we doing here? Are we a museum organization or are we an active civil rights organization continuing to do the work of the people?

There are very good examples of. Ego less transitions. There are very good examples of egoless transitions where it's done right. I'll give you another example. Bruce Gordon, he was a black man who ran a $24 billion division of Verizon. He became the president and CEO of the NAACP. He lasted a year, but he really wasn't a year. He went to Julian Bond after one week and said, this is not going to work. I'm out.

They convinced him to stay, but here's what happened. There was friction there between Julian Bond, who was the board chair of the NAACP, and Bruce Gordon. Now, if you're Bruce Gordon, and you direct report to the CEO of Verizon and the board and you ran a $24 billion division, the NAACP budget is chump change. But you had Julian Bond who wanted to control and run the organization. Even when you have a president and CEO, the chair cannot do that. The leader has to lead.

I've run three black newspapers. And every black newspaper that I've run, every single one, every single one, do you know what I said when I came in? I must have complete control of the newsroom. I must have complete control of personnel. I must have complete control of the budget. If my butt is the one that's on the line. A lot of times the big economic forces we hear about on the news show up in our lives in small ways. Three or four days a week, I would buy two cups of banana

pudding, but the price has gone up. So now I only buy one. The demand curve in action. And that's just one of the things we'll be covering on Everybody's Business from Bloomberg Business Week. I'm Max Chavkin. And I'm Stacey Vanek-Smith. Every Friday, we'll be covering on everybody's business from Bloomberg Businessweek. I'm Max Chavkin. And I'm Stacey Vanek-Smith. Every Friday, we will be diving into the biggest stories in business, taking a look at what's going on, why it matters, and how it shows up in our everyday lives. With guests like Businessweek editor Brad Stone, sports reporter Randall Williams, and consumer spending expert Amanda Mull, we will take you inside the boardrooms,

the backrooms, even the signal chats that make our economy tick. Hey, I want to learn about VeChain. I want to buy some blockchain or whatever it is that they're doing. So listen to Everybody's Business on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. I know a lot of cops and they get asked all the time, have you ever had to shoot your gun? Sometimes the answer is yes, but

there's a company dedicated to a future where the answer will always be no. Across the country, cops called this taser the revolution. But not everyone was convinced it was that simple. Cops believed everything that Taser told them. From Lava for Good and the team that brought you Bone Valley

comes a story about what happened when a multi-billion dollar company dedicated itself to one visionary mission. This is Absolute Season 1. Taser Incorporated. I get right back there and it's bad. It's really, really, really bad.

Listen to new episodes of Absolute Season 1 Taser Incorporated on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Binge episodes 1, 2, and 3

on May 21st and episodes 4, 5, and 6 on June 4th. Ad-free at Lava for Good Plus on Apple Podcasts. I'm Clayton English. I'm Greg Lott. And this is season 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 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. I need to be able to do this. That was every single one. Dallas Weekly, Jim Washington, who recently passed. That's how it was.

Now, here's why I left the Houston Defender. I'll never forget. I'll never forget. Son of Masai Jones, who I love to death. We'll never forget. I'll never forget. Son of Masai Jones, who I love to death. We had a meeting. So we were, she loved Franklin Covey. So we had to mind map. So she was like, we're going to mind map the front page article.

I'm not about to sit here and mind map an article. I'm an experienced reporter. This ain't my first rodeo. I'm not an intern. And I'm like, I'm not doing it. That ain't my first rodeo. I'm not an intern. And I'm like, I'm not doing it. That's actually why I decided to leave. I'm like, I can't.

No. I'm the managing editor. I'm not sitting in a meeting mind mapping an article. Not when I've already been a county government reporter at Austin, a city hall reporter in Dallas, the managing editor of the Dallas Weekly. I'm not doing that. Not when I got awards on my shelf.

Not when I was the co-lead writer of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram where the Alfred P. Murr Federal Building blew up and I had the front page byline for the first four days. I knew my experience. I wasn't going to do that. But guess what? She owned the paper. It was hers. She should be able She owned the paper. It was hers.

She should be able to run the way she wants to run. I got to go. So what we have to understand, what we have to understand as African Americans, whether it's churches, fraternities, sororities, men's groups, women's groups, any organization, we've got to understand that in order for our organizations to be effective in the future, we can't be mired and stuck in the past. We've got to understand that if we went through a proper vetting process,

if there was a vetting process here, and there was complete buy-in from the board leadership on down, then you move forward. But the point is this here. You don't pick a new leader and you handcuff them, put duct tape on them, and put them in a straitjacket. It's not going to work. It's not going to work. So frankly, all that pomp and circumstance, I feel like, hell, I wasted money flying to Chicago for the announcement covering it then going to

Dallas for the announcement live streaming that we're the only black-owned media outlet that did and here we are Raymond Pushy's a new president CEO so here's what I'll say to the Jackson family. Jonathan Jackson is a member of Congress. Okay. Yousef, do you want to be the president and CEO? If so, do it. Jesse Jackson Jr., do you want to be the president and CEO?

If so, do it. Santina Jackson, if you want to be the president and CEO, do it. Jacqueline Jackson, the daughter, if you want to be the president and CEO, do it. If this is perceived as a family business, frankly, over the past 10 months. Wasted. And now, everybody look bad. Now look, breakups happen, things are not how they're supposed to go, but this is real basic. Are leaders going to lead or are they simply for show?

If they're for show, say it. But I can tell you something right now. If I was hired to lead and you're going to tell me up front that I am the leader, I expect to be able to do what I'm supposed to do. But if you're going to get my way, then why the hell did you bring me in here in the first place? Look at my panel here. Randy, I want to start with you. I've used examples such as the NAACP Legal Defense Fund. Seamless. Going from

Sherilyn to Janae. Seamless. Not an issue. We've seen other examples. Seamless. This is messy. This is not a good look. It's not a good look. And you hit on something that those who know me well have heard me complain that, you know, I love our people, of course. But we do have a difficult time of letting go and a difficult time with change. Of course, all people do, but I think it's particularly tough for us. And it's something that we need to work on because it's important that we progress, that we make progress and we move forward. So I understand that some people probably were giving, you know, people a hard time because new is hard, but we do need new ideas. We do need to move forward in order to attack the challenges that we have right now. I'm sadly not surprised. We do see this happen quite frequently in our organizations,

but I hope that we really try as a community to support our newness, to support our leaders and allow them to lead while also honoring those who, you know, led the path in the first place. Mustafa, again, there are many of us, yours included, was excited about this new leadership, breathing life back into Rainbow Push. Again, Rainbow Push, Reverend Jackson had done some incredible work over the years, but the reality is the organization was not what it used to be.

And this now makes matters worse. And frankly, if I'm even being considered for the job, why would I want it? If I'm not going to be able to run the organization, if I can't come in and assess staff and assess budget and look at needs, look at focus, I really thought Reverend Haynes could have been great because the base of

Rainbow Push for a long time has been Chicago. That's been the base. That's where Reverend Jackson is, where Reverend Haynes is based in Dallas. Well, you look at where African Americans are, significant growth in the South. I thought that with him being in Dallas, he could actually establish a second beachhead,

if you will, for Rainbow Push and really begin to push them and advocate in some areas of interest. But none of that actually came to pass. Yeah, I mean, I was excited, too, for Reverend Haynes. I thought I know that he brings a youthful energy that is so critically needed. And at the same time, we also understand that our organizations are needed now more than ever with all the challenges that we have in front of us. We need a strong rainbow push coalition. You know, it's interesting.

People often talk about succession planning, but oftentimes they're not serious about that. They want certain elements of it, but when it comes to the fullness of turning over responsibility to the leader, then as we've talked about, people kind of get funny about that. And, you know, they have an opportunity in this moment to actually attract younger people,

to get that energy that's going to be necessary for us to fight the battles that we have in front of us. But one, you've got to be able to find the right leader. And right now, if somebody sees what currently has, you know, kind of played out in front of us, a lot of the top folks will probably say, you know what, there are some other choices out there. Now, of course, there is a historical aspect of Rainbow Push and people wanting to be tied to that. But this is a different day. There are numerous opportunities that are out there, and you know, top folks will have choices. So I wish them well. Of course, I reach, I wish, you know, Reverend Haynes well, but we've got to get serious about making our organizations 21st century organizations.

And that means that new leadership has to come in. We can honor our elders. We can honor those who actually helped to, you know, move the path forward. But at the same time, we're going to have to have some folks that are bringing some new innovation and ingenuity into the place. We've got to be able to embrace it. Look, the reality is, you take, Joe, people make decisions. And people make, look, there are corporations, there are companies out there, family-run businesses, where children go along their own way. You know, I know former Congressman Jesse Jackson Jr.

He's been focused on teaching. He's been focusing on writing. And so guess what? Again, that's what he wants to do good. You don't have to actually take over something and run something. Good. So you do what your passion is.

And so you do what in any other child. So what has to happen here, and again, and I love Reverend Jesse Jackson, Sr. dearly, but the reality is this here. Reverend has to let go. Reverend has to let go reverend has to let go you have to let someone lead and again this is not a question of uh okay and trust me they're going to be well did freddie do this and he didn't do this bottom line is this here You don't quit this quickly if, again, what is it you are not able to do? And I don't care what it is. I don't care.

I don't care. Listen, if you're a politician, here's a perfect example. Here's a perfect example. If you're a politician and you elected to Congress, and I know this for a fact because this happened with a freshman member of Congress, some black folks had an attitude. Freshman comes in, they didn't keep the staff of the previous congressperson. They don't have to. They got to be on their own team, joe that's how it works okay and so we have to

understand that's how it works and again the structure here's what bothers me the most this bother this irks me to no end you have rainbow push river jackson has done all of these things has all these relationships. And you've built, follow me here, folks. You've built this thing here. And now you have two ways to go. You can either go higher or go down. And so,

I'm going to say this here, and again, folk may be mad at me if I say this, but I'm going to use two examples in black-owned media that I think speaks to it. And again, this ain't no personal attacks.

It's just my perspective in terms of what I saw or what I also understand because of history. Robert Abbott founded the Chicago Defender. Robert Abbott knew, I'm not going to live forever. So what did he do? He trained his nephew, John Sinstack, to take over the paper and to elevate it. That's exactly what happened.

He picked his successor, trained his successor, and then put them in charge to elevate the product. A lot of times the big economic forces we hear about on the news show up in our lives in small ways. Three or four days a week, I would buy two cups of banana pudding, but the price has gone up. So now I only buy one. The demand curve in action. And that's just one of the things we'll be covering on Everybody's Business from Bloomberg Businessweek. I'm Max Chavkin. And I'm Stacey Vanek-Smith. Every Friday, we will be diving into the biggest stories in business, taking a look at what's going on, why it matters, and how it shows up in our everyday lives.

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

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

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

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

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

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

Stories matter, and it brings a face to them. It makes it real. It really does. It makes it real. really does It makes it real Listen to new episodes of the War on Drugs podcast season 2 On the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts And to hear episodes one week early and ad-free with exclusive content Subscribe to Lava for Good Plus on Apple Podcasts

Since that, health was failing Apple Podcasts. Family fighting, who's going to buy it, what's up. That thing was in the courts on and on and on, and it was awful, awful. That's what happened. That's what happened. John H. Johnson ran Ebony Jett with an iron fist. The reality is when John H. Johnson passed, the company was in distress. Why? Because he didn't embrace the internet. Ebony was far behind everybody else because they did not embrace the internet when John H. Johnson was publisher.

So all those years building it, and then it comes crashing down. Now Ebony is a shell of itself this is this is what I routinely say about black organizations black companies you name it How do founders position the business or the organization for success when they're no longer here? That's how I determine your greatness as an organizational leader. Not like how you led it, but how you left it. Joe? Yeah, I mean, you know, if you're running in a running in a relay

and there are several of you, once you pass the baton, by definition, once you've passed the baton, you know, you slow down because you don't have the baton anymore. Theoretically, whenever that person that is to carry on the baton got on board, there should be some unanimity about the goals, right?

And that's why they took over. And maybe it's the goal that the person that had the baton wanted it to be. But he might wear different shoes. He might have a different running style. He might be a different height. He might have super long legs. He might have super long legs. He might have short legs that go like this, but you still get the job done. So at the end of the day, what has to happen, whether organizations, I've seen this happen with law firms, you know, people who, you know, want the firm to die with them.

If you want that to happen, that can happen, too. Or if you want it to be something even you didn't think it would be. By definition, you have to embrace the future and what's going on around the corner. So the question becomes for Rainbow Push, notwithstanding everything that Jesse Jackson has accomplished, we all understand that. That's the part we know. We understand his impact. We understand that Barack Obama has him to thank. We understand the things that Rainbow Coalition has done, Rainbow Push. But the question is, can it stay relevant? And by definition, whatever organization, there's no disrespect to that organization or to Jesse Jackson to say that you've got to be able to turn a corner. We all know that if Brother Haynes has come off

this quickly, that there's a problem. I mean, you know, the installation, the formal installation was a couple months ago. So, you know, just like the same fights that happen between organizations, you know, young and old, you know, everybody kind of wants to hold on to power and how it's perceived. Sometimes in the black community when it comes to civil rights, we want to be the contact person. This organization wants to be the person. We want to be the one that people have to pass go to. But Jessica has to, Reverend Jackson has to embrace the future.

It's interesting that none of his kids are taking it over. Maybe they wanted something different, and that's fine. But when you put somebody in place to let them lead, make them accountable for leading, but let them lead. Let it go. Because at some point, that's the best part of this thing, is being able to let something fly and become something that's going to battle and connect with all of the challenges of tomorrow. And Rainbow Push has done too much in the past to not have a future. But you have to put the right people in place.

You have a moral center, like a civil rights organization would. Brother Haynes does that. You have some clear goals, theoretically. There's no reason that you can't let go other than to say that you don't want to, and that's too bad. And look, I mean, and again, y'all,

I'm very clear in terms of how I feel about Reverend Jackson. And you know what people have always said? Let me just be real clear. Reverend ain't never letting go. I can name y'all 100 people, 1 a thousand people, but that's the case. But this is what I will say to Reverend and anybody who's around him. The reality is, you got to. The greatness of the way you truly honor a founder. The way you truly honor a founder is not to talk about them in an historical context.

You honor a founder by talking about them in a present day context. You honor a founder by talking about them in a present day context. Al Newharth, who was the CEO of Gannett, he is called the founder of USA Today still exists. Now, it's not the same as it was in 1990, in 2000, or even 2010. But today, because it still exists, Al Newhart's name is still mentioned as the founder of USA Today. The family that owns the New York Times, same thing. Even when you talk about the Washington Post, although Jeff Bezos owns the Post, they still reference Catherine Graham. They still reference her father because that's the history of it.

So therefore, the Post is not being discussed in an historical context of what was, it's being discussed within the context of what it is. Now, folks might say, well, when Catherine Graham ran it, this happened with the Pentagon Papers, this happened with Watergate, but it still exists. I am saying is the worst thing in the world is for black people to invest time, energy, money, prayers into building something and all of a sudden watch it collapse. No, powerful institutions outlive founders. Powerful institutions are constantly in pursuit new system or in a new paradigm. And so I'll await this joint decision from Rainbow Push and Freddie.

I will see what it says, but I will say this to the leadership of Rainbow Push. And it starts up here with Reverend Jackson. You've got Yusef Jackson. You've got board members. They now have to decide, what are we trying to do here? What are we actually trying to do here? If the desire is to be a museum, then you know what? Shut it down. It happens. Organizations end, companies end, they phase those things out. They say, we're winding down operations. If that's what it is, do it. But if the objective is for Rainbow Push Coalition to be here for another 50 or 100 years, then they are going to have to accept the reality

that it means allowing new leadership to come in and lead, not follow, not trail behind, but lead. Going to a break. We come back. The power of the veteran vote right here on Rolling Mark, unfiltered on the Black Star Network. A lot of times the big economic forces we hear about on the news show up in our lives in small ways. Three or four days a week, I would buy two cups of banana pudding.

But the price has gone up, so now I only buy one. The demand curve in action. And that's just one of the things we'll be covering on Everybody's Business from Bloomberg Businessweek. I'm Max Chavkin. And I'm Stacey Vanek-Smith. Every Friday, we will be diving into the biggest stories in business, taking a look at what's going on, why it matters, and how it shows up in our everyday lives. But guests like Businessweek editor Brad Stone, sports reporter Randall Williams,

and consumer spending expert Amanda Mull will take you inside the boardrooms, the backrooms, even the signal chats that make our economy tick. Hey, I want to learn about VeChain. I want to buy some blockchain or whatever it is that they're doing. So listen to Everybody's Business on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. I know a lot of cops, and they get asked all the time, have you ever had to shoot your gun?

Sometimes the answer is yes. But there's a company dedicated to a future where the answer will always be no. Across the country, cops called this taser the revolution. But not everyone was convinced it was that simple. Cops believed everything that taser the revolution. But not everyone was convinced it was that simple. Cops believed everything that taser told them. From Lava for Good and the team that brought you Bone Valley comes a story about what happened when a multibillion-dollar company

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

Add free at Lava for Good Plus on Apple Podcasts. I'm Clayton English. I'm Greg Glod. And this is season 2 of the War on Drugs podcast. Yes, sir. We are back. In a big way. In a very big way. Real people, real perspectives. This is kind of star-studded a little bit, man. We got Ricky Williams, NFL player, Heisman Tman trophy winner it's just a compassionate choice to allow players

all reasonable means to care for themselves music stars marcus king john osborne for brothers osborne we have this misunderstanding of what this quote-unquote drug fans. 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.

Our work, folks, what we're building is something that is about speaking to our issues that matter. And so you could join our bring the funk fan club. So you're checking money or a peel box. Five, seven, one nine, six Washington,

DC two zero zero three seven dash zero one nine six cash out. Dollar sign. R M unfiltered PayPal. R Martin unfiltered. Venmo is R M unfiltered, Venmo is RM Unfiltered, Zelle, Roland at RolandSMartin.com, Roland at RolandMartinUnfiltered.com, and be sure to download the Black Start Network app, Apple Phone, Android Phone, Apple TV, Android TV, Roku, Amazon Fire TV, Xbox One, Samsung Smart TV.

We'll be right back. On a next A Balanced Life with me, Dr. Jackie, it's spring, hallelujah. But hold on, it's not all fun and games. With the sun and the warmth comes the need to clean the clutter mentally, physically, emotionally, socially. All of those things need to happen. Getting rid of the clutter and clearing the cobwebs in our head and in our home. That's next on A Balanced Life on Blackstar Network. Next on The Black Table with me, Greg Carr. The enormous impact of race,

education, and affirmative action in America and how, believe it or not, white America is starting to feel a little bit of the pain. Dr. Natasha Waraku joins us with a case study of one suburban community and how it reacted when the minority students started to excel. Most people didn't say this explicitly, but was that, you know, the academics are getting, standards are getting higher in part because of the Asian kids.

And that is making our kids really stressed out. So we need to reduce the amount of homework teachers are allowed to assign. She shares a perspective that you don't want to miss. That's on the next Black Table, only on the Black Star Network. I'm Faraji Muhammad, live from L.A., and this is The Culture. The Culture is a two-way conversation. You and me, we talk about the stories, politics,

the good, the bad, and the downright ugly. So join our community every day at 3 p.m. Eastern and let your voice be heard. Hey, we're all in this together. So let's talk about it and see what kind of trouble we can get into. It's the culture. Weekdays at 3, only on the Blackstar Network. Farquhar, executive producer of Proud Family. You're watching Roland Martin Unfiltered. Thank you. Martin! Thank you. One last time you heard folks in the media talk about veterans and their concerns.

You often hear vote vets, I-A-V-A. You often hear them talk about them. But what about the 18 million black veterans in the country? The concerns that they have that often are overlooked. Well, joining us right now to talk about this is a veterans advocate and a former Biden administration appointee, Victor Lagoon, as well as, Victor Lagoon, as well as Erica Savage, founder and CEO of the Reframed, Free Framed Brain. Glad to have both of y'all here.

Victor, how long did you serve in the military? Victor, I think you're on mute. Is that better? There you go. Go ahead. Perfect. Thank you again. So I was in the military for three years before I was medically retired.

So I had a great opportunity to serve my country, to do all the great things that you want to do during the time of war. What I mean by that is really go out there and have an opportunity to demonstrate that not just some people in this country are patriots, but all of us are. Black people have had a stake in this country for a long time, since the very beginning, and it was just my opportunity to continue that service. Erica, how about you? Yeah, Roland, I've definitely served proudly in the Air Force for three and a half years. And so I speak very confidently along with Victor around the impact of Black votes and particularly those of Black veterans. And while we have an opportunity here, I want to also just talk about, you touched on this in your book, White Fear, as we get more into the conversation. In Chapter 4, you talk about the problem with putting America first and connecting the historical

threads of white fear. And I just want to quote from directly out of your book. You wrote, in the past, we've looked at American history as two distinct periods, before the Civil War and after the Civil War. I believe that is a mistake. This demarcation doesn't acknowledge the continuation of racist policies and brutality against black people after the war. All of these things are connected. So Victor and I are here as a demonstration of the connected thread of policies that have impacted black veterans negatively and that there are solutions to those. And that is the power of connection and community. Is there a Black veterans organization that speaks to those issues?

I mean, we've had different guests on here. We've talked about the issues in the Department of Veteran Affairs when it comes to resources, different lawsuits that are going on. And so is there an organization that specifically advocates for Black vets? Victor? So there are several organizations that advocate in different ways for black veterans across the country. And it's important to recognize that I don't look at black veterans as a community that is a monolith. We exist everywhere and within every subgroup. You'll see us on academic institutions.

You will see us in health care. You will see us in the justice system. You will see us everywhere. So there are many different organizations that support different aspects of what black veterans are looking to do and achieve. And I try to make sure that we are building a more unified front to make certain that there is an active coalition to go out here to do this work, to lend voice to the broader community and make sure that we are paving the way for the future of other young Black service members who want to serve after us. Erica? Yeah, I mean, Black Veterans Project is one that's very prominent that Victor and I often reference. They do a lot of information gathering, and you referenced about the lawsuits, but also testifying before Congress. And so what Victor

and I are saying that we're not mere figureheads. We are a reminder that particularly when people think about veterans, the picture that is painted usually of someone from the Midwest that usually is not Black. And so what we are saying, particularly in this election, as we look at very specific topics that impact all Americans, but specifically that of Black veterans around health care, when you're looking at if there is a Trump administration that goes into power again, that they will make sure that the American, that affordable care is actually decimated. And so when we're looking at ways that our veterans are able to see themselves reflected firmly in policies and in ways that they are actually seeing, what we're saying, like spaces like Black Veterans Project are definitely that. But then we're also saying that we're here as veterans who have had different experiences connected to politics. And what we want to do is not persuade anyone on how to vote, but to make sure that those 18 million Americans do engage their vote so that they are actually participating in what policies do impact them specifically around veterans in hospital care.

So, Victor, what would you say are the top three concerns of Black Vets? So, you know, I've been able to talk to veterans around the country, and I'm doing a lot of work with Black veterans in particular in the state of Georgia. And there are several key issues that I keep hearing no matter where I go, whether it's Boston or Baltimore or Detroit or wherever. Many Black veterans feel like they've been forgotten, like our service only matters while we're in uniform. But when we take off that uniform, we often take on a different fight. And that fight is quite unfortunately with the Department of Veterans Affairs to ensure that we have equitable access to the benefits that we have sacrificed and earned through our service.

So that's the number one thing I want to bring up. Number two, Black veterans want to make sure that when we come home, we want to have the same rights and opportunities to exercise our votes, to make certain that our voices matter in the same ways that we protected other people in other countries to make sure that their voting rights are exercised as well, right? And then the other piece is economics. We want to make sure that Black veterans are able to buy homes. We want to make sure that Black veterans are gainfully employed without having those gaps within employment and also those gaps within who's making what money. So when we start looking at the opportunities, entrepreneurship is another thing that comes up as well. So the economic piece continues to be something that is often said is a key issue, but also making certain that we're able to have those benefits that we deserve, because guess what? Everyone deserves to have what they've earned. And Black veterans, like any other veteran,

want their fair share as well. Questions from the panel. Mustafa, you first. Yeah. Well, first of all, it's good to see both of you. You know, lots of times with the unhoused community, some folks still use the term homeless, I often notice that many of those are former veterans and especially in many locations, Black veterans. How do we make sure that their voices actually find fertile ground? That's a great question. I'm glad you brought that up. You know, for me, that's all of us. A lot of times the big economic forces we hear about on the news show up in our lives in small ways. Three or four days a week, I would buy two cups of banana pudding. But the price has gone up, so now I only buy one.

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

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

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

on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Binge episodes one, two, and three on May 21st, and episodes four, five, and 6 on June 4th. Ad-free at Lava for Good Plus on Apple Podcasts. I'm Clayton English. I'm Greg Lott. And this is season two of the War on Drugs podcast. 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. Taking our responsibility to advocate with the loudest voice to one, make sure that when those veterans come back to our communities, they have the resources they need, that they are not viewed as a burden on their community. But also they're connected to those benefits that they need, because I'll go back to the key point. If you have stable housing, gainful employment, access to health care, behavioral health, and mental health,

you're more likely to be successful than not. But when we keep recruiting from poor communities, underserved and resource-poor communities, and we're sending kids and family members back to those communities, we got to make them whole. We have to keep our word as a nation to those people so that, guess what? People are willing to serve again. They're willing to allow their neighbor, their siblings, and their children to serve this country as well. So those continue to be the key issues that I see that we want to continue to advocate for. Randy. So right now, how are you getting your issues? How are you ensuring that they know how you feel and that you're out there and that you have opinions? Like, is there some sort of,

what is the communication? So when you say they- I'll start with this way, Randy, just from this lens, because what often happens is just really conversation. So I am a veteran and I am a veteran that has disabilities. My disabilities are not service-connected. However, because I do have ability to be able to engage at a bit at my own pace, the way that we're able to spread the message is through what we're doing right now, talking. So going into spaces like I am a polytrauma patient, so going into those spaces, having conversations with people that their lives look a little bit different because they may have been to war or theater, as we would say in the military, they may not be as engaged as other people. There is a large percentage of people, and I've talked with thousands of veterans, that when they come back from having been in another

country on a deployment, maybe they didn't or didn't see theater, that they don't feel like they know that they're placed. So that's where it's on veterans like myself and Victor to be able to either create that community or point people to a community that also is connected with if they have disabilities, unseen disabilities as well. So I think, Randy, in the question that you asked, a lot of that is because this community is very much so different. So the onus is on for other veterans to be able to engage those veterans where they are in their unique communities and then point them to places that are more generalized to help them with

specific outcomes that are helpful for them. Joe? Yeah, it's just kind of a follow-up with that and a similar question. Do you find that with veterans, as it pertains to all the various services that are potentially available because of veterans, because of their veteran statics, et cetera, and all the things that are needed, wraparound services, sometimes because they're service-connected, but oftentimes because they're not. That was a really good point. Do you find that the availability of those services or the existence of the extent and the depth of the services are a bit under known and underutilized

by actual veterans? And how do you combat that? There's this matter of here's what we need politically, but there's also this, how do we get these brothers and sisters what it is that they need so that they know that it's out there and they're not disqualified for something just because their disability, for instance, is not veteran related? That's a great question. So, you know, first of all, I do want to make sure we're clear about some things. Sometimes there's disinformation, misinformation, and then no information. You know, quite frankly, if you're relying on the government to get information to a community, it has to go from one group to a subgroup further down the line. So by the time our community gets the information, do they have accessibility?

Is there good quality of care that you would find in other communities? Is there a great opportunity for someone to help you versus deter you from getting what you need through a system? So, you know, it's no easy question. I mean, it's no easy answer to that question. But what I will say is that education and access are hand in hand for all resources within the Black community. So having someone, having organizations in a position that have relationships with the VA, for example, that can be in the community at the community level that are trusted, they can make sure that they can make an impact by being that soft touch. They can hand them over to where they need to go to make sure that they're getting connected. That's the better resource piece for us. And I

think as a community, right, you'll find, again, you'll find veterans everywhere. So how do we make sure that when veterans are in most need, other people within those communities are best tool to support them? All right. Yeah, and I'll just say on that end very quickly, Roland, that what it is, and he brought up a very good point around, is oftentimes the people that All right. mainstream media platform that we have the opportunity to come on to say that we're here. And so that community is created by people seeing that there are people that are veterans, people that may not necessarily have seen conflict, but that do face challenges as well. So I do that through the ReBrain brain so that then those people will be able to, when they have further questions around connecting with services, connecting with organizations, because there is no one-stop shop.

Even in a hospital, you have seven different departments and sub-departments. So when somebody sees a face and a name that they trust, that that person is able to then share or provide services, provide resources for that. That is that chain reaction. And we just want people to know that we have not forgotten about Black veterans, that there are opportunities that are always coming available to allow people to connect to communities and get correct and accurate information. And that's what we're here to do today. All right, then. If somebody out there that want more information, where do they go? They can reach out to me via Twitter as Victor LeGroon on Twitter. You can also reach out to me at V LeGroon at Gmail dot com. I'm happy to connect you with other organizations that I'm partnering with.

Get out the word, get out the vote and make sure that black people have access in their communities. All right, then. Well, we appreciate it. Thank you so very much. Thank you, Roland. Appreciate you. All right, folks. I, we appreciate it. Thank you so very much. Thank you, Roland. Thank you, Roland. Appreciate you. All right, folks. I've got to go to break. We'll be right back.

Roland Martin on the filter on the Blackstar Network. On the next Get Wealthy with me, Deborah Owens, America's Wealth Coach, financial literacy. Without it, wealth is just a pipe dream. And yet, half of our schools in this country don't even teach it to our kids. You're going to hear from a woman who's determined to change all that, not only here, but around the world. World of Money is the leading provider of immersive financial education for children ages 7 to 18. We provide 120 online and classroom hours of financial education. That's right here on Get Wealthy on Blackstar Network.

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

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

This is white people. Bye bye, Tombo. jobs. They're taking our resources. They're taking our women. This is white people. Fanbase is pioneering a new era of social media for the creator economy. This next generation social media app with over 600,000 users is raising $17 million. And now is your chance to invest. For details on how to invest, visit startengine.com slash fanbase or scan the QR code. A lot of times the big economic forces we hear about on the news show up in our lives in small ways. Three or four days a week, I would buy two cups of banana pudding. But the price has gone up, so now I only buy one. The demand curve in action.

And that's just one of the things we'll be covering on Everybody's Business from Bloomberg Businessweek. I'm Max Chavkin. And I'm Stacey Vanek-Smith. Every Friday, we will be diving into the biggest stories in business, taking a look at inside the boardrooms, the backrooms, even the signal chats that make our economy tick. Hey, I want to learn about VeChain. I want to buy some blockchain or whatever it is that they're doing. So listen to Everybody's Business on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. I know a lot of cops, and they get asked all the time,

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

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

I'm Greg Glod and this is season 2 of the War on Drugs podcast yes sir, we are back in a big way in a very big way real people, real perspectives this is kind of star studded a little bit man we got Ricky Williams, NFL player Heisman Trophy winner big way. Real people, real perspectives. This kind of starts at it a little bit, man. We got

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

unquote drug ban. Benny the Butcher. Brent Smith from Shinedown. We got B-Real from Cypress Hill. NHL enforcer Riley Cote. Marine 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.

Another way we're giving you the freedom to be you without limits me sherry separate and you know what you're watching roland martin unfiltered All right, folks. Welcome back to Roland Martin Unfiltered. Let's talk about this story that is, you know what? You see this, you're like, really? Remember the story of an undercover cop in St. Louis, okay, who was shot? Guess what? Missouri judges awarded him $23.5 million. He's a former St. Louis police officer who sued other officers who viciously beat him during a 2017 protest.

Luther Hill received $10 million in punitive damages, $11 million for past and future physical and emotional pain, and almost $2 million for lost wages. St. Louis Circuit Judge Joseph White also awarded Hall more than $213,000 for lost delayed retirement insurance and health insurance benefits, as well as about $366,000 for past and future medical expenses. Hall sued former officers, all white, Randy Hayes, Dustin Boone, Christopher Myers, for beating him while he was working undercover during a protest after a St. Louis jury found former police officer Jason Stockley not guilty of murder in the death of Anthony Lamar Smith in 2011.

Hall and his lawyers sought a default judgment against Hayes, who did not respond to the lawsuit. A federal judge sentenced Hayes to more than four years in prison for violating Hall's civil rights and other charges. Monday's ruling follows Hall's lawsuit against the city in 2019. He said in the federal lawsuit that the officers brutally beat him because he was black and used excessive force. Hall received a $5 million settlement from the city in 2021. See, this right here, Joe, goes to show you what we talk about when it comes to black cops, how these black cops, how they are treated when they're not in uniform. Yeah, and he was undercover, right? So let's go back to the story from before about the whole insurrection. OK, so this is what happens when a black protester is protesting.

The police are on him. And the insurrection, they were actually on the police and the Supreme Court is threatening to undo it. But in any event, as it pertains to this case, there's three defendants here. They've got the first one. This particular guy is in jail, so he got defaulted, didn't answer, and so he basically went to the dance, went to the judge by himself. What I'm hoping for his sake, I'm really glad for this judgment. Hopefully it draws attention to this problem. Those two other cops are still out there, and he's already gotten

money from the city itself, where the pockets are, theoretically. I was hoping, I would be hoping, that the city would be picking up that whole situation as it pertains to these individuals. But if they were, then they probably would have answered, et cetera. But I'm hoping that it's going to end up being collectible because I don't want him to have a paper judgment. He's already gotten some money, but hopefully this draws attention to this issue of what happens when black folks can protest, et cetera. He's out protesting as undercover, and this is what happens to him at the hands of cops.

So I'm glad that they are criminally liable, and I hope that they are civilly liable to the extent that he actually sees some money from. Eskild, Delta, Illinois, where the top administrator for controversial Mayor Tiffany Henyard has been indicted for bankruptcy fraud. During his bankruptcy proceedings, Keith Freeman is accused of underreporting his income from the village and the township. Freeman works for Dalton Mayor Tiffany Henyard as well as Thornton Township.

She's also a supervisor there and who has been scrutinized for her spending and leadership style. Freeman was also the registered agent for the Tiffany Hinyard Cares Foundation, which is accused of receiving much of its early funding from the township and failed to document. Now, remember when she was on this show, she said she knew nothing about this foundation until we actually pulled the records. Freeman lives in Orland Park, charged with one count of bankruptcy fraud, which carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison.

See, I keep telling you, see, folk was sitting here just running their mouths, mad at me with the interview, but I kept telling them, Randy, sometimes you gotta let folk talk. And let them keep talking. Let them keep talking. And then they're going to have to explain themselves later.

You are absolutely right. And what this case reminds me of, I tell people, I remember when I was growing up and I'd be hanging out with the little kids in the neighborhood and they happened to be all white for a period of time. And my mom would always say, look, don't think you could do what they could do. Don't think you can get away with what they could get away with. So, you know, we always hear about corruption in organizations, particularly the government. But I don't know why my sisters and brothers thought that they too could get away with this stuff. It doesn't work like that. They're going to go down. And, I mean, we see it happening all the time, and it's unfortunate,

but I think that's what we're going to see. Absolutely. A federal judge rejected Rudy Giuliani's request for a new trial in a defamation case brought by two former Fulton County election workers in December. A jury in the U.S. District Court of District of Columbia, awarded Ruby Freeman and Shea Moss more than $140 million in damages because Giuliani falsely and repeatedly accused them of voting fraud in the 2020 presidential election. Giuliani, guess what, later filed for bankruptcy,

and it's unclear if Freeman and Moss will recoup any money from the former mayor of New York. He also appealed the jury verdict as well. And then, look, Mustafa, he was just on a panel the other day, I think it was today, still blaming them. I say, do what E. Gene Carrey, the Trump, take his ass back to court and get another judgment. Yeah, I don't know what it is about the folks who are part of that whole Trump sort of circle where they just want to talk and talk and talk and keep getting themselves into deeper and deeper situations and deeper debt. So, yeah, hit them in the pockets.

That seems to be the only thing that will get their attention when they actually have to start to dole out those dollars. But, you know, some of these folks, it's their privilege. Their privilege actually makes them believe that they can say and do anything. They can defame others. But when it comes to people actually pulling the receipts on them, then they want to get all tight. So, yeah, take all them dollars out of his pocket. Indeed, indeed. All right, folks, hold tight one second. We come back. We're going to talk about this lawsuit out of Arkansas to deal with the anti-DEI efforts taking place there. You're watching Roland Martin on the Black Star Network.

Fanbase is pioneering a new era of social media for the creator economy. This next generation social media app with over 600,000 users is raising $17 million. And now is your chance to invest for details on how to invest. Visit start engine.com slash fan base or scan the QR code. Another way we're giving you the freedom to be you without limits. Next on The Black Table with me, Greg Carr. The enormous impact of race, education and affirmative action in America and how, believe it or not, white America is starting to feel a little bit of the pain. Dr. Natasha Waraku joins us with a case study of one suburban community and how it reacted when the minority students started to excel. Most people didn't say this explicitly, but was that, you know, the academics are getting,

standards are getting higher, in part because of the Asian kids, and that is making our kids really stressed out. So we need to reduce the amount of homework teachers are allowed to assign. She shares a perspective that you don't want to miss. That's on the next Black Table, only on the Black Star Network. Farquhar, executive producer of Proud Family. Bruce Smith, creator and executive producer of Proud Family.

Louder and Prouder. You're watching Roland Martin. Folks, there has been a massive, massive attack against DEI in this country. I was reading a story today where 116 different colleges have either eliminated or significantly changed their programs, and that is going to continue. Now, we've seen these attacks against DEI take place since the Supreme Court's ruling as it related to affirmative action in colleges. And so conservatives, white conservatives, they've been attacking programs in corporate America,

law firms, you name it, going after any program. Lawsuits against the Minority Business Development Agency, lawsuits against the Commerce Department's 8A program. These things have continued to happen, and it shows you exactly what the game plan is. Now there's an effort to fight back in Arkansas. Joining us right now is David Hinoja, director for the Educational Opportunities Project, the largest community for civil rights under law.

Y'all are seeking an injunction in Arkansas. Explain. So we have yet another rogue governor and a rogue legislature cramming down a very clearly unconstitutional law that attempts to censor critical discussions on racism and systemic racism in America's, you know, terrible but truthful history. And so we have a governor and state legislature who are embarrassed about that history and want to keep children from learning that history. They want to keep teachers from teaching that history. And so we're seeking an injunction against this law, which is known as Section 16 of the Learns Act, although this isn't doing much about learning. So they passed a law in Arkansas. Sarah Huckabee, the governor, signed it into law. And so your contention is that it's unlawful and unjust. How is their law different than what was passed in Florida and some other states? So it's basically another

example of a law similar to the Stop Woke Act in Florida, similar to the Oklahoma Classroom Censorship Law, in the sense that they are trying to censor critical discussions in classrooms and to keep students from gathering information and ideas. However, there are a number of problems, you know, with the Arkansas law, because they want, they are targeting teachers if they feel like they are forcing students to profess, affirm, or adopt a particular idea that somehow runs afoul of equal protection laws, which that in and of itself doesn't run afoul of equal protection laws, you know, just mere ideas. But take Mr. Gilbert, one of our clients, a debate teacher, which at the core of his work is having students adopt and affirm and then defend a particular position. But with this law in place, he doesn't feel comfortable, you know, having certain discussions in classroom that students want

to engage in, but he feels he cannot because he fears that because of this vague, over-breath, overreaching law with draconian, you know, penalties for students or for teachers that could be enacted, that he's afraid that any day that he goes into school, that he might say the wrong thing and it might be his last day. And that's certainly not the climate that we should want for our. Indeed, indeed.

Questions from the panel. Questions from the panel, Mustafa, you first. MR. Thank you. Thank you for everything that you're doing in this space. I'm curious. Title VI of the Civil Rights Act says that you can't utilize federal funds to discriminate, and I know there's a difference between intent and effect. But I'm curious if folks are looking at Title VI.

MR. We are. We do have a 14th Amendment equal protection claim, so that is a racial discrimination claim, because the state is targeting, for example, this isn't the only thing they're doing, but the state is targeting AP African American Studies course, because they say, well, this runs afoul of our law. But many of the same topics, like intersectionality, right, that's been gaslit. And as one of our teachers says, you know, it's a bumper sticker for the far right wing, you know, to mobilize around. But in actuality, you know, it is a topic.

It's a serious topic, they're concerned about the roles of race and gender, for example, impacting society together. But they've only singled out AP African American Studies courses, not courses like AP European History that also look at those issues, that also look at resistance and resilience among minority populations in Europe. And how and why are they only targeting AP African American Studies course? Is it because that course enrolls over 50% of students in Arkansas public schools compared to all the other AP courses that enroll roughly around 11 or 12 percent? Is it because the majority of Black teachers teaching those

courses or the majority of teachers teaching those courses are Black? We feel it has a lot to do with how they are applying this law, and we intend to prove it in a court of law. Joe? I'd be interested in how you feel. Thank you for what you're doing, for sure. Interested in how you feel about the judges at this level. I imagine you're in a circuit court or you're at the first level in terms of bringing the federal lawsuit. How do you feel about the

judge and the court that you're in, in terms of potentially getting a fair hearing as it resolves? And how do you feel about the possibility of getting an injunction to hold off from the enforcement of this underlying bill while the litigation continues? Yeah, well, these are very serious claims and very serious charges, and we have a lot of evidence supporting these. We feel that no matter the judge, you know, and this is in the eastern district of Arkansas before Judge Rudofsky, but we feel he will give us a fair shake. He will give students and teachers how or why can the state get away with censoring their instruction, censoring their learning.

And we believe these are really serious issues. There's been courts across the country from New Hampshire to Florida, among others, that have weighed these issues. A lot of times the big economic forces we hear about on the news show up in our lives in small ways. Three or four days a week, I would buy two cups of banana pudding, but the price has gone up. So now I only buy one. The demand curve in action. And that's just one of the things we'll be covering on Everybody's Business from Bloomberg Businessweek.

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

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

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

Binge episodes 1, 2, and 3 on May 21st and episodes 4, 5, and 6 on June 4th. Add free at Lava for Good Plus on Apple Podcasts. I'm Clayton English. I'm Greg Lott. And this is season two of the War on Drugs podcast. We are back. In a big way. In a very big way. Real people, real perspectives. This is kind of star-studded a little bit, man. We got Ricky Williams, NFL player, Heisman Trophy winner. It's just a compassionate choice to allow players all reasonable means to care for themselves.

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

What we're doing now isn't working, and we need to change things. Stories matter, and it brings a face to them. It makes it real. It really does. It makes it real. Listen to new episodes of the War on Drugs podcast season two on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts. And to hear episodes one week early and ad free with exclusive content, subscribe to Lava for Good Plus on Apple Podcasts. And have not dismissed these claims and or they've also issued injunctions against these laws because it's not something that's right or left, conservative or liberal.

It's about our Constitution. And we think that, you know, judges, all judges are very concerned about those type of constitutional violations especially when they impact the rights of teachers and students randy randy doing as a workaround i asked that i i what are students and administrators doing as a workaround? I ask that question because, you know, these things can take some time. And I, through my work, have found that many colleges, universities, organizations are coming up with solutions where they are not breaking the law, but also ensuring that children receive a well-rounded and diverse education. Yeah. Well, there's no doubt in my mind that the incredible teachers that we represent, including Ms. Walls, Mr. Gilbert, the teachers

of the NAACP Arkansas State Conference, you know, the members who are teachers there, that they're doing their absolute best. They're trying, you know, really hard to get their students, you know, to learn, you to learn the critical lessons that they need to, so they can become educated citizens themselves. But we also know that they are censoring themselves right now. Mr. Gilbert no longer uses the book Warriors Don't Cry, which was written by Elizabeth Eckworth, one of the Little Rock Nine. And he doesn't feel comfortable using that.

But that's how and why we're seeking a preliminary injunction. We're telling the court, hey, stop the presses right now. Stop the enforcement of this law. And let's get back to teachers teaching the best that they can, the way that they know how to do it, and not freezing up their instruction, not cutting out materials in whole units that have been excluded by some teachers to make sure that students get the information they need. And the students that we represent too, Sadie Bell and Giselle, are incredible students. They know the value of this information and ideas. They're thirsty, they're hungry for it.

And that's how and why they're putting themselves on the line for the better good, including the student members of the NAACP as well, to make sure that this law isn't furthered anymore and that it is stopped. All right, then. David, we appreciate it. Keep up the great work.

Thanks a lot. Thank you, Howard. All right, then. All right, folks. We come back. We'll chat with Randy about her truthing card game. What's this, Truth or Dare? There it is.

We'll talk about that. Also, I'll share a little with y'all from last night's concert. Who did a blowfish at their Monday after the Masters golf weekend? It was fantastic. We're going to close the show out with that. You're watching Roller Mountain Unfiltered on the Blackstar Network. Of course, support us. Join our Breed to Funk fan club. Your dollars are critical to the work that we do. Send your check

and money order to P.O. Box 57196, Washington, D.C., 20037-0196. Cash app is Dallas at RM Unfiltered. PayPal, R. Martin Unfiltered. Venmo is RM Unfiltered. Zell, Roland at RolandSMartin.com. Roland at RolandMartinUnfiltered.com. We'll be right back. I was just in my backyard. I just said I was manifesting about life. I said I would love to come back because it was a great time, and these kids need that right now.

They need that male role model in the schools, I think. Even on TV. People are scared to go into the high schools. You know, the high school, you know what I mean? I would love to bring it back, and I think we can bring it back. You know, what do you think? I think we'll just ask the people. We'll ask your people.

We'll do a poll. Y'all want to hang with Mr. Cooper? Yeah, I say let's go. We all look good. You know, Ali look good. You know, Raven look the same, Marquise, Don Lewis. It'd be funnier than half the bullshit you see out there on TV now, goddamn!

What the fuck? What happened to TV? Dog, yeah, yeah. Damn, yeah. Yeah, it's some, I'm like, oh my God. My name is Lena Charles, and I'm from Opelousas, Louisiana. Yes, that is Zydeco capital of the world. My name is Margaret Chappelle. I'm from Dallas, Texas, representing the Urban Trivia Game.

It's me, Sherri Shepherd, and you know what you're watching. Roland Martin on Unfiltered. all right y'all so you know what you have dinner parties you have get-togethers. You know, sometimes folk play Uno. They might play spades, bit whiz. But Randy Brown decided to come up with a game called Truthing Cards. So these are her Truthing Cards right here. It says here, time to have a conversation, Truthing Cards. Share your truth, listen to the truth of others. Grow from both. So these truth in cards. All right, Randy. So what the hell truth in cards?

Well, listen, I you know, my DEI experience and my experiences growing up really informed these cards. As a child, I used to sit around the table with my family. It was a big deal to, you know, advance to the adult table. But we had conversations about matters, like important matters, right? We'd watch 60 Minutes or something and then have a conversation as a family. And I believe it really helped me with my decision making. It helped me where now I'm sitting here on your show. And it really helped me to learn just what different generations thought. You know, there's so much diversity within a family. And then also being in DEI for the last two decades,

I really realized that black people don't tell the truth. We very much present a watered down version of ourselves to the world because we have to somewhat whitewash ourselves in order to be accepted in society. And we need these areas, these safe spaces to share our truth, which is exactly what you do on here on your show, where we can just let our hair down and speak exactly how we feel. And so I wanted to create some cards to start these conversations that are not just based in

sexy red or puff daddy or whatever, but cards that really help us grow and to think as a community. So there are a hundred. Okay, hold on, hold on. So, all right. So I'm looking at some of the questions all right yes so is this supposed to be a fun game or this supposed to be like an intellectual go deep

put the brown liquor down type of game i i suggest still having your brown liquor um if you want it um i would say some of the questions are light, where you're discussing, you know, what movie must every Black person see? And it's very interesting, you know, to hear the conversations to very deep about, you know, do we have our Black leaders and what is slowing us down? Regardless, I will say this, I've been having these truthing sessions with my family and friends and now on a show where regardless of what the question is, it's us, right? So there's going to be some humor. People, we laugh, we joke, we cry. It's everything. You

know, it's a conversation with black folks. It reminds you of the barbershop and the beauty salon. I mean, there are a bunch of discussion questions out there. But what I found is that none of them were for us, specifically for black people, topics that affect our lives. So I just I created these cards just for us. And they were so popular and there were so many questions. I still have questions that I've now come out with another set that are questions specifically for anybody. They discuss issues like our privilege, our biases, race, sexuality, ableism, size, disparity, all of those things. All right, so let's see here.

So let me go through here. So one of the questions, would you take a job where you made 20% less money over another job if the lesser paying job had a majority of black staff? Why or why not? All right. Let's see. Another question. Do you immediately notice when you are the only or one of only in a space? How do you feel? What do you do? Another one. Do, do, do, do, do. What advice would you give to black people younger than you?

All right. Cool. Do musicians own some responsibility for the drug culture and violence? You trying to you trying to create some violence with these questions. We have great discussions like we I was just what movie did I watch yesterday? And it made me think of one of my questions. It says, can you be pro black if you are married to a non-black person or only exclusively date non-black people? I mean, that conversation, and I get to realize I've had these conversations, and they go on and

on and on with people's opinions. Do social organizations, this will be a good one for you, Roland, do social organizations like sororities, fraternities, the links, Jack and Jill, make black people closer closer or do they create more separation? That has been, you know, brought up some really interesting conversations, you know, what people have to say. And, but some are, some are just fun, you know, some are just fun, but some are deep. Like, have you ever felt like a token? Do you mute your blackness in certain situations? In other words, do you code switch and when? Is it effective or not? Can black people be successful in America without code switching? Is it possible? So, I mean, but there's some light ones in there too, you know, about, especially about music and art,

dance, movies. One of the best conversations I had was, is there, is CP time real or is it a myth? People went off at that whole conversation. I didn't know how upset people would get about CP time. So yeah, I mean, I have, I will say in my, you know, I've written books, I've done certain things, but these cards are something that makes me really proud because I believe that's how we bond as friends and families. And that's how we hear different perspectives. I believe we think that black is one thing and we certainly are not monolithic and it's good to hear how other people think. That's what helps us grow. I think that's what creates bond. And, you know, I want us,

I want us to get together as a people and as a community. All right. Questions from your fellow panelists. Mustafa, you're first. Well, Randy, congratulations for creating this thought-provoking set of opportunities there. I'm curious, you know, with some of the questions that you have that take people into a pretty deep sort of area,

what happens once those conversations begin and people open up and they become vulnerable? Where do you then send them for the deeper sets of information to help them on their journey? Send them outside to the patio. Yeah, I tell them to pour some more brown liquor and maybe people calm down.

I'll tell you this, conversations get tense, but listen, we play spades as a people. That's what you call tension in the black community. So they do get tense. But I will tell you that there's not one conversation I've ever experienced that there's not laughter woven within. Because, you know, we will create jokes out of everything. And, you know, I have people who call me, text me, send me pictures. Like, we had such a good time last night discussing, you know, ABC and the

third. So that's why it's something that has fulfilled me because the common people are talking and talking about things that matter. All right, then, uh, Joe, listen to me though. If they're real upset, don't call me. I'm done. Call her, call her. We've been doing this for a while already and i have to apologize because i'm just getting to see your website and and looking around and all the cool stuff so my first question was going to be and it got answered once you mentioned that there's more than one edition what page was that on because the packet didn't have the right page but i've got that okay now i'm regular and and since, you know, I know you enough on the show to

say, I need to support Randy anyway, I'm going to get two editions, or like two copies, all right? Not one, but and I'm going to pay full price. But, for the regular people that are not on Roland Martin with you, don't have that privilege

every other Wednesday, every other Tuesday, however that goes, will there at some point be a discount code? You're in luck. It's cheap as asking for a discount code. I'm paying full price

for Roland. But if you go to B.B. You know, somebody I'm paying full price to Roland but if you go to randyb.net you know somebody I always want to hook up hey somebody I'm related to want to know I'm going to pay full price though

I promise I'm going to tell you I don't mind the discount if you buy them on randyb.net that's r-a-n-d-i-b as in boy dot net you get 20% off if you put Roland20 in there. So it's just for those of you who support and watch Roland

and hit the like button. Every week you hit that like button. Every day you hit that like button. But Roland20 will give you 20% off if you go to RandyB.net or you can just buy them on Amazon.com. I got it. I got it. I got it. I'm just telling you what it is, Roland.

You know people are going to be asking. Now, come on. My mother-in-law is going to call me right now. Joe coming on here. He even asked no real question. He's like, I got a question. You're not a family now. He asked not a damn real question. He's going to come in here. Now real question.

He gonna come in here. What a discount at. I'm gonna patronize Randy's business. Now we gonna do this. Now that's what's up. That's your question. What a discount at. All right. All right.

Randy, where can folks get the cards? Amazon.com or randyb.net All right, Randy, where can folk get the cards? Amazon.com or randyb.net. And you can, listen, send me pictures of you truthing so I can highlight you. I'm loving the conversation. That's what makes me happy. I truly did this out of my heart, my passion to make black people.

I want us to have these conversations like we have every night on Unfiltered with Roland Martin. It's important that we talk. It's important that we bond and unite as a community. And that's what conversation does. All right, then. So y'all get the truth in cards

and give the promo code again for folk like Joe. We ain't got no real questions, but he sure want to ask about the promo code. RandyB.net.

The promo code is ROLAND20 or you can pay full price for right now. We do run specials on Amazon.com, but not right now. But you can go to Amazon.com and pay full price if you want to do that if it's easier. I'm going to go to Amazon, just so you know. Okay.

Yeah, okay. Mustafa, Joe, Randy, I appreciate y'all being on today's show. Thank you so very much. Folks, for the last Saturday, Sunday, Monday, I was at Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, hanging out with Hootie and the Blowfish, my man Darius Rucker. And so last night they closed it out at the House of Blues. They brought out all of the celebs on stage.

A lot of entertainers were there last night I was shooting video so I would have been on stage but you know you you can't you can't do both so wanted to end the show with how they entered the show last night shout out to my man Darius for inviting me had a great time playing in the golf tournament and so I'll see you guys tomorrow. And so there is a Hootie the Blowfish. Take us home. Holler! I want to love you the best that, the best that I can't treat all the people I love But I wanna love you the best that, the best that I can See I'm a Christian I was always a Christian

I thought of my crown I thought about your crowd Thought about your crowd And I've seen them, seen them, seen them, seen them But I dream it out Don't wanna be but I'll be proud of you Can't be but I'll be proud of you I got a hand on you I got a hand on you I got a hand on you I got a hand for you I got a hand for you I got a hand for you

Oh, I got a hand for you Oh, I got a hand for you Oh, I got a hand for you I got a hand for you Oh, I got a hand for you I got a hand for you I want to love you the best that, the man that I can be so Oh, yeah. ¶¶ We need peace, we need harmony Take a word together, take a word together

I got a hand for you, I got a hand for you I just wanna run with you, hold my hand Hold on my hand Oh, my dear Oh, my dear Oh, my dear I wanna love you the best that, the best that I can Is that I can Thank you. All the momentum we have now, we have to keep this going. The video looks phenomenal. See, there's a difference between Black Star Network and Black-owned media and something like CNN. You can't be Black-owned media and be scared.

It's time to be smart. Bring your eyeballs home, you dig? A lot of times, big economic forces show up in our lives in small ways. Four days a week, I would buy two cups of banana pudding. But the price has gone up, so now I only buy one. Small but important ways. From tech billionaires to the bond market to, yeah, banana pudding. If it's happening in business, our new podcast is on it. I'm Max Chastin. And I'm Stacey Vanek-Smith. So listen to Everybody's Business on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

I know a lot of cops. They get asked all the time, have you ever had to shoot your gun? Sometimes the answer is yes. But there's a company dedicated to a future where the answer will always be no. This is Absolute Season 1, Taser Incorporated. I get right back there and it's bad. 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 star-studded a little bit, man. We met them at their homes. We met them at their recording. We met them at their recording studios. Stories matter

and it brings a face to them. It makes it real. It really does. It makes it real. Listen to new episodes of the War on Drugs podcast season two on the iHeartRadio app,

Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. This is an iHeart Podcast.