#RolandMartinUnfiltered - House Dems pass abortion bills; SHOCKING Jayland Walker autopsy details; Essence recap + Guy Torry

Episode Date: July 16, 2022

7.15.2022 #RolandMartinUnfiltered: House Dems pass abortion bills; SHOCKING details released in second Jayland Walker autopsy; Essence recap + comedian Guy Torry House Democrats a series of legislation to protect reproductive rights across the nation, but how far will it go in congress with a dead lock senate? New disturbing details from Ohio after a second autopsy reveal more about Jayland Walkers, who was shot and killed by eight officers last month. And do you remember the story about the 10-year-old rape victim who had to travel to Indiana to get an abortion? Well, now the doctor that performed the operation is facing some legal troubles.  And we are closing out our essence recap in the second hour, and folks, I had a conversation with Guy Torrey that you don't want to miss. Wait until you see who I had to get on the line during our conversation. Support RolandMartinUnfiltered and #BlackStarNetwork via the Cash App ☛ https://cash.app/$rmunfiltered PayPal ☛ https://www.paypal.me/rmartinunfiltered Venmo ☛https://venmo.com/rmunfiltered Zelle ☛ [e-mail] Annual or monthly recurring #BringTheFunk Fan Club membership via paypal ☛ https://rolandsmartin.com/rmu-paypal/ Download the #BlackStarNetwork app on iOS, AppleTV, Android, Android TV, Roku, FireTV, SamsungTV and XBox 👉🏾 http://www.blackstarnetwork.com #RolandMartinUnfiltered and the #BlackStarNetwork are news reporting platforms covered under Copyright Disclaimer Under Section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976, allowance is made for "fair use" for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This is an iHeart Podcast. I'm real revolutionary right now. Black power. Support this man, Black Media. He makes sure that our stories are told. Thank you for being the voice of Black America, Roland. I love y'all. All momentum we have now, we have to keep this going. The video looks phenomenal. See, there's a difference between Black Star Network and Black-owned media and something like CNN. You can't be Black-owned media and be scape. It's time to be smart. Bring your eyeballs home. You dig? Today is Friday, July 15, 2022.

Coming up, a roller Martin unfiltered, streaming live on the Black Star Network. House Democrats pass a series of bills protecting a woman's right to choose. One Democrat voted against. Of course, all Republicans did not vote for it. It now goes to the Senate, where it is likely to die. Speaking of the United States Senate, Senator Joe Manchin shows exactly who he is, an absolute coward. You cannot trust his word at all. He has basically scuttled the latest bill by President Joe Biden showing exactly who he is, somebody who's in the pocket of the fossil fuel industry. New disturbing details from Ohio after a second autopsy

reveals more about Jalen Walker's death. Remember, he was shot at about, she was shot at 90 times by eight officers last month. And do you remember the story about the 10-year-old rape victim who had to travel to Indiana to get an abortion? Well, the doctor that performed the operation is facing some legal troubles, but they're also firing back at the Indiana AG, sending him a cease and desist, saying, you're lying. And we're closing out our

Essence Recap, our Essence Fest Recap in our second hour, folks. My crazy conversation with comedian Guy Torrey will show you what happened when I did a little something-something, hit the convention center floor, and some other great, great content we have from this year's Essence Fest. It is time to bring the funk. I'm Roland Martin on Filtered on the Black Star Network. Let's go. He's got it. Whatever the mess, he's on it.

Whatever it is, he's got it. He's rollin' Yeah, yeah It's Uncle Roro, yo Yeah, yeah It's Rollin' Martin, yeah Yeah, yeah Rollin' with Rollin' now Yeah, yeah He's funky, he's fresh, he's real the best You know he's Rollin' Martin

Now Rolling Marten now. Marten. Thank you. The House has voted to restore abortion access nationwide. The Democrats' first major response to the Supreme Court's landmark decision overturning the constitutional right to an abortion wrote the wave. But the House bill approved Friday has little chance of becoming law with necessary support lacking in the 50-50 Senate unless Senators Kristen Sinema and Joe Manchin of Arizona choose to end the filibuster. But the vote marks the beginning of a new era in the abortion debate

as lawmakers, governors, and state legislatures grapple with the impact of a Supreme Court decision. There was a news conference before the vote where several members of Congress, including House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, spoke about the importance of continuing this right for reproductive rights for women. Action to defend women's reproductive freedom. Today, the House will pass landmark bills. Our Women's Health Protection Act to make the essential protections of Roe the law of the land. Thank you to Congresswoman Judy Chu for leading us in passing this bill today for the second

time this Congress. Our Assuring Women's Right to Reproductive Freedom Act will protect women who exercise the right to travel across state lines to get abortion care. Let us salute Congresswoman Lizzie Fletcher and Congresswoman Marilyn Strickland for their authorship in November, because with two more Democratic senators, we will be able to eliminate the filibuster when it comes to a woman's right to choose and to make reproductive freedom the law of the land. The reality is that an increasing number of women are now forced to carry an unwanted pregnancy against their will, even in the cases of rape or incest, or travel hundreds of miles just to safely receive reproductive health care. We cannot force people to give birth. Worse, those who are forced to

carry out an unwanted pregnancy are in the nation with one of the worst maternal mortality rates in the developed world. Taking away federal protections for abortion hits black women, women of color, indigenous women, low-income women, LGBTQ plus women, and women with disabilities the hardest, disproportionately. This is about health care justice. This is about social justice. This is about economic justice. Ripping away our right to safe and legal abortion is yet another way to control us. This is not about choice for them.

This is about control, controlling our bodies, policing our bodies, and controlling us. And make no mistake, we will do everything in our power to make sure it does not happen, not on our watch. Thank you. Congresswoman Barbara Lee, who has been open about her decision to actually have an abortion, spoke on the floor of the United States House. Last month's Supreme Court decision is having devastating impacts across the country. Now, I remember the days before Roe, and now that the court has ended Roe, we are truly in a state of national health emergency.

Abortion bans affect everyone, but their impact falls hardest on folks who face serious barriers to care, who already have these barriers presented because of the lack of equity in our health care systems. Women of color, people working to make ends meet, world people, young people. It's terrifying now that people could be criminalized for exercising their own personal health care decisions. That is wrong. It's morally wrong. Already across this country, people are unable to get the care

and deny the freedom to make their own decisions about their health and about their futures. Our personal liberties and our freedoms are being taken away. Taken away. This is just another step in the erosion of our democracy. It's never been more critical than now that we pass legislation to protect the right to access abortion and ensure that abortions and comprehensive reproductive health care are accessible and available for all. Thank you and I yield. Again, that was Congresswoman Barbara Lee. There's been a discussion, debate all week, actually, in Congress about this very issue. There have been various hearings taking place.

There have been various discussions on Capitol Hill. Some of them have really been laughable when you listen to some of the discussions that have taken place. In fact, one of them was with Ayanna Pressley, and she was actually having this conversation with the wife of Josh Howley. Josh Howley, of course, is the right-wing senator from Missouri. And the back and forth was really laughable. I'm going to pull it up for you because you need to really understand just the type of craziness that goes on. And so it was Erin Morrow Howley. She is with the Alliance Defending Freedom. And they were, again,

if you just want to just listen to how crazy this is, watch this. Listen to this conversation. What are the chances that it can be carried to term? My understanding is that when an ectopic pregnancy ruptures is a life-threatening condition that's why the treatment for an ectopic pregnancy is not an abortion. I'm so sorry, I'm reclaiming my time here. Again, could you just answer the question, when an ectopic pregnancy ruptures what are the chances that it can be safely carried to term? And you know what, just to make this even clearer,

I'm looking for a number between zero to 100. Can you give me a percentage? Sure. I believe zero ectopic pregnancies, even those that do not rupture, have a chance of successfully being carried to term. That's why the treatment for them is not an abortion. I'm reclaiming my time. It seems that there is a deficit in your understanding of reproductive health. In fact, I want the record to reflect that according to the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, treatment for ectopic pregnancy requires ending a non-viable pregnancy. Now, let's turn... With respect, ma'am, that's not an abortion.

This is my time. I asked you the question, you answered, and I am now providing you with the accurate information from medical experts. My question was, when an ectopic pregnancy ruptures, what are the chances it can be safely carried to term? The answer is 0%. I answered that correctly.

Further, when it comes to one's accurate understanding of reproductive health and abortion care with an ectopic pregnancy, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists says, quote, treatment for ectopic pregnancy requires ending a non-viable pregnancy. This is my time, end quote. So now I'm going to turn to the real experts. That's not an abortion because it does not have the intent to end the life of a child. Reclaiming my time, reclaiming my time. You had this back and forth.

My panel, Kelly Bethea, communication strategist. Glad to have you on the show. We also have Matt Manning, civil rights attorney. Also Mike Imhotep, African History Network. Glad to have all three of you here. So Kelly, so here's what's interesting when you have that back and forth debate there. Hawley says, oh, that's not an abortion where you're ending a pregnancy. But the reality is that's what doctors are doing. I saw one tweet before I came on the air today where there was a doctor in Texas who was told that he needed to wait for it to rupture before he could treat this woman.

What has happened with this decision? Doctors are put in a precarious situation because of these different state laws as to how they are to proceed. I am thoroughly disgusted, and I have been for the past month, and for many reasons. But this snippet of a hearing is a prime example of how little people know about the reproductive system of people who are capable of carrying pregnancies. And it's frustrating to me because it's those same people who made the laws to ban abortions, some of those people being on the Supreme Court. An abortion is simply terminating a pregnancy. That's it. And for this woman to be under oath saying,

well, that's not an abortion, you sound stupid. Maybe she is stupid, but at the very least, you sound stupid. And this is all the more reason why matters like this should only be between the doctor and the person who is pregnant.

Those are the only two people who need to be anywhere near this discussion, because those are the only two people who have any understanding of what's going on. And for these two parties to be beholden to the most ignorant of these who happen to be making the laws for the two parties involved, it is absolutely infuriating and the ultimate insult of intelligence for this country for you to think that just because of your personal beliefs, you can just make laws for everyone to abide by. And what's worse, you don't even understand the kind of laws that you're making. You're just ruining people's lives because you don't understand crap. It's just ridiculous. This was another exchange here, Matt. This is Congressman Swalwell with someone.

Again, just check this out. Would a 10-year-old choose to carry a baby? In the Ohio case, the Ohio Attorney General said that abortion would have been justified. Focus on the question, please. Would a 10-year-old choose to carry a baby? I cannot. Do you think a 10-year-old should choose to carry a baby? I believe it would probably impact her life.

And so, therefore, it would fall under any exception and would not be an abortion. Wait. It would not be an abortion if a 10-year-old with her parents made the decision not to have a baby that was a result of a rape? If a 10-year-old became pregnant as a result of rape and it was threatening her life, then that's not an abortion. So it would not fall under any abortion restriction in our nation. Ms. Warbelow, are you familiar with disinformation? Yes, I am. Did you just hear some disinformation?

Yes, I heard some very significant disinformation. Why don't you tell me about that? Yes, an abortion is a procedure. It's a medical procedure that individuals undergo for a wide range of circumstances, including because they have been sexually assaulted, raped in the case of the 10-year-old. It doesn't matter whether or not there's a statutory exemption. It is still a medical procedure that is understood to be an abortion. So yesterday, Ms. Warbelow, speaking of disinformation, Jim Jordan called a 10-year-old rape victim a liar. A 10-year-old rape victim was called a liar by the ranking member of this committee. And I know that he did that because he hates the president. It's clear every day from

his statements and the statements from MAGA Republicans that they don't like Joe Biden, so they're going to call him a liar. That's fine. But what is worse is the reason that he did it is because he doesn't like what that rape victim represents, which is that this law from the Supreme Court, Dobbs, and the laws that will follow in states like Ohio and Texas and Georgia and other states will bring us government-mandated pregnancies for 10-year-olds, fourth graders, little girls. And to deflect from that, they choose to bully and beat up transgender individuals who represent fewer than 1% of Americans. And they try and deflect that because they don't want anyone in America to realize that they don't just want to wage a war on women. They're now expanding it to a war on little girls. So, I'm confused, Matt. If a 10-year-old girl is raped and the pregnancy is threatening her life and they end the pregnancy that's not an abortion, what is it?

What we're seeing is a moving of the goalpost every time. It's not about the first off, it's not about the truth of the medicine, and it's really not about recognizing people's rights. It's about control and it's about fitting into the narrative that we knew that they've often, when I say they, I mean conservatives, so often count themselves as the party of values, the party of intellectualism, the party of thinkers, right? People who think freely. And it's an absurd notion to try to call it an abortion when it does not fit your policy objectives, but then to call it something else when it falls into what is a recognized exception. And I think Mr. Squalwell did a wonderful job of calling out the disinformation because that's ultimately what it is. We know it's just dishonesty and disingenuousness. And, you know, it's a war on the people.

And what I don't understand about all of this is how we, the people, are the pawns in a political game. So much of this is politics. It's not even about medicine. It's not about the individual person. It's about carrying forward a narrative. And we're caught in the lurch of 500-plus politicians in Washington, you know, peddling their wares as politicians, not as people who are concerned about those who they're serving. So I don't really know what to say beyond, you know, it's part and parcel of what we continue to see. And it's that moving of the goalposts that allows them to at least feel like they haven't been pinned down by black and white questions. How is it an abortion in

circumstance A, but it's not an abortion in circumstance B? Michael, you have the Attorney General of Indiana who actually said that he is looking for the doctor who performed this going on television, doing interviews, stating that she broke the law because she did not report information. Well, this is interesting. The doctor and her lawyers are firing back. Yes. Come on, y'all, show it, please. Come on. They are showing a, they have sent him a cease and desist, saying that he is making false and misleading statements because she has documentation showing that she actually reported that.

I saw another tweet where they were talking with another group where they made two referrals for 11-year-olds who had also been raped to have abortions. And what there used to be, there used to be on the Republican side, a number of people where if they did oppose abortion, they had exceptions for rape and incest. But most of these bills today, there are no exceptions. if they did oppose abortion, they had exceptions for rape and incest. But most of these bills today, there are no exceptions.

You literally have one guy, I can't even think of his name, where he has said, oh, yes, the 10-year-olds should carry these babies to term because they'll understand the importance and the value of that life. You cannot convince me. You cannot convince me that if any of their daughters who were 10 got raped by a criminal or a gang member, that they will be saying, oh, sure, have the baby. Or by a black man. You know, Roland, Republicans have opened up a can of political whoop-ass that is exploding in their face. And now they're trying to backtrack. Now, you look at Jim Jordan.

Jim Jordan had to delete his tweet. He called the story of the 10-year-old who was a rape victim. OK, he called that story a lie. He had to delete that. You look at The Washington Post. Record shows Indiana doctor fulfilled duty to report 10-year-old's abortion. So now Attorney General Todd Rokita of Indiana has to backtrack. The doctor's attorney was on MSNBC Today, Nicole Wallace's show, explaining the cease and desist order, explaining how the doctor followed the law every step of the way. And, you know, what this reminds me of, Roland, I hate to take it here. This reminds me of slavery when African women did not have autonomy over their bodies

and were raped and had to carry the rapist baby and things like this, did not have autonomy over their bodies. And now you have a lot of old white men and some white women like Erin Hawley. And I know Kelly said Erin Hawley sounds stupid. If Erin Hawley is married to dumbass Josh Hawley, she is stupid. I'm telling you right now. She is stupid. But now you

have this same thing expanded where white women, not just African American women who die from childbirth, who are three times more likely to die during childbirth than white women. But now you have white women who don't have autonomy over their bodies. So this is, as I said last Friday, I said there are going to be more stories that come out week after week. This is going to galvanize the 2022 midterm elections.

This is going to, and Democrats have to tap into this anger and maintain the House, expand the margin in the House, and maintain the Senate, expand the margin in the Senate. But yeah, brother, this is serious. These are some crazy people.

Jim, you spoke of Congressman Jim Jordan of Ohio. He was on Newsmax, right-wing Newsmax. And listen to the lack of courage that he displayed in this conversation. This child, should they have this option? Should they be forced to carry out this child? Should they have this option? And the state of Ohio, sir, where do you fall on that? Well, this is a question, this is straight on the Supreme Court, Supreme Court's decision. This is the question that the legislatures in the respective states will answer. I'm as pro-life as you can be. We want to protect the unborn children's life. But in this situation, you're

talking about a, you're talking about a 10 yearold. But that is a question for legislatures in the respective states. That's exactly what the Dobbs decision said. And that's where the people's representatives should make that decision in our state legislatures. I appreciate the time. Should they be forced to carry out this trial? Should they have this option? So you got an opinion on everything else, but now you don't want to answer this question, Kelly. And my thing is, he should have had that kind of response for everything up until this decision, because it's none of his business what a person capable of pregnancy does with their body. It is no one's

business except that person and the doctor treating that person. So for me, it's again, I'm trying to sound thoughtful and coherent, but I'm really just angry right now at the fact that like Michael said, this is a semblance of slavery. And for the first time in, I don't know, history, white women know what slavery feels like right now. And there's still many of them are oblivious to it and are ascribing to the doctrine of, you know, you know, carte, it makes no sense. And it's not supposed to make sense. And what's even worse is those who have the money and the means and the resources will never be without access to abortion. So this is really just focused on those who don't have the resources. That's mainly Black people, other marginalized communities, LGBT-plus communities. And it's just not fair. It's not right.

And it's more than about your right to reproductive rights. This is about your right to privacy, know, reproductive rights. This is about your right to privacy, which is really one of the fundamental principles of the Constitution. Like, that is one of the main reasons we have this thing called a country. And I say that loosely right now, because I don't know where we're going with it.

So, again, like, everybody who is on this pro-life, and I use that term loosely too, they just sound stupid. Because there's no rational reason for this outside of the fact that you need to be in control of something outside of yourself. Indeed. All right, folks, got to go to a break. When we come back, we'll talk about the case out of Ohio, where a black man was shot. They have released, was shot and killed. They released the second autopsy. We'll tell you the shocking details in that particular autopsy report. Again, folks, it is unbelievable we're at this case. Also in Kansas City,

a number of cops literally have a man pinned down. One officer pulls her gun out, fires a shot, hits the other cop, hits another cop. Then fires two shots into the suspect, killing him. I'm totally at a loss.

And a black man, just standing in front of his house, gets the constant by a white woman. Why? Because he's black and she's white. All of that, folks, on Roland Martin Unfiltered on the Black Standard Network. I'm Deborah Owens, America's Wealth Coach. And on the next Get Wealthy, have you heard that it's not how much you earn, but how much you keep that matters? Well, the secret to building wealth could be hidden in our tax code. That's right. Joining me on the Next Get Wealthy is someone who calls herself the gatekeeper to the IRS, and she's going to be sharing the secrets and strategies you need to know, whether you're a business owner or an individual, how you can get wealthy.

That's right here, only on Black Star Network. Sexy to me is the exact same feeling as running water. Ever flowing. Water always finds a way to get through. And so when you know that you're sexy, there are no questions about it. It is an ever flowing emotion. It is an ever flowing feeling.

When you question it, though, you stop the water. I actually struggle with this a lot, mainly because I've been told what sexiness should look like, what it should feel like. As a model who did Sports Illustrated, you're told that this is what sells sexy, but then you travel the world and what's sexy to one person is not sexy to another person.

I'm more of a mind fuck kind of person. How can you stimulate the brain? To me, that's sexy. Next, on The Black Table with me, Greg Carr, we connect the dots and reveal a big picture you absolutely need to see. We'll explore how all the recent Supreme Court decisions fit together, like hand in glove, with the longstanding and very patient agenda of the GOP. As one of our guests tells us, conservatives are playing chess while the rest of us are playing checkers. And we're getting really close to checkmate. A black table you won't want to miss.

That's next, only on the Black Star Network. Hi, I'm Gavin Houston. Hi, I'm Carl Payne. Hey, what's up, y'all? It's your boy, Jacob Lattimore, and you're now watching Roland Martin right now. Folks, Friday's court hearing for Brittany Griner is postponed until July 26th. The WNBA stars legal team says they need more time to prepare Griner for the next phase of her trial. Her lawyers also shared this photo of Griner in a prison cell, holding a picture of her and her WNBA teammates. She's a two-time U.S. Olympic gold medalist. She was arrested in Moscow in February. Russian officials say they found cannabis oil in her luggage and accused her of drug smuggling. She pleaded guilty last week and could face up to 10 years in jail. Shalonda Spencer, the executive director of Women of Color Advancing Peace and Security, she joins us

to discuss this case. Glad to have you here. And so you've seen the increased attention on this particular case, but we still don't know exactly what's going to happen here. We see lots of speculation that they could be preparing for a prisoner swap. And so what more can be done? You even now have Russia releasing a statement telling the United States to back off, pressuring them in the Griner case. So thank you again for having me here on the show. I want to say that our organization, where we focus on women of color, advance and peace security, is that we realize we see these cases where black women experience a lot of mass atrocities. And this is this happens to be one of them. When I see Brittany Griner, I see myself. I see other black girls. But this is also about a lot of pay equity.

We also have to think about how we get here and where we are. And as we all know, that black women are always at the bottom of the toll pole when it comes to pay equity. We do not have the same amount. We do not make the same amount of money as others. And so right now, what we're seeing is that how she got there, and that is that she had to go across the East to Russia to on the offseason to play ball, where she was also something that I've also known is that the State Department said she could have been falsely detained due to the accusation of her supposed to be smuggling drugs. And as we all know, I think the milligrams is very small and minute. And so I know they're doing whatever they can at the State Department to figure out how this how the administration can better support her coming home. But what about what Russia said? That is U.S. back off. Don't be pressuring us when you have others who are saying no.

We need to have more pressure being put on Russia, being put on the Biden administration? I think Russia does what they do. Putin, of course, his federal administration is doing what they do best, is trying to, in my opinion, figure out how they can use Brittany Griner to get whatever they need doing. Of course, we all know that, right, I think it was, like, you know, right when Russia invaded Ukraine, Brittany Brannon was the person, is almost looking like she's a bargaining chip for us, for Russia. And so I feel like right now they're using her as leverage to get whatever they're wanting from the United States. And it's very unfortunate because

it took ESPN, of course, to make it a national known issue at first. They were the first person to report it. And then it took women, especially black women. I know recently after she did sign and say, hey, I'm ready to come home. And she wrote a letter to the administration. And it took over 1,200 women to sign this bill, to sign a letter in supporting of her letter. And so I think right now it's all about how do we trust the Biden-Harris administration? And also, I think where we are with Russia is like, how do we not interfere? Because I think that's what that's a big question.

How do we not interfere with their judiciary system? And we want the same respect for our judiciary system when it comes to the United States. And I think that's a big conflict right now, too, as well. So what do people do next? I feel like, for me, I think it's still amplifying the voices. For her, I have spoken with a few people with the administration right before this stuff even started. And one thing that I was told, like, you know,

it's all about supporting the family at this moment. Her, significant other, and all of them are it's all about supporting the family at this moment. Her, significant other, and all of them are not aware of all the things that goes on politically. This is politically driven. It's politically motivated. And of course, people like myself and other people of color, we're not always into the everyday issues, especially when it comes to foreign policy, international relations things. And so where she thought she was just, you know, packing up her stuff, putting, you know, her vape in her, you know, her bag, it wasn't nothing to her. But what Russia decided to do was say, hey, let's just use this as our leverage.

And so I think what you're doing right now is that we're continuing to make sure Britney is heard, especially black people. I've seen where professional athletes are now coming out and supporting her where you did not see that before. And I feel like outlets like this and people who are speaking out more, it's bringing that attention to where it is kind of forcing the administration to have to do something immediately. All right. Shalonda Spence, executive director of the Women of Color Advancing Peace and Security. We surely appreciate you joining us and hopefully we'll have some good news soon with regards to Brittany Greiner. Thank you so much, folks. Let's talk about Congress, if you will. A couple of things have been going on. One story we've been talking about, which is quite interesting.

President Joe Biden has struck a deal with Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell to advance a young conservative anti-abortion federal judge for McConnell's acceptance that he would not be moving for that. He would not be blocking some U.S. attorney picks. Now, a strange development has actually taken place, folks, and that is Biden is now dropping the nomination of Chad Meredith, not because Democrats have been outraged at his decision, but because Senator Rand Paul would not return his blue slip, allowing this to go forward. Yeah, I know that might sound a little strange what I just said, but yeah, that's the case. And there was something in this article, Matt, in the New York Times article. First of all, Mitch McConnell is real pissed off right now. He's really pissed with Rand Paul.

But what he said was, what he said was, let me just pull a quote up here. First of all, McConnell said he persuaded the White House to do him this personal favor in naming the judge. He would be replacing a 66-year-old judge who was appointed by President George W. Bush. But this is the thing that really tripped me out. And this is why I keep trying to warn people what McConnell is doing.

McConnell says the net result of this is it has prevented me from getting my kind of judge out of a liberal democratic president. And again, what he's made it clear is he wanted a young white male far right judge in this position for life. And I keep warning people to understand those are the kind of judges they're looking for because they want them on the federal bench for the next 40 to 50 years. You know what I mean? There you go. Can you hear me? Okay. I know the promo

that ran during the break had Dr. Carr from Howard talking about what's going to be on his show next. And I think, you know, the motif in his statement was really applicable here, that the GOP is playing chess and the rest of us are playing checkers. And you've mentioned it a million times on the show, but it could not be more valuable to the viewers that I think under Mr. Trump's administration, something like 200 federal judges were put in place. 226. 226 that are going to serve for life that have no real accountability, can do whatever they want. And as we see the Supreme Court now more brazenly than ever are politically motivated. And that's what's really important about this. For a long time, the federal judiciary has at least had the veneer of being objective, right? Being judges

who are not swayed by politics. But we see very clearly that not only are they swayed by politics, that they're installed, obviously, by politicians, and that they walk in lockstep with those politicians' policies. So your point is well noted. And it is terrifying because they're the same judges who are going to be making the same decisions on my same constitutional challenges, telling me to kick rocks and denying the people rights and other benefits of citizenship, which we're seeing right now. So it's terrifying. And it's crazy that Mitch McConnell says that as brazenly as he did. I'm not going to get my kind of person, meaning young, white, conservative, and who will walk in lockstep with my policy out of this liberal president.

So it's terrifying that we're seeing this on this scale, but it is part and parcel with what we've been seeing for a long time and what Democrats, unfortunately, have not been appropriately countering. Here's what's interesting, Michael, as I look at this particular story here. This is what McConnell says. There was no deal. He said that this was a personal friendship gesture. Now, do you have any recollection you said, if I remember correctly, you said that Biden agreed to nominate this young conservative judge, and in exchange for that, McConnell would not block Biden's nominations for U.S. attorney's office.

That's what's been reported by the Louisville newspaper. That sounds like a deal to me. Yeah, that's... Yeah, that sounds like a deal. These are the type of things that happen in politics, okay? Now, what's important to understand is the importance of federal judges. And we know that in his first year in office, Biden got more

federal judges confirmed, I think, in the first year than any previous president. He got a lot of African-American federal judges confirmed. These are lifetime appointments. But Matt's correct, and I've talked about this here on this show before. And this goes directly to why the U.S. Senate is so important. Donald Trump got 226 federal judges confirmed in one term and that changed the landscape of the federal bench. These are lifetime appointments. These were nominations that came from the Heritage Foundation and the Federalist Society. But what set this up and it's extremely important for people to understand this. And this goes back to the conversation that you had on the show yesterday, Roland, with the disinformation campaign.

What set that up partly was when Republicans took back control of the judge that President Obama nominated in 2016 to the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals, which would be over Chicago. McConnell, because those had to be confirmed by the Senate and Republicans controlled the Senate, they blocked those nominations, which left these nominations vacant when Donald Trump became president because of the Electoral College. And most of our people don't understand how the Electoral College works. OK, so and then the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals, who did Republicans put in that seat? A woman named Amy Coney Barrett. And then when Ruth Bader Ginsburg dies, they put Amy Coney Barrett on the fast track and ran her through and got her confirmed to the U.S. Supreme Court. So they're playing

grandmaster level chess. We're playing beginners, checkers, and don't even understand all the rules to checkers. This is why it's important to understand the three branches of the federal government, executive, judicial, legislative. And one of the reasons why Republicans and this is McConnell's lifelong work to nominate as many conservative federal judges as possible and Supreme Court justices, of course, because white people have a declining population in this country, as we see from the 2020 census, and their percentage dropped to 57 percent. The first time it dropped below 60 percent since 1790. They want to control the judicial branch of the federal government because that interprets law from the legislative branch, the House and the Senate, and the executive branch. So they want to control that for the next 25, 30, 40 years.

So this is hardball that we're playing. This is understanding politics on a whole other level. Well, it is, and the thing that I'm sort of remembering here, Kelly, is that when Obama was president, he cut a deal with Republicans where he was going to give a federal judicial pick to Michael Boggs, a right-wing attorney who defended that state's voter suppression bill.

Well, let's just say that pissed off a lot of folks like Congressman David Scott, Congressman Hank Johnson. I remember there was a news conference at Ebenezer Baptist Church. Representative John Lewis was there. You had Pastor, why is it escaping me right now, Joseph Lowry, who was there. I believe C.T. Vivian. And what was interesting, so basically Obama had cut a deal with them. And so what then happened was they came out hard against it.

Well, Obama then calls Joseph Lowry to tell him, to talk to him about that news conference, to tell him that, well, you know, I'm a man of my word. He did not want Lowry and others out there publicly opposing him. For anybody out there who's like, OK, Roland, why are you dogging Obama? Lowry told me the story before he died. So what happened was Lowry said that was going to be his last public voicing on that particular pick. Well, then the pick continued. And then you had folks like Congressman David Scott and others who were asking, wait a minute, how is this pick continuing and going down this path? So then they began to hear whispers that Congressman John Lewis had somewhat given his nodded okay for it to move forward.

Well, they then went after Lewis. They issued an ultimatum that John Lewis had until 4 p.m. one day to come out publicly against this particular nominee. Lewis was pissed. I mean, Lewis was cussing them out up and down. Yes, I also confirmed that. And but they forced Lewis to release that statement. Scott was so cold-blooded that Scott told him point-blank that, Scott told him point-blank, said that if the rumors were true, he called John Lewis a turncoat.

Lewis issued that statement. The box nomination was killed. What Scott said, point blank, was, and I agree with him, what he said was, and this is a story right here, and you'll see, these were photos taken at Ebenezer where they had that news conference. What Scott said, and I agreed with him 100%, he said, look, man, Obama, you're going to be gone. You're going to be gone.

This federal judge will be making decisions in Georgia, impacting Georgia, for 30, 40, 50 years. And they shut it down. And that's exactly what they should have done. They should have shut it down. Sir and Dick Durbin was saying about this particular nominee, he was like, why in the hell should we support this nominee? They ain't got nothing to do with us.

And he said he couldn't get an answer out of the White House. And so, yes, this has now died because Senator Rand Paul won't return his blue slip, but this is where you say to your own president, hey, man, that's your deal. That ain't our deal. And we ain't got to go along with your deal. It is always interesting to me when you hear about stories like this, because on one end, I guess the angel side of things It's like, it looks like a concerted effort for bipartisanship, right? But on the other hand, and I won't say it's the devil on the other shoulder

perspective, but I will say it's the more realistic perspective, there are plenty of other areas and issues within legislation and policy that have real desire to become bipartisan, that are already kind of bipartisan on its face. You don't need to force bipartisanship on things that, frankly, can just be unilateral. Like, the president being able to appoint judges, that's his right. You know, that's part of what he can do as president. I don't see why you need the input of the opposing party who don't like you anyway. Well, in the Senate, they have this rule.

They have this rule. It's called the blue slip rule that a nomination doesn't go forward unless both home senators agree. Now, his was interesting, though. Even when Trump was president, that was a federal nominee that Baldwin, Tammy Baldwin, and Ron Johnson, Democrat and Republican in Wisconsin, did not return their blue slip. McConnell said, damn that, judge goes through.

So you have the option to ignore the blue slip. So there's this custom, this rule that, well, I don't return the blue slip, then you can't move forward with the nomination. Both sides have sort of gone with that. But there have been times when they said, damn that blue slip. We're not moving forward with this. Sure. And again, like, I didn't know that, so I take your word for it, but at the same time, even in that model,

it seems kind of ceremonious. You know what I'm saying? Like, there are plenty of other, like you said, some people say, damn the blue slip, some people do, but at the same time, I don't see why it is so just forced bipartisanship when it comes to judicial making decisions when it comes to like appointing judges and the like, especially when the executive branch has that power almost unilaterally. That's the check and balance of it all. Well, the executive branch, they can name, they can pick nominees, but they got to be

confirmed by the Senate. And so frankly, they can shut them down. And these are examples where House members put pressure on their Democrats in the Senate to not move forward. Let me talk to you all about this here. So Senator Joe Manchin has scuttled this bill of President Biden that will deal with the economy, that will raise taxes on the rich, and will deal with the issue of climate change. Now, here's what's illogical. Here's what's utterly illogical, Matt. This man has been lying. He, you'll

meet with him, and he sat with Senator Ron Wyden of Oregon and went through and laid out what he would accept on the climate side. Then, when you get to the end of the road, now I'm good. Joe Manchin has left the Democrats at the

altar more than any other cold feet groom you've ever met in your life. You cannot trust this man at all. What's the accountability? I mean, for him going back on the deal, what what comes of him not, you know, of him doing that? Clearly nothing, because he's done it over and over and was lied about even the filibuster and how long it's been in place. I think he said it was in place for two hundred and thirty two years and it's been in place since like 1975. So, you know, Manchin is very clearly doing what Manchin wants to do, which is not help the Democrats get where they need to go. But the bigger question is, what is the accountability for him continuing to go back on these deals? This man, Kelly, is taking more money from fossil fuels than anybody else. And he just keeps doing whatever he wants to. And I saw this tweet from, I think, was one of the Parkland family members,

and I agree with him 100%. He said, Democrats, stop talking about Manchin, and you should be talking about Sherry Beasley, Mandela Barnes, John Fetterman, Val Deming, Tim Ryan. And defending your four seats, Georgia, Nevada, Arizona, New Hampshire. He said, because if you win those five seats, guess what? Senate is not 50-50. It's 55-45, and Manchin can't sit there and play kingmaker.

And I think that's really all that Manchin is about at this point. I think he's kind of just shoving in our faces that he has this power within the Senate. And once we do reclaim majority in the Senate, he's going to go back into his cave and never to be heard from again. But at the end of the day, I just wish he would just call a thing a thing

and call himself a Republican because I have yet to see anything come across my news feed that resembles anything regarding the Democrats' stance on things coming out of Manchin's mouth. Slow down. Slow down. Because we've got to be factual here.

If Manchin flipped, let's be clear, if Manchin left the Democratic Party, even if he chose to be independent, but caucus with Republicans, they control the Senate.

And I understand that, but at the same time, they kind of already control the Senate. No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no. I understand it. No, no, no, no. Follow me here. Can I finish my no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no. Follow me here. Can I finish my thought? Hello, Obama, I've got to add this to it.

Because we just talked about all those judges. Because it's 50-50, they have been able to get through more than 100 federal judges, a number of black women, because they control the Senate. They've been able to get through Biden's nominees because they control the Senate. If he aligns with them, they control nothing, like nothing, nothing they want and can remotely get done because they will have a 51-49 majority. Go ahead. What I'm saying is, if he is able to vote that way, I don't think that's because he's a Democrat. I think that's because he thinks that those are good choices. But at the same time, you have these core issues within the Democratic Party that are trying to be pushed, namely what we're talking

about right now, and he's just refusing to do it. So at that juncture, it's like, you might as well be a Republican. And I'm not saying, you know, he just needs to sign the slip and say, I'm a Republican now. But his beliefs are, right now, from what I have seen, seem to be largely, at the very least, independent, centrist, but at the most, Republican. And when you look at his voting record on the things that truly matter for his state, such as the climate change and health care and even abortion rights. It's like those are the things that his state needs the most. Yeah. And he's just disregarding it. But that's what I'm that's the part that I'm talking about. But I can't. But for all of the frustration, Michael, all that frustration, facts are facts. If he left the Democratic Party and joined the Republican Party,

they would have a 51-49 majority in the United States Senate. There would be no, let's be real clear, there would be no January 6th committee. Congressman Benny Thompson would not be the chair. He would be the ranking member. That's in the House. I'm sorry, I'm sorry, not be the chair. He would be the ranking member. That's in the House. I'm sorry, I'm sorry, that's the House. I'm talking about Democrats that control committees.

Senator Dick Durbin is the leader of the Senate Judiciary Committee. Boom, Lindsey Graham will be in charge of the committee. So for all of the frustration with Manchin, the reality is Democrats still control the Senate and are still able to do things because they're in control. One of the reasons why it's hard for Vice President Kamala Harris to actually travel around the country is because she has to vote so many times for tiebreakers. Yes. Yes. And the other thing is Mitch McConnell would be Senate majority leader again. And see, they'll shut down nominations for the federal bench. They'll shut down any nominations, any more nominations for the Supreme Court. It'll be 2014 all over again. Okay. So, uh, there's some frustration with, uh, uh,

Manchin, but at the same time, you see people have to understand West Virginia is a red state. Okay. Donald Trump won West Virginia in 2016 and 2020 by 40 points. All right. The other, the other Senator from West Virginia is, uh, Shelley Moore Capito, who is a Republican. So West Virginia is a red state. And there's no other Democrat. I don't think there's another Democrat in West Virginia that can win a Senate. No. And in fact, in fact, the previous Democrat was Rockefeller. And he couldn't he couldn't win today. In fact, in fact, the governor of West Virginia, remember, ran and won as a Democrat,

but he switched parties once he was in the governor's mansion. Right. So you have to understand the politics of that region, of that state. The reference that you made and the person talked about how I think the Democrats need to talk about Mandela Barnes. They need to talk about Booker in Kentucky. And flipping those Senate seats, Tamron in Ohio,

that's extremely important. Biden talked about recently get two more Democratic senators. I don't know why the hell he said two. Yeah, yeah. You need more than two. First of all, don't just say two thinking, oh, if we get two more, that cancels out Sinema and Manchin.

No, bro. You need a minimum of three. First of all, you got to defend four. You got to defend Arizona, Markelly, Nevada, New Hampshire, Warnock in Georgia. You got to pick up three. And the three best pickups are Pennsylvania,

Wisconsin, North Carolina. I then say Ohio comes fourth. I think Deming comes fifth. And that's really it. And your long shots are Booker in Kentucky, Chambers

in Louisiana. Right, exactly. So we need to start naming names. I know somebody out there, y'all like Roland, it's a black person who's a Senate nominee in Alabama. It's Alabama. It's Alabama. It's Alabama.

It's Alabama. So this is understanding strategy. This gets back to the conversation yesterday. This is understanding strategy. And I don't get frustrated with stuff like this. This is the time to strategize. Okay? Don't get sad. Strategize and beat them at their own game. And this is why it's so

important to have the accurate information, the proper information as well. But this 2022 midterm election is extremely important. Everything is on the line. And we have to build upon the successes of the Biden-Harris administration in the first two years, $5.8 billion for HBCUs, $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan, $46.5 billion in rental assistance, fighting to improve Black maternal health, all the things they're doing, the $1.2 trillion infrastructure bill that only 19 Republicans in the Senate voted for and only, I think, about 14 in the House voted for. You build on that because if you get those senators

and you get 55 in the Senate, now you can get the George Floyd justice and policing act. Mm-hmm. Or you'll also find out... Or you'll find out what other Democrats have been hiding behind Manchin and Sinema who don't want to lift the filibuster. That's what you're also going to find out.

Well, a lot of them shifted. A lot of them shifted. Well, a lot of them shifted because they knew those two weren't shifting. So my point is, if they get 55, you'll know for real who shifted as opposed to those who. It's like, like yeah I shifted knowing full well it wasn't going to happen so let's see who's for real real got to go to break real quick

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

A Balanced Life with Dr. Jackie. We're all impacted by the culture, whether we know it or not. From politics to music and entertainment, it's a huge part of our lives. And we're going to talk about it every day right here on The Culture with me, Faraji Muhammad, only on the Black Star Network. Hi, I'm Israel Houghton with Israel and New Breed. Hi, I'm Carl Painting. Hey, everybody. This is Sherri Shepherd.

You're watching Roland Martin Unfiltered. And while he's doing Unfiltered, I'm practicing the wobble. I am. Because Roland Martin is the one, he will do it backwards. He will do it on the side. He messes everybody up when he gets into the wobble because he doesn't know how to do it, so he does it backwards. And he messes me up every single time.

So I'm working on it. I got it. You got Roland Martin. All right, folks. Kazai Anthony was last seen in Virginia Beach, Virginia on July 9th. The 15-year-old is 5 feet 3 inches tall, weighs 117 pounds, with black hair and black eyes. Kazai wears glasses and was last seen wearing a burgundy top and blue sweatpants. She requires medication and may need medical attention. Anyone with information about Kazai

Anthony should call the Virginia Beach, Virginia Police Department at 703-385-2700. 703-385-2700. All right, folks, a new autopsy report reveals disturbing information regarding the death of Jalen Walker. He was the black man who was killed in Akron, Ohio, last month. Summit County Medical Examiner Dr. Lisa Kohler says Walker was shot so many times and had so many injuries, it's unclear whether a single bullet could have caused one injury or multiple injuries. Early reports claimed Walker was shot nearly 60 times, but Dr. Kohler says he was shot

only 46 times. The first part of the examination involves documenting identifying characteristics and noting medical therapies and injuries. Evidence of medical intervention on Mr. Walker included tourniquets on his legs and left arm, gauze dressings to his chest and abdominal wounds, adhesive seals over two chest wounds, and defibrillator pads on his chest. The autopsy determined that Jayland had 46 gunshot wound entrances or graze injuries. A graze injury results when the bullet runs along the surface of the

skin but does not enter a specific area of the body. An entrance wound indicates that the bullet struck the skin and entered a part of the body and either exited or became lodged within tissues of the body. The photographic record shows more than 46 labeled wounds because there are exit wounds, bullets beneath the skin, and abrasions that were numbered for the purpose of identifying specific injuries in the photographs and to permit clarity. The injuries include the following. 15 gunshot wounds injured the torso and caused internal injury to his heart, lungs, liver, spleen, left kidney, intestines, and multiple ribs. 17 gunshot wounds injured the

pelvis and upper legs, causing internal injury to the right iliac artery, which is a major artery going to the leg, the bladder, and fractures of the pelvis and both upper leg bones or femurs. One billet struck the face and fractured the jaw. Eight gunshot wounds injured the arms and right hand. Five gunshot wounds injured the knees, right lower leg, and right foot. All right, Jaylen's family released a statement. Here's what they dropped, please. Let's show it. Today's Summit County Medical Examiner's report on Jalen Walker's death

confirms the violent and unnecessary use of force by the Akron Police Department on an unarmed young man who, as the family expected, was not under the influence of drugs or alcohol. In fact, Jalen suffered 46 gunshot wounds to his body is horrific. The fact that after being hit nearly four dozen times, officers still handcuffed him while he lay motionless and bleeding on the ground is absolutely inhumane. The family is devastated by the findings of the report

and still await a public apology from the police department. Now, here's what's interesting, Matt. No gun residue was found under his fingernails or on his hands. So the cops claim he had a gun. The gun was fired. Where's the gun residue? So, yeah, that's a good question. But I'll tell you, in my experience, a lot of times they don't test for gunshot residue if they know someone has had interaction with the weapon, meaning they were the victim, in my experience, unless there's a question about self-defense. was hit with more than two times the number of bullets than Amadou Diallo was hit with. And that is an absurd number in that case, 19 bullets. So here, 46 wounds is incredible. And

it is, I mean, baffling. Obviously, this is excessive force at the worst end of the spectrum. But what I do think is important to note about this is I think it's also going to potentially create issues with holding people accountable. Because if all of these officers have the same rounds, if it's the same cartridges that were fired from the guns, there's going to be a question of who fired, obviously, the shots that would be fatal. And even here, you can't determine which shots are fatal. So the sympathy I feel for this family is just inexplicable because this is the absolute worst case scenario. And what I've been really troubled by is the police chief in scenario. And what I've been really troubled

by is the police chief in Akron finding every way to make this about his officers rather than the fact that this young man who was unarmed and not on drugs as confirmed by the autopsy and toxicology report, making it about them. The article I read said that he had them remove their names from their uniforms because they're getting death threats. And not by any means do I support death threats but the point is your officers shot what more than 80 rounds at 90 rounds excuse me at this young man and obviously the autopsy shows that he was hit with more than half of them and that is absurd and it's excessive and it's just completely indefensible for any scenario, particularly this scenario. And I'm wondering what the practical effect of this will be if there are criminal charges

sought, because I think it's going to make it even more difficult to determine exactly who did what as it relates to this situation. Indeed. Kelly? I mean, I'm, as usual, just thoroughly disgusted. And it just doesn't feel like there's any sign of this stopping anytime soon, if ever. Not to sound pessimistic about it, but it really doesn't feel like there's going to be an end to this kind of carnage. a shooting down in Hattiesburg, Mississippi that happened earlier this week or something like that. And that was supposed to be a mental health call. They called for this young man to get actual mental health care and the officer shot him dead anyway. And I'm just tired of black skin being perceived as a threat, as a weapon, as anything other than the largest organ on your body that everybody has.

It just so happens that not everybody's black. My condolences go out to the family and, you know, thoughts and prayers go to them because I can't do more than that. And that is really heartbreaking, the fact that more people can't do something than can. Michael. Yeah, Roland, you know, this this this looks like an execution to me. Hit 46 times running away from the officers. You know, I know most people don't advocate running away from police, but even if you do, that's not, that should not be a death sentence. That should not be a death sentence. And then he's laying there bleeding out on the ground and they handcuff him as to African-Americans, especially African-American men using cocaine and having superhuman strength. OK, so you handcuff him after you shoot him after you shoot him 90 times.

He's laying there bleeding out. You handcuff him. Well, you think he's going to jump up and beat the hell out of you or something like that? That's crazy. Just ridiculous. Sad story, sad story. So we'll see what happens next with this particular story here. All right.

Kelly, Matt, Michael, we certainly appreciate y'all joining on the panel today. Thanks a bunch, folks. Coming up next, we're going to have our final Essence Fest 22 recap. Chat with Guy Torrey. We'll show you what happened when we hit the floor and see our fans out there. And a little bit more as we recap. Essence Fest 2022 right here on Roland Martin Unfiltered

on the Black Star Network. Again, brought to you by Coca-Cola. Back in a moment. You Lots of oranges half the sugar. Lots of oranges, half the sugar, 1000% delicious. That's simple math. Say yes to simple. Made the simple way.

With real lemon juice, 75% less sugar, and mm-mm-mm! Say yes to simple. Hi, I'm Tommy Davison. I play Oscar Proud on The Proud Family on Disney+. And you're watching the Black Star Network. All right, folks, we had a great time. We were in New Orleans for Essence Fest 2022, and we kicked things off when McDonald's had a brunch for their future 22. I had a great panel discussion with Kiki Palmer,

and so here's some of that conversation. McDonald's welcomes the future. It's in the hands of the builders and the visionaries, the growers and the shakers. They're making every corner the corner office, and nothing will ever be the same. Welcome to the future. Great leaders are happening here. McDonald's introduces 22 dynamic leaders that are changing the future.

Don't miss their stories on Instagram at WeAreGolden. Hi, my name is Marvion Mabon, and being a McDonald's Super 22 has allowed me to continue to uplift my community's voice, my voice, and help really impact change into my community by using the resources that are all around me. I'm super proud and super honored and super blessed to be able to become myself at McDonald's Super 22. So what I did was I started my own business where I go and market black-owned restaurants in Houston. And so I'm proud to be and honored to be a future 22 Game Changer for McDonald's, because I know that I am possibly impacting the black community. I'm giving a voice to the voiceless, which is our restaurant and our business.

Ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh. I started my journey about nine years ago. I'm 17 years old. We started in 2013 because we saw that there was a lack of computer science being taught in the school systems, as well as black and brown people being represented in the tech space. So what changed my life was one video that I came across that my mom found on Facebook, which is titled, What Most Schools Don't Teach.

In this video, it talked about the importance of computer science and how every kid should learn how to code. So I've had the opportunity to be with a part of McDonald's. They've been supporting me since the very beginning. When we first did our computer science education camp, one week camp in person back in 2014, they supported us there. They supported me throughout the pandemic. I onboarded 300 kids into my virtual computer science and personal development class. McDonald's has been a part of my life not only business-wise

but in my family for generations. I've been eating this. I'd like to know, you know, Kiki from you, how do you prioritize yourself and your time so that you have that work-life balance and what does it look like for you? Yeah, it's a challenge. I've worked toward it for a long time, trying to figure out what the balance is. You know, I've dedicated a lot of my life to my career, and I think that dedication is definitely what reaps results.

But at the same time, you still have to realize that, yeah, you will burn out if you don't find a way to balance and take care of yourself independently of your outside goals. And so I think over the years, I picked up on things that would help me in the way that I mentally prepare myself for that and not have the guilt of not working or the fear of, oh, if I don't do this. And I tell myself, well, I'm only going to be better if I do better for myself. You know, I want to be good at my job, and I got to make sure I'm good on my own. And so that kind of helps me to get out of the vibe of, oh, you know gonna be i feel guilty because i'm not doing everything at once and so i implement things like doing yoga or like i go on retreats sometimes and you know it could be a staycation down the street at the hotel or you know it could be just staying in your house you know and not let nobody call you um i enjoy

moments with my family you know my family and i would spend a lot of time together and they help to rejuvenate me and remind me what's important because really that's what's important. At the end of it all, all you have is your family and the people that you love. So I always remind myself to make sure that I take time and make time for them because I want to share in these moments of achievement with them.

So it's just about trying. I think another big thing too is scheduling. I think we schedule so much of our work and we know what I mean, and we realize that's what we're actually meeting our goals. Crazy as it is, you've got to schedule your personal life too. Ever since I started scheduling my personal life and putting in hang out on this day, you know what I mean, seriously, hang out on this day, do this on that day,

it's helped me a lot. So schedule. Good, that's good to hear. And I think that especially for the kids today, the fact that you can admit that and say that you have to find time for yourself. And that's the most important thing. But what is one piece of advice that you would offer to them on their journey? Maybe something you wish you knew earlier in your career. If I could give anything to those game changers, the future 22, is once you continue to, you know, excel in your lane, make sure that you, you know,

turn around and tell the people. I am honored to announce that each of you Game Changers will go home with $10,000 each to fuel your missions, passions, and relationships. So, to turn and drive, we're here to give you an Thank you. Good, good. I see you always on Twitter. I'm watching it. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Well, you know, we're trying to educate a little bit. Yes, and you're doing it, you're doing it. I'm trying to do that, so.

It's so good to see how long you're here. You speaking in some more style? No, no, no, we actually got 19 people here, so we got a lot of crew and shooting on hold. That's awesome. So, yeah. We gotta get together and see how we do it one on one. Yes, let me know.

Let me know. Hold on, hold on, hold on. Hold on. I'll see you all in my sleep, too. Give me the cameras, bro. Don't say nothing. You mic'd up. I'm married.

I'm married. McDonald's. Operator. Yes. McDonald's. Operator. I fell like 29 last year. We meet in the Carrollton room on the first floor.

How's it going? It's going great. Carrollton room, first floor. McDonald's. I have a little Michael Ealy ritual. I have a train. Sheila Eve. And just. And so. And, First Floor, McDonald's. Michael Ealy, Richard Rodgers, Sheila E. And so, and a whole lot.

We don't, you know, no project. It's just a flowing conversation. Whatever you want to talk about. Oh, I love it. I love it. Yeah, we definitely should do it. Of course, I own it, so I ain't got to ask nobody. Right, exactly.

Exactly. Exactly. What's up? It's your girl, Katie Palmer, and you're watching Ruling Market. I'm Phil Wilson. There you go. All right, then. Folks, got to go to a break.

We come back. Y'all know Folks, got to go to a break. We come back. Y'all know I always got to hit the convention floor. You can't be scared of your people trying to go through the back way. And so we had a good time hitting the convention floor. We'll show you that next. And then, of course, my conversation with the absolutely crazy food guy, Tori.

You're watching the Black Star Network and our Essence Fest, the 2022 Essence Fest Festival That's a little culture. The recap, sponsored by Coca-Cola, back in a moment.. of oranges, half the sugar, 1000% delicious. That's simple math. Say yes to simple. Made the simple way, with real lemon juice, 75% less sugar, and mm, mm, mm.

Say yes to simple. creator, executive producer of Fat Tuesdays, the air hip-hop comedy, and you are looking at Black Stars Network. All right, folks, we're going to go to New Orleans and for Essence Festival, you better have some comfortable shoes. And that was always the case. We had to hit the floor, of course, to get a little work done. And just now y'all get a sense of what my world looks like

when we are in New Orleans. We'll be right back. I appreciate it. Oh, man. Now, here we go. She's got an NAPJ. Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah. So, my best friend, a hard-suit, is my interview. Okay. You ready? All right, man. My wife and I, I got to make sure my wife and I hate you. She's the hard-year. Please take a picture with me.

I'll film the difference. All right. Both of you guys, I just saw Sybil. You're great. Oh, this is it. This is what he do. Okay. Good night.

All right. Thank you so much. All right. Bye-bye. Bye-bye. Bye-bye. Bye- this is it. This is what he do. OK. Thank you so much. Thank you so much.

Landry. Hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey,

hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, I love you, man. I know you ain't gonna move it. We don't know.

Hold on. You'll get it. Hey, man. I'm just gonna jump in. I don't want to talk to you. I don't want to talk to you. I don't want to talk to you. Okay.

Love you, bro. Thank you for being our voice. Okay. What's up, man? Thank you for being our voice. It's okay. How you doing? My mom took a picture with me five years ago and she had this up of her guests there. All right. I'd like to hear that. What's your mama name?

LaWilda Bartley. Huh? LaWilda Bartley. Tell you. It's my daughter. What's her name? LaWilda Bartley. LaWilda.

LaWilda, where you at? I don't understand. Your daughter here, your granddaughter here, but you ain't here. So you need to get your act together. A-T-T-A-T-T. You got to find your old photo. Shut down. You need a new photo.

All right? A-T-T-A-T-T. All right, later. Don't forget your name. Roland Martin. That's right. I know that. I just told you.

I know that's my name. You look like I'm surprised. Well, I'm surprised. It's all right. I got it. I'm sorry. I love you, brother. I watch you all day long.

I appreciate it. I appreciate it. I appreciate it. One more. All right. You're crooked, man. Come on, man. Get up there, man. Look. You got. All right. You're crooked, man. Come on, man. Straighten up there, man.

Look. You got that, man. You got to practice that. Practice that. You can show them. How you doing? How you doing? Come on.

No, reversal. Oh, everybody else is also. Give me the phone. Give me the phone. Thank you. I got it. Thank you. Over there.

I'm going to put my deal on you. I'm going to put my deal on you. I don't want to know you, kid. I got it, thank you. I'm gonna film on you. I'm gonna film on you. I don't feelin' no you, bitch. Don't put it in her face. Use your left hand. You gonna get me? She's standing right there.

See how y'all cap was on? Oh, that one I thought. See, now I'm looking out. Just gonna throw her all the in-out things. Like, she ain't even there. You turn through the right. Cool, y'all. You move through the left.

Roll the bar to the building. Do your thing, brother. Do your thing. And jump. That's how you end a run. Go. And lift. Go.

You touch out with the right. You touch out with the left. You turn through the right. And move through the left. Right on! Bye. I'm trying'm gone. At no point did I give her. Yeah, I'm trying to understand. Do y'all need to call her younger? Do y'all have communication issues? No, well, we have each other so... No, no, no. That was not the base of her voice. So she's still...

She can't help it. She's the mama bear. She's still perturbed. Do you know the mama bear of the group? She's still perturbed by y'all. She totally has that one voice. For like 25all. Holy cow. That one was. She's been there for like 20 minutes. No way. She's actually five minutes.

It was not. So you say she's exaggerated. It wasn't. Yes. I wasn't. I'm not. So you saying she's drama queen. I'm not.

I know she is. I'm not. Really. I am, but I'm not. You are, but you're not. I mean, that's a contradiction. I stood there for like 20 minutes. I found the writer. I found the writer,

and took care of, you know what I'm saying? No, hold on, but you stood there for 20 minutes while you were like constantly texting them? Because you know that's a time stamp. No, I didn't text them. Not at all. I just waited because I was being courteous. Letting them have their moment.

Where y'all from? All over, we live here though. All over the place, we all live here. Cali, Alabama, Chicago. Okay, you see that in Chicago 20. What does that mean? I mean, I, Chicago. Okay. You should see that in Chicago 20. Nice. What does that mean?

I mean, I lived there six years. Y'all get a little extra. Alabama should have told both of y'all that I could have found my way back. Okay. You don't get lost in the world. Well then, this edition of Roland Martin's Fix My Life is over. Is it fixed? I'm sorry, this is Roland Martin's Fix My Life is over. I'm sorry, this is Roland Martin's Fix My Life. It's always

some drama. All right, y'all. Let's see here. Coming up next, y'all, my conversation with comedian Guy Torre. It always gets ignorant when the two of us get together. And so y'all are in for some laughs, so be sure to check this out. Don't go anywhere. If y'all are on

YouTube, Facebook, y'all hit the like button. Hit the share button. Let people know how much fun we're having. That was a lot of fun there. We got some other great content. We haven't even shown y'all. Man, when I hit the AT&T stage, we're doing a little dancing. That was all fun. Y'all know how we do it. We're going to go to a break.

We'll be right back. On the Black Star Network, on this 2022 Essence Festival of Culture recap, brought to you by Coca-Cola. Back in a moment.. Lots of oranges. Half the sugar. 1,000% delicious. That's simple math.

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Say yes to simple. Hello, I'm Paula J. Parker, truly proud on the proud family, louder and prouder on Disney+. And you're watching the Black Star Network. All right, fam. Guy Torre was the brains behind the documentary, actually, the Fat Tuesday. It was a documentary that was done on that, and we had a chance to talk about that, and a whole bunch of other stuff. Now, y'all know when Guy and I get together,

it's always shenanigans that take place, and this was no different. Now, when you were in school, were you always, always ready? Dude, let me tell you something. In school, it was a school bus ride. That was like the comedy show. Like, if your gear was whack, like I said, we noticed him. Oh, he got on Pumas with a Nike shirt and Reebok pants on. Oh, he advertised for everybody. He had a race car.

So then once you go to that school bus and your gear is whack, I may call it bullying now, but back then, we hitting you. That aisle was the catwalk. And when you walk down that aisle, we tan that butt up with just jokes. And that's where it starts. It starts on the school bus, and then it went on in the classrooms and the playground, and that's how you earn your stripes. Now, see, I have never cared about, for me, if the colors match, we fine. I wore it, and you were like, I can't believe he got on some Nagi pants and Adidas shoes.

Yeah, man, I'm OCD. And I literally was like, do any of y'all pay for this? See, so then when I was in school, when that actually came up, and I'd be like, I'm sorry, aren't you on free reduced lunch? Then they get mad. Damn. I'm like, nerve. And they're like, wait a minute, you came at me.

Yeah, yeah. If you can dish it, you got to be able to take it. That's my whole deal. Yeah. There's a lot of comics who can dish it and can't take it. to take it. That's my whole deal. Yeah. There's a lot of comics who can't. Some people didn't want to start fighting. There's a lot of comics who can dish it and can't take it. Because we're very sensitive creatures anyway. Right.

A lot of us won't admit it, right? Inside, we crying like a little baby. I have a lot of comics who are, yeah, sensitive. Very sensitive. And you just hold it. You just don't let it show in front of the person who's roasting you. You got to hold it and wait until you go to the bathroom and let it out. Who was the best at just roasting you. You got to hold it and wait until you go to the bathroom and let it out. Who was the best

at just roasting you? Me? Y'all know each other, whatever, and like every time you're like, damn, he good. Well, you know, at first it's my brother Joe, of course, because he had the upper hand. He's a big bro, older bro. And so

he was good at that it's actually uh you know works for essence carmen jones she's not even a stand-up but she she she comes at me with the short jokes and it's funny because she's six nine you know i call a palm tree but she but that's how we first met. I met Carmen Jones in New York in 2010, NBA draft weekend. I was in town. I was hosting the Maxwell Joe Scott Tour. And we had mutual friends at ESPN.

So I met her. She was tall. And I made a street-like joke, right? Right. And then we was trying to catch a cab, and we couldn't catch a cab. And she goes, usually the cab drivers will stop with women who was holding babies. God, jump in my arms. And all I could do was, like, I rock with you.

I rock with you. That's a good one. But she sold it. It was so sincere. Well, they usually stop with people who are women who have babies in their arms, God, jump in my arms. I was like, I lost it. I lost it.

I lost it. That's okay. I'm going to go look for Carmen. I'm going to go look for Carmen. I'm going to go look for Carmen. Let's talk about your Doc Fat Tuesday. Yeah, man. Folks have been talking about it.

It's finally out because last time we chatted, y'all were finishing editing. And so now it's out. And the thing that I think when I think about it, I sort of compare to the doc that Summer of Soul that Questlove won the Oscar for. And there's so many things about our culture that cats didn't know about. So you see these documentaries of these other people, and you swear black people didn't do anything. But when you think about the things that black people have done, and then this is where we have to tell our own story. Because otherwise, folk wouldn't know. Right. And it's funny you say that too. And Fat Tuesdays, prayerfully,

were up for any consideration. How'd you hear about Fat Tuesdays? How'd you hear about Jesus? People told you. This is how we do it. It's 1995. Comics is how we do it. It's 1995. Comics back then were Tommy Lee White. And I said, man, there's so many funny people

doing comedy in the hood, but there was no one there to see them. And I was like, okay, I'ma change that shit. The Hulk was like, Hollywood don't wanna come to the hood, so let's take the hood to Hollywood. Larry Doojey is in this room. Brad Doojey. I had no idea what the fuck I was doing. Take a hood to Hollywood. Larry Doozy is in this room. Fat Doozy. I had no idea what the fuck I was doing.

I saw Chris Rock, Chris Tucker. Martin Lawrence, Jamie Foxx. Kevin Hart. Every week, sold out. It was the neighborhood. For the first time, I was able to do black humor. Man, this was really our space. Fat Tuesday was like a melting pot. For like genius shit.

Stand-up comedy for black comedians, it was born out of some specific circumstances. He stole my radio, my couch. He stole my whole couch. Comedians take these topics, take the stress off people, and make them fucking laugh. They're playing stealing on us like we invented it. Now, we may have perfected it. I mean, yeah, we may snatch a purse, but we didn't steal a whole country and call it the United States. You would come here and the agents would see you.

Maybe you get signed. Maybe you'd get signed. Maybe you'd get a movie. Maybe you'd get a TV show. It was one of the great renaissances of black comedians being ushered in. People became stars, man. When we created Wild N' Out, Fat Tuesday was the model. Film, TV, fashion, music, we all were thriving. Yo, what's up?

Fat Tuesday was something very special to witness, to say you were there. Straight up coming from the west side. I had some fun here tonight. So, you know, prayer warriors out there, you know, we get that nod. But Fat Tuesdays is a documentary about a night I created at the comedy store to showcase black comedians. And it turned into the best damn comedy show, period. The most important comedy show, period, because so many comics came through there that are box office stars today that are that are touring you know kevin hart who opened you know essence fest man he can't do fat tuesdays and

nick kenneth discovered that fat tuesdays and mike epson uh came through so it's such it was such a platform to showcase comedians and you know it was me bringing the hood to hollywood because after the riots in 92 industry quit going to the hood to see us. So I said, you know, let me create a night on Sunset where we should be anyway and and showcase black comics. And it's funny you say that, how you would square black people and do anything because there's another cable network that did a documentary on the comedy store where I held Fat Tuesdays and there was no mention. Are you serious?

There was no—they had a five-part series, and there was no mention. A five-part series? And there was no mention of Fat Tuesdays. And Fat Tuesdays, my night out of the mouths of the Comedy Store owners, even when we were shooting our doc there, said, man, Fat Tuesdays, if it wasn't for Fat Tuesdays, we would have been shut down a long time ago. He said there were times that if it wasn't for Fat Tuesday, they wouldn't have made payroll

on Friday. And there was not one mention. That is crazy. And the documentary that was done on the comedy store. Wow. That's crazy. Yeah. But again, that's the story of black people in terms of we've saved a whole bunch of folks asses what and then that works and then when the story is told leagues it was as if we didn't exist exactly now so as you were talking about that's why i told the movies out the history books right right as you were talking about those names, one of the things that I find to be interesting is that when people, folk might say, well, what guy? I mean, how does it feel? I mean, this person, that person is so much bigger than you now. And people have said that to me with the number of people who come through my show who now appear on other networks.

Right. Who now have shows. Right. And my whole deal is, no i'm good yeah the whole point what was to create right the space for folk to be able to come in and show what they can do right so i ain't got no problem when i see when tiffany cross now invites me on her msnbc show i'm not tripping because I've had an MSNBC show. I did that. So when Angela Brown was on CNN or Gianna Caldwell was on

Fox News or Paris and ours or Michael Singleton and go on and on, that was the point to create the space because as we know, if we didn't create the space, that would have not been a space created. You understood the assignment.

And Fat Tuesdays was an assignment. And I'm glad God chose me to, you know, to be the vessel. But it wasn't about me. It was never about me. I always did it to showcase other comedians because let me tell you what happens. You know, a guy like chris benson comes to fat tuesdays a guy like kevin hart comes to uh fat tuesdays guy like kat williams comes to fat tuesdays cedric entertainer they make it and now what are they doing guy i got this show uh

they blew up and now they're employing me for their projects so it's that that's how it's supposed to be andre harrell hires diddy andre hill later working for diddy yeah i So it's that that's how it's supposed to be. Andre Harrell, how did Andre later working for Diddy? Yeah. I mean, it's like it's like I've been on Real Husbands of Hollywood, you know, Chris Pinsons called me for several years, Cedric, those guys, Cat Williams. So what happens is we're still creating opportunities for ourselves through other people. That's not why we do it. But it's a byproduct of being a vessel and being selfless. Right. And I think it's the selfless part because they're because, look, we know it's a whole bunch of folk who are real selfish. And one of my phrases, one of my phrases

is, yo, we all can eat. Yes. It's so much. Yes. No one person can literally eat. I talk about on an advertising deal. We talk about the black-owned media company. I say, y'all, Disney is so large, they can't eat all of it. Right. So what makes you think one of us is going to hoard all of the black-owned media dollars? My brother and I were talking, and I'm very serious about this. I said, if somebody came to me and said,

Ro, you can make $500 million off this deal or 10 of y'all can make $50. Which one would you take? And I told him, it would be the 10.

And I told him, I said, here's why. I said, because for me, that's now 10 family lines. That's now 10 different generations. I said, you can't take none of it with you. I said, and then if 10 of us got 50, if it's like, yo, God, let's all fly somewhere. We're going to get together and play golf for the weekend. We all can afford it. I'm tired of picking up the 10s.

Hey, no. Look, it's your turn this month, your turn next month, my turn. But at the same time, it's like with Fat Tuesdays. You said we all can eat. That was the whole purpose. When I created Fat Tuesday, I already had an agent and a manager. I was good. But I'm like, man, we can all eat.

Oh, let's go get this money. And that's what happened. The Comedy Store was that platform where industry came to scout talent. And, I mean, Chris Tucker got Fifth Element because they saw him at Fat Tuesday. Wow. I got American Street X because they saw me at Fat Tuesdays. Will Smith was in it one night and saw Nick Cannon, and they met, and then that's how

Nick blew up. Kevin Hart learned a lot of the business by networking at Fat Tuesdays. Cedric tells a story where he was in it one night, Martin was in it one night, and they said, man, we got to work together. We got to do a movie together. Next thing you know, Cedric was in Big Mama's house, too. So it's like that's what it's supposed to be. You know, Mike Epps was there one night and Cube saw him, put him in Friday and next Friday. Michael Blackson was there one night just on the lineup

and they were in there looking at Mike Epps and saw Michael Blackson and put him in the movie as well. So that's what we're supposed to do for black people is support each other and not compete but support and root for each other. That's it. That's it. Everybody can eat.

Everybody can eat. It's a lot of money. They print it every day. Right, and that's the deal. Now, what's up? You doing more movies because you look crazy, some of the roles that you played. Are you trying to pursue more of that or are you like, you know what, I'm just going to really do the comedy thing? I get that a lot, man.

I stepped away from acting for a minute, man. To do it and to do it right, it's a mindset. And the older you get, it's kind of less games you want to play. It's a lot of tomfoolery that goes on in the acting stuff. You know, they build you up and tell you how much they love you and love your work and blah, blah, blah. And you're just canceling gigs, flying back in town, you know. And then somebody who never acted before, you know, gets the role because they got more followers. And it's like, you know what, I'm too old for that.

But people have been like, man, we miss you on the big screen and da-da-da. So I'm starting to come back. When I did Real Husbands of Hollywood, I got bit a little bit by the bug. I just finished an independent film called Hope Street Holiday. Hope. Hope. I'm sorry. Hope.

Hope. Hope. Hope. Hope. Hope. Hope. Hope. Hope.

Hope. Hope. Hope. Hope. Hope. Hope. Hope. Hope.

Hope. Hope. Hope. Hope. Hope. Hope. Hope. Hope.

Hope. Hope. Hope. Hope. Hope. Hope. Hope. Hope.

Hope. Hope. Hope. Hope. Hope. Hope. Hope. Hope.

Hope. Hope. Hope. Hope. Hope. Hope. Hope. Hope.

Hope. Hope. Hope. Hope. Hope. Hope. Hope. Hope. Hope. Hope. Hope. Hope. Hope. Hope. Hope. Hope. Hope. Hope. Hope. Hope. Hope. Hope. Hope. So, yeah. So I'm getting bit by the acting bug again. But it's a mindset. If you want to do it and do it well, which I'm a perfectionist, it's a mindset.

So it's getting that mindset of committing myself to do the work. And, you know, I'm good friends with Virginia King. She's like my sister, basically. And I've been around her when she's studying and preparing for a role I mean it's her diet it's her exercise it's dissecting the script would have put a fine-tooth comb and finding and the nuances of a character and I've been around her several times when she's been doing that and it takes that that's why she's one of those greatest actors of our generation because it takes that mindset actually this here there are I've heard this a lot of paying attention to it you got some old school comedians who are when you mention how many followers you got some folks

who are not happy that individuals are getting opportunities with the social media followers that they built up and i get it my whole deal is if you ain't good i totally understand that but i love what a dude like country wayne did i love how he used social media and he posted something where and i loved it where he said they told me the only way I could hold major concerts, I could hold doing big shows in big venues, if I attached myself to another big-name comedian. He said, but I didn't. But how he used his Instagram following and Facebook to actually do what he's doing. And it was one comedian who was sort of complaining about these folk doing skits and stuff.

But I'm also looking at how he said, I'm doing $300,000 a month, working 10 hours a week. And my whole deal is, I don't necessarily see that as, well, you're not doing it right. You're just operating in a different time. And people are using venues in a different way as opposed to, oh, you need to come through the grind of the comedy circuit or whatever. Look, you take advantage of what you got. Right. And then you got to be funny. Right. First of all, I love it. It's just a new portal for the showcase themselves. I think what, as Bob Sumner calls them, social medians, I think what they're doing is great. I think that's a different skill in itself. I've tried it.

I'm not that good at it. But what Country Wayne and Kev on stage and all those other comedians are doing it, King Batch and all of them. What they're doing with that stuff is phenomenal. I mean, to create that stuff and do it on your phone and stuff like that, I applaud it. And if they step into the stand-up arena, what I hope that they do is do

the grind as well. If you want the best of both worlds. You can have the best of both worlds. Why not? Be great at the craft when they come see you and be great at that too. Right. Just put in the work. But I applaud this generation of social medians. Yeah.

I mean, I did think that, and again, I hit one person offline and I said, no, you need to be learning. Yeah. I mean, my deal is you can be an OG, but it doesn't mean that you can't learn what is happening now, how you need to make that shift. Because guess what? As you get older, you may not be able to be as mobile. Right. So now you're stuck.

Right. Now you can't hit that road. Right. Now you ain't eating. And during the pandemic, you had no excuses to learn to do it. Right. Now, you can't hit that roll with that. Right. Now, you ain't eating. And during the pandemic, you had no excuses to learn to do it. Right. You had a lot of time to find your it. I tell people all the time, young artists, whatever, find your it.

That it is what separates you from everybody else. That's your it. You don't know what it is, but when you find it, you're going to say, that's it. And I know some entertainers, man, who told me they burned through savings and all kinds of stuff because the gigs were drying up. Right. And I was having conversations with them. They were asking me, okay, Roland, what camera do I need to get? What about lighting?

Should I get a ring light? Do I need a drone? Trying to find a drone in their little-ass apartment. And I was like, well, you can get a DJI Mini, or you can get a Mavic Pro 2, or you can get this one here, or you can get the FPV. And they were all like, what the hell are you talking about? It's too much. It's too much.

But, again, I just want, especially folk who are older, yes, you may be in the game longer, but never stop learning because, to me, when his dad just, I'm playing stand-up bass. But music changed where they were interested in you bringing that big-ass bass around. And he was like, yo, and his dad said, no, I'm not doing it. And that was a cost for his family, him taking that stand. Yeah, you got to, you never stop learning, and it's okay. I mean, technology changes. Change with it. What's the problem?

Well, I agree with that. Got to ask you this here, and that is, I know how I feel about it, but I'm going to ask you, when you hear all these people who still say, oh, my God, I'm still traumatized by Will slapping Chris. I was traumatized that night. No, I'm talking about. I know that night. It's July. Yeah, I'm over it.

It happened. Right. It happened. It shouldn't have happened. And my humble opinion and my analogy of it is the fact that Will is not a stand-up comedian, but he's wired like a stand-up comedian like you are, right? But he could have done stand-up. Either one of you could have done stand-up. If you read Will's book, there was a lot of trauma in that book growing up.

Comedians are dark individuals on the inside. And we do comedy to hide that darkness. All the goofiness and all the jokes. Really something going on on the inside. And I think Will, in my humble opinion, that all that trauma that he had growing up, the jokes, the funny, he's a great comedic actor, all that

he was hiding what he was hiding through his comedy. Suppressing it. And you can only pretend for so long. And it got to the hiding that through his comedy, suppressing it. Right. And you can only pretend for so long. Right. And it got to the point where it was like, enough is enough. Because in my opinion, what Chris said didn't warrant that at all. So I think it was, if you look at First Prince of Bel-Air versus Bel-Air, the new show, I think Bel-Air is the real Will Smith.

I think that's who he really is in real life. That was the Will Smith that went up and attacked Chris Rock. And I think the first Mr. Bel Air was the masked Will Smith. So it's something deeper going on in the inside that it happened. But for the record,

I'm a big Will Smith fan. I'm a big Chris Rock fan. But that wouldn't happen to me. I'd have ruined that damn war show. I got a Napoleon complex, too? Man. Let me tell you something. You have a history of fighting.

Yeah. Hey. You got history. Well, it's dope, but you played Ali. You ain't Ali. You would have heard his little feet run behind you right in the back.

He probably would have went, something just sting me. But unfortunately, I'm not as classy as Chris Rock. So you said you would have not have kept presenting. No.

All day long, all they saw. Or every time So you said you would have not have kept presenting. No. Oh, yeah. Another fisticuffs. All day long, all they saw. Or every time on site. All you would have heard is Will Packer in the control room. Go to break! Go to break! Go to break! God told us about the storm!

Hey, man. I'm sorry, man. I'm not that classy. Has anybody ever walked up on your stage? Oh, yeah. I was in Pittsburgh one time and I was doing a Mitt Romney joke and

it happened twice. One in Pittsburgh, one in Ohio, in Dayton, Ohio. I was doing a Mitt Romney joke and this white lady took her water and threw it at me on stage. And walked out. Yeah. And then I was in... Hold up. What'd you do? I was like threw it at me on stage, you know, and walked out. Yeah, yeah.

And then I was in. Now, hold up. What'd you do? I was like, hey, man. I mean, I dodged it, but I was like, hey, sir, you need to get your wife. You need to get your wife. I said, I don't hit women unless it's doggie style. But I don't hit women, so you need to go get your wife and then i was in pittsburgh man

and i did a mitt romney joke and this old white dude looked like walter h brimley the the the diabetes guy he got up with his sons and walking toward the stage and i just walked closer to the stage but i had three friends who were uh Steelers in the audience, and they stood up, and I was like, look behind you. You're wrong. But yeah, this is before Trump. They meant Ronny and they was getting hot. Damn. You said, look behind you. The posse

back there. Right there. Yeah, so it happens, but never to the point to where Chris, but you know Steve Brown, the comedian, you know, you know, Steve Brown. And when he was at that comic club and this guy just got out of jail and he attacked Steve Brown on stage and it was he was huge. And the comic clubs had more security. I mean, security didn't jump on that right away. And Lunell talks about it all the time. It's like, it's easy for somebody to run up on stage.

Oh, yeah. I mean, you're literally, I mean, when you were the DC improv. Yeah. They right up on you. I mean, that table's like. Touching the stage. This is the stage. Yeah.

And when you're standing right there. Yeah. They sitting here. They can sit here and pull your pants down. It's that close they are. That's true, though. That's true. That's true, though. That's true. That's true.

Wow. That is wild. That is wild. So, damn, they were that stressed over Romney? Romney, yes. Yeah. I mean, I was going with the jokes. I go in.

But here's my whole deal, and I don't care. This is just the way I look at it. And I've said this to many people before. To me, the beauty of the stage. I love it. It is truly the unfiltered space. And comedians are going to say stuff that nobody wants to say, scared to say, and then they're going to multiply times 100.

Yes. And that's what, when you walk into that joint, that's like, I've covered Republican conventions, Democratic national conventions. I can't go to a Republican national convention and be sensitive about them criticizing liberals. Right. If I couldn't go to a Democratic convention and go, they really should not be talking about Republicans. I mean, again, if you walk into the venue, you know what you're going to get. Then people are like, why do they have to be so personal?

And I'm sitting there and I'm like, y'all, the beauty of comedy, nobody's off limits. Hey, I have Jesus jokes. So what makes you think you're safe? And, you know, I got jokes about Jesus. So my only no's are I don't do plus-size women jokes. I don't talk about the R word. I ain't talking about Kelly.

Women being sexually, I don't joke about that. Those are the only two things that I don't talk about the R word, I ain't talking about Kelly, women being sexually, I don't joke about that. Those are the only two things that I don't talk about. And cancer, I don't joke about those three topics. Everything else is fair game. Fat dudes, fat dudes, you fair game. But not plus size women. Not plus size women. It's low hanging fruit.

Oh, I thought one of them probably beat your ass one time. And that too. Look at the real issue. That crushed me. The real issue is you don't want to trigger somebody. Yeah, because I don't hit women. Like the doggy style. And I may not be hitting one of them doggy styles.

Those were my only three, you know. No. No. Other than that, hey. Okay. So last question. Last question. Who would you, living, living, who would you, I won't say would hate to follow,

but who would put some heat on you if you had to follow them? There's a lot I'd put a heat on me, but I wouldn't mind following them because I always try to set myself up to fail so I can win. If I think I'm one of the big kahunas in this game, I will follow somebody and see where I'm one of the big kahunas in this game, I will follow somebody and see where I'm at. A lot of comedians are like, I ain't nowhere in the world I'm going to follow Bernie Mac. Oh, yeah. I'm talking about just somebody who is so, and again, it could be somebody we don't know, but they bring it. Earthquake, man.

You know? Chake, man. You know? Chappelle, Rock. I mean, because of just, you know, the earthquake was because of his energy. You know, he's Gatling Gun. He don't stop. Chappelle with his story, amazing storytelling. If you ain't telling stories like Chappelle, you know, you don't want to follow that with your little weak- amazing storytelling. If you ain't telling stories like Chappelle, you know, you don't want to follow that with your little weak-ass

storyteller. And Chris Rock, if you ain't coming with that cadence and that energy, you don't want to follow that. And I study all three. But it'd be interesting to see where I stand. And I've had to do it before

in clubs, but not on a bigger level, a theater or an arena. But yeah. Okay, I'm going to make this the last question. What is your dream show in terms of you put

a show together right now? A comedy show? A comedy show that you know, and I put this lineup together, and it would just sizzle. Oh, man. It would definitely be Chappelle, Rock,

Quake, Kevin. You know what? Coco Brown. Gotta have some women on there, and I think that would be... Who opens? Coco would open.

Who closes? Chappelle would close. Yeah. Yeah. Now, would you pull a Motown Barry Gordy and depending upon what they used to do is whoever killed it the previous show

they would flip it well, I mean they would sit here and go they would go, tomorrow night the Supremes are closing and Marvin would sometimes be upset, but then what would happen is, Marvin go out, and then Smokey was like,

they would bring that heat, and they were like, say dog, Temptation's closing now. And then, it was like this constant deal, where they were driving them, and it was like, straight up, didn't matter. You could have had the number one record out. They'd be like,

say dog, they killed it. They killed it live. They closing. I got to have Cedric in that lineup as well. I got to have Cedric because he brings something different from all of them. What's that? Except y'all being from St. Louis. Just likable, funny, which is like stuff you really shouldn't be laughing at,

but Ced says it in a way to where he gets away with it. Okay. And so he would definitely be in that lineup as well. But here's the thing about lineups. But, yeah, I would flip it if need be. Kings of Comedy Tour. I was the first host of Kings of Comedy Tours. Me, Cedric, Bernie, and Steve.

Steve closed that show. And Steve admitted to himself he struggled coming behind Bernie. Bernie would leave that stage. There was nothing left in the building. Nothing left. Teddy Carpenter was on the live recently, and he said, he said, man, he had a shot at a major tour. And he said it was him, D.C. Curry, Tommy Davidson.

And he said, D.C. Curry, Tommy Davidson. And he said D.C. Curry came on first. And he followed him. And Terry said, he's like, D.C., dog, I need you to pull back. He said, doc. He said, one, I ain't got nothing to follow you. And he said, he said, he said, Tommy, close it because Tommy's a bigger name. Right. He said, man, he said, D.C. just destroyed that stage.

He sticks it in you and then turns it. And just your stomach is just, I mean, yeah. See, D.C. didn't learn a lesson. Eddie LaVert tried to tell Gerald. So Gerald's supposed to go into a baby phase. Eddie was like, son, look. He said, you can't go out there and do what you normally do. He said, that boy's soft.

He said, that boy's soft. I had Eddie tell his story on the radio show. Man, people calling me all over the world. I said, you don't want to say the man's soft. I just asked them questions. How you mad at me? You knew the asked that question. Are you mad at me? You knew the microphone was on.

Are you mad at me? Hey, Mike's always hot. And he said, and he said, and so he was like, son, protect the money. Don't go out there. He said, man, Gerald was out there. He was so like Eddie Murphy in Dreamgirls, you know, when he went to the white club. And all of a sudden, he said, man, Gerald Heath. And it just went there.

Man, the panties came flying out, everything. And when he got done, imagine Square Garden was sold out. Yeah, I played there before. Wasn't no tour. Yeah. And it was like, son, I told you. It's like catching the Holy Ghost. You can't control it.

When they're screaming for you and you're in that zone, nothing you can do. Yeah, I see why Steve said Bernie. Yeah, and then when I left the tour, I voluntarily left the tour, and they moved Steve to hosting and added DL. And then I think Bernie Mayer closed that tour. Oh, yeah, he did. I saw them in Houston. He closed.

Yeah. Yeah. Cat's bad, but that was a whole different level there. That's like being a musician and you're trying to follow Charlie Wilson. Oh, man. You ain't trying to. Because you ain Oh, man. You ain't trying to. Because you ain't trying to. You ain't trying to do that.

Look, Lionel Rich is my frat brother. Love him dearly. But when Lionel closed Essence on a Sunday night and Charlie came on before him. Yeah, and it's styles. It's different energies. It's nothing to do with when he's more talented or less talented. It's different energies. It's nothing to do with one is more talented or less talented. It's just a formula. But when you take the room that high, I mean, it's hard to come behind.

I mean, when somebody leaves it way up there, unless. Unless, it's just a different thing. Plus, Lionel got that underbite, too. See, we're going to go ahead and end this right now. He looks like a cash register drove. We're going to end this right now. Because, see, Lionel got so much money. He does. You can never see God told.

Pause, but I got some of his linen. He got bed sheets and stuff. You may never see Guy Torre again. Pause. But I got some of his, you know, his linen. He got, you know, bed sheets and stuff. You know, so I like him. But, hey. Forget bed sheets. I'm talking about songwriting money. I know. Well, property.

Hey. He owns a lot of property in Beverly Hills, Los Angeles. Hey. Long money. How long is that chin? Long. Long. I thought he played for the New Orleans Pelicans for a minute.

Hello. Is this your jawline I'm looking for? Yeah. That's why people don't like me, man. You calling them? You better hope Brad don't pick up. You know how I'm calling? Hey, this is Joe Torrey. Don't pick up.

Don't pick up. He actually called him, too. He called him. Hey, Roland. Barack. You know only Roland can just get, let me tell you, Barack. You know, Roland can tell. I know we did the interviews in L.A. that when I interviewed Matty Rich, he told me, he was like, he said that him and Spike had never really talked in 20 years.

Really? Really. Boom. Spike answers. You got Jesus on there too? Yeah. Then Johnny Gill. Johnny Gill asked Johnny, I said, Johnny, if you did

what kind of album do you want to do? He said, I would love a gospel album with John P. Key. I said, oh, cool. He said, I ain't nothing better. See, you didn't met John P. Key? I was like, Anthony, go get my phone. Did Johnny I go?

Yeah, shit. Johnny got that eye that goes solo sometimes. He has shade on. He has shade to get that eye. See, right there. But it's just a weak muscle. If he puts some eye agra in his eye, it'll strengthen that muscle. Oh, pray for me. Pray for me.

Yeah, I'm about to pray for you. Oh, God. Oh, God. Johnny Gill. Yeah, I'm about to pray for you. Don't call him. You're going to hold Johnny Gale? Well, you know, he's probably working on the steps for tonight. Johnny? Yes, sir. Amen. I'm interviewing Guy Torrey. And Guy.

Don't believe it. Guy. Guy is. he's been i told him i interviewed you when we called john p key and guy's been real disrespectful john he disrespected lionel richie so i hit him on facetime and then and then he then he gonna then i then i mentioned you and he was like, well, did Johnny want to follow you? And I was like, okay, I'm calling. Go on. Johnny, I got the evidence, Johnny. I got it on tape.

Hey, man, don't believe him, man. You believe a man with no neck? And trust me, you know this little cockroach said that. You know doggone well. You know the offspring of Ike Turner said that. And he said it looked like Shrek with that shirt on. Have a good show tonight, man. Well, John, when you see God tonight, trust me, look for the little Negro dressed in old Navy clothes.

I will see you tonight, baby. I'll be down front in all white. If Bobby late, let me know. I'll be on stage. Alright, my brother. Alright, please. See? I'm not the one.

All right. All right, we done. I always love rocking with you. I always love rolling with you, rolling. That's right. That's how we do it. Yes, sir. Hey, what's up?

Keith Turino, place to be. Got kicked out your mama's university. Creator and executive producer of Fat Tuesdays, an air hip-hop comedy. But right now I'm rolling with Roland Martin. Unfiltered, uncut, unplugged, and undamned believable. You hear me? All right, y'all. That is it.

Y'all see how we do it. Y'all see how we do it. Ain't nobody else bringing you the kind of content we do here on the Black Star Network. Let me give a shout out to all the folks we interviewed. We're posting some other interviews on our social media accounts. All the stuff that you've seen are going to be on our social media accounts. That boy there got no. I told y'all, me and God get together.

We're going to score on each other all day. So, y'all, that's it. It's time for us to go. Again, we want to thank Coca-Cola for partnering with us to cover the 2022 Essence Festival of Culture and to present all of these different recaps.

And so thank you so very much for their support. John Mount, thanks a bunch. Let me thank Henry, Fred, the whole team at Coca-Cola. Thank you so very much. All right, folks, I'm going to see you guys Monday right here on the Black Star Network. Y'all have a fabulous, fabulous weekend.

Howl! Thank you. This is an iHeart podcast