#RolandMartinUnfiltered - Hunter Biden Guilty Plea, New Fight for Life Book Release, Apple+ Swagger Cast Interview

Episode Date: June 20, 2023

6.20.2023 #RolandMartinUnfiltered: Hunter Biden Guilty Plea, New Fight for Life Book Release, Apple+ Swagger Cast Interview Starting with breaking news, Hunter Biden has pleaded guilty to federal charges. We will discuss what this means for the GOP lead Investigations into Hunter Biden.  We'll discuss the controversial C-Span caller who asked if black people have ever thanked white people for ending slavery, sparking a heated debate online. We will show the ridiculous video. And we have an update for you on Trump's court date for mishandling confidential government documents. The Trump-appointed Judge Aileen Canon has set a date for his upcoming trial. We will tell you when he is expected in court. A video of an incident at an Ohio Bed Bath & Beyond where a black gay couple was racially profiled. We will give you all the details about why they believed they were stopped.  Then, we have a special guest in the studio, former NFL player Benjamin Watson, to discuss his new book on the pro-life movement. Finally, we'll wrap up with the cast of Apple+ show Swagger, who will give us a sneak peek into the upcoming season.  Download the #BlackStarNetwork app on iOS, AppleTV, Android, Android TV, Roku, FireTV, SamsungTV and XBox  http://www.blackstarnetwork.com The #BlackStarNetwork is a 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. Taser Incorporated. I get right back there and it's bad. Listen to Absolute Season 1, Taser Incorporated, on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. I'm Clayton English. I'm Greg Glott. And this is Season 2 of the War on Drugs podcast. Last year, a lot of the problems of the drug war. This year, a lot of the biggest names in music and sports. This kind of star-studded a little bit, man.

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

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Pre-game to greater them. Let's put ourselves in the right position pregame to greater things. Start building your retirement plan at this is free retirement.org brought to you by AARP and the Ad Council. Today is Tuesday, June 20th, 2023 coming up on Roland Martin unfiltered streaming live on the black star network. Hunter Biden pleads guilty to three felonies. We'll talk about that and why Republicans are so mad and upset. Y'all, it's really not that big of a deal. A C-SPAN caller wants to know if black people have ever thanked white people for ending slavery. Sparking a heated debate online.

Boy, is this hilarious. A federal judge says Trump's trial date for mishandling confidential government documents will tell you when he's expected to end court to face a jury of his peers. Also, video of an incident at an Ohio bed, Bath and Beyond, where a black gay couple said they were racially profiled. We will give you all the details of that drama. Plus, we have some special guests in the studio. First, former NFL player Ben Watson is here to discuss his new book on the pro-life movement.

The cast of Apple TV's series Swagger will give us a sneak peek into the upcoming second season that premieres on Friday. It's time to bring the funk of Roland Martin Unfiltered on the Black Star Network. Let's go. To news, to politics With entertainment just for kicks He's rolling Yeah, yeah It's Uncle Roro, y'all Yeah, yeah It's Roland Martin, yeah Yeah, yeah

Rolling with Roland now Yeah, yeah He's funky, he's fresh, he's real The best you know, he's rolling Martel Martel Well, President Joe Biden's son Hunter has reached a plea agreement with federal prosecutors

in Delaware. David Weiss, the Trump opponent, excuse, the Trump appointed U.S. attorney, negotiated a deal where Biden is expected to plead guilty to two federal misdemeanor counts of failing to pay his taxes. Hunter Biden owed $100,000 in federal income taxes in 2017 and 2018, but did not pay them. He also faces a felony gun possession charge from October 12, 2018 through October 23, 2018. He possessed a firearm despite knowing he was an unlawful user of and addicted to a controlled substance.

Of course, that will likely be dismissed if he meets certain conditions. The agreement includes provision in which the U.S. attorney has agreed to recommend probation for Biden for his tax violations. The tax and gun charges will likely not result in any jail time for Biden. Now, this marks the first time the DOJ has brought charges against a child of a sitting president. The decision by Wise indicates an end to the sweeping five-year investigation of federal prosecutors, FBI agents, and IRS officials into Hunter Biden's conduct. The Biden administration has kept Wise in place to avoid having a U.S. attorney appointed by the president to oversee his son's criminal case.

The resolution suggests that prosecutors did not find cause to file charges related to Hunter Biden's dealings with foreign entities or other wrongdoing. Now, Republicans are really just beside themselves. And so they've been demanding answers. This is wrong. It's unfair. Y'all, actually, if it wasn't the president's son, it likely would have been civil, not criminal charges.

In fact, Wise actually had to respond to that idiot Congressman Jim Jordan by sending this letter to him. Go to my iPad. He says, your May 25th letter to Attorney General Garland was forwarded to me with a request that I respond on behalf of the department. While your letter does not specify by name the ongoing investigation that is the subject of the committee's oversight, its content suggests your inquiry is related to an investigation in my district. If my assumption is correct, I want to make clear that as the Attorney General has stated, I have been granted ultimate authority over this matter, including responsibility for deciding where, when, and whether to file charges and for making decisions necessary to preserve the integrity of the prosecution,

consistent with federal law, the principles of federal prosecution, and departmental regulations. That was from Wise to, again, Jim Jordan. Let's go to my panel right now. Larry Walker, assistant professor, University of Central Florida, coming to me out of Florida, Dr. Neambi Carter, Associate Professor, University of Maryland School of Public Service out of D.C., and we're joined later by Tonya Washington-Hicks,

Professor at Georgia State University, College of Law out of Atlanta. And so glad to have y'all here. So let's just be here, Neambi. If it ain't Joe Biden's son, they're not felony charges here. They're civil. I mean, we're talking about $100,000 in didn't pay his taxes. Hell, I think Lauryn Hill owed like a million and a half,

two, three million, and so did Wesley Snipes. It's a bunch of people who've owed taxes. $100,000 owing taxes is not a big deal. Republicans are beside themselves because they have been making a big deal out of this. But here's the deal. If Donald Trump actually had some real lawyers and wasn't an idiot, he could have easily negotiated a plea deal. But so, no, he's not being treated unfairly.

This is what happens when you negotiate deals. And most of the time, the DOJ pleads cases out. That's 90 percent of their cases are pleaded out. I mean, I think this is drawing, I think, to me, more interesting questions about how the rest of us get treated. I mean, I would like that people's histories of alcohol or drug addiction be actually used as mitigating factors when we're considering sentencing and other kinds of deals. So I think Republicans are going to use this, the ways that we know that they will, right, and beat their chest and talk about that Joe Biden, you know, did something improper or, you know, what about the emails? What about the computer?

Right. I mean, this they were never going to be pleased because this isn't about justice. This isn't about a rule of law. It's about attaching something to Joe Biden that they can use for the election process and probably take our eye off of Donald Trump's ball, which right now we know is in what two indictments in in numerous other charges. But as you said, Roland, I think this is key. Most things can be negotiated, particularly at this level for people with this level of resources. But what you look at with a person like Donald Trump and those of his ilk is that they refuse, right,

to come to the table and have a conversation. I honestly think the smartest thing Biden could have done here is keep Wise, who is a Trump appointee, in place, because otherwise they would have really had a field day suggesting that he put his thumb on the scales in some way to prevent his son from facing a higher level of scrutiny. But as you noted, many people owe taxes at this amount of money. This is not the kind

of money that typically gets people put in prison. But anything short of prison, they're going to say is unreasonable, unfair, and somehow unjust. I really love how it's driving these folks crazy, Larry. They're losing it on social media. I mean, listen, my colleague highlighted really a lot of important points. The bottom line is, and we know that there's the, you know, they have the Committee on Weaponization. The bottom line is, like my colleague said, they want something to use as leverage when it comes to Joe Biden, when he runs for president again next year. This is about the politics. This is nothing about the quote, unquote, rule of law, which we hear about all

the time. And they're losing their minds. But Roland, they didn't lose their minds over Trump University or the Trump Foundation. I didn't hear anything. I didn't hear those same concerns raised. I certainly don't hear the concerns raised of all the money Kushner got from the Saudis and other various other foreign entities to bail him out. So we don't hear any conversation about that. We're constantly hearing and like I said, this constant conversation about Joe Biden and what his DOJ is doing. Highlighted once again in the beginning of the show is that this individual, this attorney at DOJ, was appointed by Trump in 2018. And the FBI director is also a Republican. But there are consistently excuses for every single thing.

Once again, they can't do anything about it. Now, this is a situation that's particularly coming to an end, but of course we'll continue to hear about it on social media and right-wing media outlets. There's some kind of conspiracy, but the bottom line is when it comes to real concrete issues, like currently, like the recent indictment of Trump, you don't want to hear about that, but everything else is a conspiracy. And Joe Biden is using the DOJ, which is not accurate. Obviously, this case is based on the letter and what we see today. This is supposed to be the end, but we'll constantly hear about it over the next couple of months of an example of DOJ and Biden somehow, the Biden

administration, utilizing it to get his son out of jail. I love the right-wingers, Tonya, complaining. There are two levels of justice. Yeah, black people being known that. Absolutely. That's been our experience for as long as we've been on these lands. And I would like to see the law exercised with such compassion when we're talking about Black people who are addicted and who have committed crimes that are related to their addiction. I think that the compassion that

the president is showing for his son is appropriate for a parent to express toward their child. But I want to make sure that Black people who are suffering from some of these same illnesses are treated with the same kind of compassion. No, absolutely. I just, again, I just think these people are just so hilarious to me. I mean, all the whining, complaining, that's what they do. So bottom line is, there you go. Hunter, now he'll plead, He won't go to jail. And so be it. But it goes to show you exactly, you know, in terms of how they roll, how they feel.

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

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

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

I'm Greg Glott. And this is season two of the War on Drugs podcast. We are back. In a big way. In a very big way. Real people, real perspectives.

This is kind of star-studded a little bit, man. We got Ricky Williams, NFL player, Heisman Trophy winner. It's just a compassionate choice to allow players all reasonable means to care for themselves.

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

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

subscribe to Lava for Good Plus on Apple Podcasts. We asked parents who adopted teens to share their journey. We just kind of knew from the beginning that we were family. They showcased a sense of love that I never had before. I mean, he's not only my parent, like he's like my best friend. At the end of the day, it's all been worth it. I wouldn't change a thing about our lives. Learn about adopting a teen from foster care.

Visit AdoptUSKids.org to learn more. Brought to you by AdoptUSKids, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, and the Ad Council. I don't care about the $2 billion that Jared got from the Saudis. You know, you want to talk about how to utilize your position. Let's talk about that. Going to break.

I'll be right back. Roland Martin and Filch is right here on the Black Star Network. Hatred on the streets. A horrific scene. A white nationalist rally that descended into deadly violence white people are losing their damn mind there's an angry pro-trump mob storm to the u.s capital we're about to see the rise of what i call white minority resistance we have seen white folks in this country who simply cannot tolerate black folks voting.

I think what we're seeing is the inevitable result of violent denial. This is part of American history. Every time that people of color have made progress, whether real or symbolic, there has been what Carol Anderson at Emory University calls white rage as a backlash. This is the rise of the Proud Boys and the Boogaloo Boys. America, there's going to be more of this.

Here's all the Proud Boys, guys. This country is getting increasingly racist in its behaviors and its attitudes because of the fear of white people. The fear that they're taking our jobs, they're taking our resources, they're taking our women. This is white people. Bye-bye, Papa. Black Star Network is here. Oh, no punch! I'm real revolutionary right now. Thank you for being the voice of Black America.

All the momentum we have now, we have to keep this going. The video looks phenomenal. See, there's a difference between Black Star Network and Black-owned media and something like CNN. You can't be Black-owned media and be scared. It's time to be smart. Bring your eyeballs home. You dig? Hello, we're the Critter Fixers.

I'm Dr. Bernard Hodges. And I'm Dr. Terrence Ferguson. And you're tuning in to... Roland Martin Unfiltered. See, I told you how these right-wingers are beside themselves, and they are angry and upset with the charges against Donald Trump. I mean, they really are acting stupid. Here's the governor of, the Republican governor of Virginia.

These charters are unprecedented. This is the charters against Trump. These charters are unprecedented. This is the charters against Trump. These charters are unprecedented, and it's a sad day for our country, especially in light of what clearly appears to be a two-tiered justice system, where some are selectively prosecuted and others are not.

Parents in Virginia know firsthand what it's like to be targeted by politically motivated actions. Really? Regardless of your party, this undermines faith in our judicial system at exactly the time when we should be working to restore the trust. Y'all, these people love the pomp and the circumstance of their BS. I mean, they just love it, okay?

So, Jon Stewart actually saw that tweet from Glenn Youngkin, and on his Apple Plus show, he had a couple things to say about it. Check it out. Trump has used privilege and wealth to protect himself from legal accountability at every turn. He has lived his entire adult life in the space twixt illegal and unethical. He's in the tier where you get the platinum arraignment package. No cuffs, no mugshot, all-you-can-eat fingerprint ink. You think regular people get to surround themselves

with a meat shield of henchmen to go to prison in their place? But if you really want to know what tier Donald Trump is in, let's look at an actual fraud we know he was guilty of. He used his own charitable foundation like a piggy bank, or as it's sometimes known, embezzlement. Shocking pattern of illegality, including unlawful coordination with the Trump presidential campaign, repeated and willful self-dealing, and much more. He stole from his own charitable foundation.

How much more could... What, did he also nut-punch a priest? Like... How are non-Trumps punished for something like that? Well, some get two years in jail. Some get five years in jail. Some get ten years in jail for stealing from charitable donations. But what happened to this selfless shield-up-the-working man?

Well, he agreed to shut down his charity piggy bank and paid a two million dollar settlement or on your Trump conversion chart 15 to 16 porn star hushings. He wasn't even charged with a crime. So when people say this... Selective prosecution and it's wrong. Selective prosecution on steroids. It does feel like a selective prosecution. If his name were John Smith, Mellon Bragg would not be bringing this case.

If his name was John Smith, he'd be in jail already. He... Yes! It's all selective prosecution. And when you're in the good tier you can do whatever you want and you're probably going to be fine in fact you might even be president twice i mean right there right there uh tanya again it shows you how idiotic these people are we know first of all that sign above the Supreme Court etched in stone, equal justice under law.

We know that's a lie. We know that's BS. We know when you have lots of money and you're white in this country, you're going to be treated totally different than if you're black and poor, Latino and poor. We know this. And so I don't see these same defenders of fair and equitable justice saying anything. It's amazing they don't say anything, nor do they fight when we talk about people who are in prison, wrongfully convicted. Right now, Republicans in Missouri are fighting a black man where they know the judges.

The man didn't do it, but they want to keep him in prison. These folks can go to hell. And send us all a postcard. I think that they have selective law and order politics. So they're all for law and order when it's black and brown and poor and working class people. But what we are seeing play out in front of us is white privileged in our criminal legal system. If Trump's name was Tyrone Brown or Tyrone Washington, he would be locked up. And it wouldn't take, look at all the indictments

that are coming down the pike. Look at all the investigations. Look at how much money we've spent on impeachments and investigations and all of these things. And he is still out and may have a second term as president. And so this is white supremacy. Full stop. You know, and again, this is what it looks like.

The issue that I have when I see these other pathetic cable networks, Larry, they're not challenging these fools on this stuff. Well, they say, well, you know, if Trump was John Smith, or Bragg wouldn't be bringing this stuff. Well, they say, well, you know, if Trump was John Smith, Bragg wouldn't be bringing this case.

Well, first of all, John Smith wouldn't be paying off a porn star and using Michael Cohen to pay him off and then concealing the payments and paying them back while John Smith is running for president. You highlighted some really good points. I want to also highlight something, Roland. Can we

remember that Donald Trump and the law and terms of game challenge at the federal state level is not new? It's been going on for decades, including his father. He and his father were accused of housing discrimination decades ago. So he's really been navigating all these channels, really getting away with all these issues for years. The other thing is, Roland, a lot of these conversations about, you know, Donald Trump getting away with it from the right, it really highlights why critical race theory is important. I know two of my colleagues agree with me. This is why we need to talk about racism in America in terms of analyzing why certain groups, predominantly those who are

white and rich, as you talked about, get away with certain things, crimes, other issues, consistently, and why Black folks who commit minor crimes end up in jail for 5, 10, 15 years. It's a two-tier system, but Black folks are always at the bottom tier. And we've known that for decades. So once again, these folks are complaining about Donald Trump being held accountable when the fact of the matter is he's been getting away with this kind of nonsense for decades. And as Malcolm X once said, chickens come home to roost. Well, chickens indeed come home to roost, Niyambi.

And I think, again, this is where you have to push back on the BS and not get caught up in their drama because let's just be clear. Republicans will defend this thug at every single turn. They don't care about the truth at all. They know this man is a thug. They know he's a liar.

In fact, they're not even defending other than that stupid idiot Jim Jordan trying to say, well, he had to write and take the documents. No, he didn't, even when he's caught on tape. They're not even actually defending that. They're just simply saying it was wrong to go after him. That's the best example of a two-tiered system when you don't go after the criminal,

but you want to be law and order and you go after everybody else. Exactly, and I'm glad you said it, Roland, because I think what happens here is that Republicans want it both ways. They want to say certain people are exempt, but then they want to be the moral authority for everyone else.

And I think what we're seeing here is how they can't even hold that logic together for themselves. And that's why they're unraveling, because the more they talk about truth, about justice, heck, they couldn't even hold the line for police officers with January 6th. I mean, these people don't care about anything but winning. They don't care about anything but holding this man up because he looks like the best route to the White House. And he delivered for them three Supreme Court justices and lower court judges that they wanted. So that's all they're thinking about.

They don't actually care about the fact that this man is unethical, that this man is corrupt, that this man is morally reprehensible, that he violates everything that these people say they care about. We're talking about, you know, family values or any of those kinds of things. Yet they want us to look at them as the beacons and the icons of moral rectitude in this country. And that's why I say we have to be very careful when we start hearing white men, white people predominantly talking about injustice. Because if you let them tell it, and if you listen to what they've been saying, not just over the Trump years, but for really the last, you know, 30, 40 years since the Reagan years,

they're the real victims. They're the real people who are aggrieved here. And we have, I think, and by we, I don't necessarily mean black people, but I mean collectively, let them get away with beating this drum of white male victimhood so that anything that happens, like consequences, when you do things like embezzlement, when you do things like prevent the government from recouping top secret documents that you shouldn't have had in the first place, then everything looks like persecution. And that's really dangerous because we never really talk about what my colleagues were talking about. These young people, these black and brown men and women

who are in prison, who are in jail, who are dead for virtually nothing. Yet these people get to create chaos and cause, you know, big problems. I mean, that's the nicest way I can say it, whether we're talking about acts of sedition or other kinds of things, and nary a whisper about that. But we are not even acknowledging the real pain that the criminal justice system inflicts on regular Americans. And they want to cry about people who essentially get to go home and sleep in their beds at night while facing these big federal indictments. So I believe nothing that they say. And I think it's a shame that they are allowed to keep going around and trumpeting these things as if they're legitimate or real or hold any kind of

weight in any place. When we come back, I want to talk about, I want to have another Juneteenth conversation. And I'll say this here. A lot of people are concerned about, oh, you know, you got how a lot of white folks are responding to Juneteenth, things along those lines. Here's also one of my greatest, greatest problems or fears. All of the grossly uneducated and clueless black people who themselves don't even know our history. I'm going to show you somebody who I've engaged with back and forth today on Twitter. And I think it's indicative of this. And I think it's something that we cannot ignore as we move forward. So when we talk about how white folks need to know

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

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

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

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

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

It really does. It makes it real. Listen to new episodes of the War on Drugs podcast season two on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. And to hear episodes one week early and ad free with exclusive content, subscribe to Lava for Good Plus on Apple Podcasts. Sometimes as dads, I think we're too hard on ourselves. We get down on ourselves on not being able to, you know, we're the providers, but we also have to learn to take care of ourselves. A wrap-up way, you got to pray for yourself as well as for everybody else, but never forget yourself. Self-love made me a better dad because I realized my worth.

Never stop being a dad. That's dedication. Find out more at fatherhood.gov. Brought to you by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the Ad Council. We need to get off social media and actually begin to Google and read and learn themselves?

I'll unpack that next right here on Roland Martin Unfiltered on the Black Star Network. My early days in the road, I learned, well, first of all, as a musician, I studied not only piano, but I was also drummer and percussion. I was also a drummer and percussion.

I was all city percussion as well. So I was one of the best in the city on percussion. There you go. Also studied trumpet, cello, violin, and bass, and any other instrument I could get my hand on. And with that study, I learned again what was for me. I learned what it meant to do what the instruments in the orchestra meant to each other in the relationships. So that prepared me to be a leader.

That prepared me to lead orchestras and to conduct orchestras. That prepared me to know to be a leader of men, they have to respect you and know that you know them. You have to be the teacher of the music. You have to know the music better than anything. There you go. Right, so you can't walk in unprepared.

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I am Tommy Davidson. I play Oscar on Proud Family, Louder and Prouder. Hi, I'm Jo Marie Payton, voice of Sugar Mama on Disney's Louder and Prouder Disney+. And I'm with Roland Martin on Unfiltered. So, folks, of course, Juneteenth was celebrated all across the country yesterday, second time it is a federal holiday. And what was interesting is, you know, across the country yesterday, second time. It is a federal holiday. And what was interesting is you had a whole bunch of white conservatives who were really

upset complaining about Juneteenth. And then you had idiot people like Candace Owens who made some stupid comments trying to say, calling it ghetto. So I posted this tweet here. I said I won't even waste my time showing you Candace Owens' Juneteenth tweet, but in the words of Della Reese from Harlem Nights, she can kiss my entire ass twice a day and three times on Sunday. So this sister responded, I guess that goes for me too because I agree with her.

I don't get it. I then responded to her, learn to use Google. It ain't hard to look up the origins of Juneteenth. It has only been commemorated in Texas since 1866 and has been a state holiday since 1980. She responds, most black people never heard of it outside of Texas. And why not choose our true freedom date so it would apply to all of us January 1, 1863. Which then led me to have to educate this system by saying, clearly you have no idea what the hell you're talking about.

I said, yeah, get the hell off Twitter and go learn something. I said, first of all, January 1, 1863 did not grant freedom to all of us. In fact, Lincoln, the emancipation proclamation only covers folks who are in confederate states. He literally had no authority over those states. They were able to engage in a civil war. The emancipation proclamation did not cover those who were enslaved in union states. Nope. Only conf in Union states.

Nope. Only Confederate states. That's first. Second of all, when she says, again, why not choose our true freedom date? Again, she doesn't even understand the history because Congress did not pass the 13th Amendment. Listen to me clearly, y'all. Congress did not pass the 13th Amendment until January 31st, 1865. It was not ratified by the states until December 6th, 1865.

So now let's do the math. Congress passes a bill January 31st, 1865. So now let's do the math. Congress passes a bill January 31, 1865. Black Texans find out on June 19, 1865, about the Emancipation Proclamation that was issued two and a half years earlier.

But slavery was not eradicated or abolished in the United States until the 13th Amendment was ratified December 6, 1865. The reality is Texans, out of all of the people around the country, chose Juneteenth as the annual celebration for the end of slavery. For the black people out there who are complaining about this, do understand that out of all of the celebrations, commemorations, holidays in the United States,

Juneteenth is the only one that specifically addresses America's original sin, slavery. Now, you may not realize this, but if we're talking about Memorial Day, the reality is, and I love these people. They had some white guy who tweeted me who goes, well, all these made up. This is just a made up holiday like Kwanzaa. All holidays are made up. Like Christmas. Easter. I mean, Jesus was not born in December.

The resurrection did not involve a bunny. In fact, there was a mix of pagan holidays and the... So you got that. Then when you start talking about Valentine's Day all the rest of them you can go on and on and on but here's the thing that people don't even understand about Memorial Day who created that formerly enslaved people of African descent. Go to my iPad.

This is from the history.com. One of the earliest Memorial Day ceremonies was held by freed African Americans. At the close of the Civil War, people recently freed from slavery in Charleston honored fallen Union soldiers. So let me say this again. And the first black people who were killed in the war against slavery in Charleston honored fallen union soldiers. So let me say this again. Black people. Black people created memorial day.

Black people did. Also called decoration day. Look at this article. But it wasn't until a remarkable discovery in a dusty Harvard University archive in the late 1990s that historians learned about a Memorial Day commemoration organized by a group of black people freed from enslavement less than a month after the Confederacy surrendered in 1865. It says it right there. Took place in South Carolina.

Black people held an event to honor these particular soldiers. It says right here, bodies were exhumed, reinterred in New Cemetery, martyrs of the race course. On May 1st, 1865, 10,000 people, mostly freed slaves, with some white missionaries, staged a parade around the racetrack. 3,000 black school children carried bouquets of flour and sang John Brown's Body. Members of the famed 54th Massachusetts and other black Union regiments were in attendance and performed double time marches. Black ministers recited verses from the Bible. This is the earliest known Memorial Day celebration. But no one knows that. Because now America goes, oh, no, Memorial Day is for all troops.

Memorial Day was not for them Confederates. Memorial Day was for the Union troops. They were not celebrating them domestic terrorists who died fighting for the South. That's why I'm saying all of this. Because I've seen a number of African Americans even say, we didn't want this. I don't know who asked for this. And there's a brother who put a video up, and he was talking about Juneteenth

and was saying that he wasn't aware of it. He wasn't, and he was just being honest. He said that he did not know about Juneteenth until, you know, four or five years ago. And a lot of people got mad, upset, and I don't understand why, because what I need black people to understand is that we literally are in a country

where many of us don't even know our own history. In fact, Kenny said, am I the only person who's going to be honest about not knowing about Juneteenth until three or four or five years ago? This was the actual video that he posted. Watch this. Go to my iPad, please.

I'm not trying to ruin nothing or be messy, but I love how everybody's lying like they knew what Juneteenth was until three, four, five years ago because I'm not gonna sit here And act like my ass knew I did I heard about it, but my household we never celebrated the shit I heard about it, but we ain't celebrate the shit. I'm now now Here's what I want us to understand why this is important

Because Juneteenth is a federal holiday is in its infancy infancy. It's in, this is only the second year. And you've heard me say this before. What I do not want us to do, I do not want us to allow them to gentrify this holiday. I do not want us to allow them to now redefine what Juneteenth really is. And in fact, maybe what a whole bunch of black folks should do is actually take a trip to Texas and Galveston and follow the trail all the way to Houston and begin to understand the facts, to actually read General Granger's order, actually begin to study what's going on, because that to me is what we cannot allow. And I keep telling y'all what we have done

because too many black people have allowed us to let, allowed them to determine even MLK's birthday, how we even deal with that. I'm sick of these folk who at birthday events, we only played two MLK speeches, as if he didn't say anything else. And so literally we have to acknowledge that our ignorance of our own history, we cannot put at the feet of somebody else.

That is on us. Larry, your thoughts. You said a lot of really important things, and I think there are a couple of things that I want to say. First of all, reading is fundamental. You talked about Google. I think the second thing is relating to some of the conversation. Like I said, I saw some of them on Twitter the last couple of days regarding Black folks on Juneteenth. And, Roland, I've talked about this before. We got to talk about anti-Blackness and how some Black folks, when it comes to not just obviously recognizing the importance of Juneteenth, but other issues relating to examining the challenges that Black folks in this country have encountered, give you

a pushback. And I saw Candace Owens' comments, which are ridiculous. And obviously, she's just trying to get more followers and get on Fox News and talk about all—and once again, kind of all this anti-Blackness she talks about on a consistent basis. But the other thing, Roland, is I grew up in Philadelphia. I'm very familiar with Juneteenth. Talked about attending HBCU undergrad. We talked about it in history class. But this highlights why we get pushback in states like Florida about understanding not just Black history, but American history. A lot of folks don't know about Juneteenth,

and that's a reflection on our education system, that we're not talking about Juneteenth. We're not talking about what you're talking about Memorial Day. That's something else that I learned years ago. But a lot of black folks, and not just white folks in America, a lot of black folks don't know about a lot of these issues. They don't know a lot about it. They don't even know about the history of Kwanzaa, why it was created, right?

They don't even understand the seven principles and all these other issues. So we have to do a better job of not only pushing against some of the policies of where I'm located instead of Florida and Texas or other places, but even amongst ourselves and our community, we have to do a better job of talking to brothers and sisters. And we do that in beauty salons and barbershops. But also what you're doing in your platform, in your show, and I'll talk about before, it's also holding Black folks, other people, accountable who are espousing things that are not accurate and are anti-Black. So once again, we need a better job of educating folks, but also like we're doing on this show,

holding people accountable who are putting disinformation out there, but also the phrase and the wording you're using is anti-Black. But look, I can't, Tanya, blame the education system when we know it's never properly educated us, which means there's something that we must do for ourselves. Yes. I mean, why would an oppressor educate the people that it is subjugating? It just doesn't make sense. So we understand why there were the black codes and the slave codes that made it a crime for us to learn to read or for someone to teach us to read. And what we see now is the ignorance that is pervasive even before anti-CRT curriculum policies really take root. So while we can ask our public school systems, which we pay taxes to fund, to provide our students with a whole curriculum that reflects the truth of the American experience, I think

it's incumbent upon our churches and our mosques and our society organizations to teach our youth and ourselves what we need to know in order to be able to fight the system that is designed to oppress us. And asking someone who wants to oppress you to teach you a history that involves resistance, which is what Juneteenth is so much about, is insane. It's just not going to happen. So we have to do it for ourselves. Miambi. Well, look, I think a lot of people get caught up in sort of when Juneteenth came about and why it came about and viewed it as a diversion.

And I think we really have to talk about Juneteenth as a both-and proposition. It's both a moment to really commemorate and remember the resilience of our people and our communities, not just in Texas, but everywhere. And it is also, I think, a moment for us to remind ourselves that we still have to keep fighting. Because part of the story that I think we lose in Juneteenth, it wasn't just like people found out they were free and one day it was all over. I mean,

you're talking about people who then had to figure out how to put lives together, how to rebuild family, how to decide what they wanted to name themselves. So this is a whole moment of people remaking. Some people stay in Texas. Some people walk across the United States to try to find the life that they want. So I think that there's a lot that Juneteenth offers us as an opportunity for thinking about and really tapping into what that spirit is that is our people. And I think it's also a time to hold America to account, because there's a lot that happened to Black people after the end of the Civil War and after the end of 1866 and 1867 that

they still need to account for, from people having their lands taken, from people having their lives really just torn asunder by this white supremacist system that will still keep their foot on Black people's necks for another 100 years, despite efforts at literacy, education, marriage, all the things that we get chided for as a community. So I think, you know, Juneteenth is also a time for us to look and reflect again on America and its unfulfilled promises. We have to remember, for example, Mississippi didn't even sign or ratify the 13th Amendment until 1995. So this is a moment, I think, for us to reflect about where we still have to go. So I think

Juneteenth as a commemoration, as a celebration, offers both a time of jubilee, but also a time of introspection and a time of critique. And that's something, I mean, that Black people have done to this country and for this country. This country would not be as far down the track as it is if it were not for Black people and the sacrifices that they made. And so I think Juneteenth and this sort of nonsense conversation about Juneteenth is really a missed opportunity for what, to me, Juneteenth really, really represents. All I'm saying, all the black folks watching and listening,

do not depend on somebody else to educate our people about our history. That is on us. All right, we're going to break. We come back. Former NFL player Ben Watson has a new book out that details his fight as a pro-lifer. I'll chat with him next. Plus, in the next hour, we'll chat with the cast

of the Apple Plus show, Swagger. They are in studio. Look forward to chatting with them. You're watching Roland Martin on the filter on the Black Star Network. If you're watching on YouTube, be sure to hit the like button. Don't forget to support us in what we do.

Download the Black Star Network app, Apple phone, Android phone, Apple TV, Android TV, Roku, Amazon Fire TV, Xbox One, Samsung Smart TV. Be sure to join our Bring the Funk fan club. Your dollars make a pile. It's supposed to do what we do. Send check-in money orders to PO Box 57196

Washington, D.C. 20037-0196. Cash app, dollar sign, RM Unfiltered. PayPal, RM Martin Unfiltered. Venmo is RM Unfiltered. Zelle is rolling at rollingsmartin.com. Rolling at rollingmartinunfiltered.com. Be sure to get a copy of my book, White Fear, of the Browning

of America's Making White Folks Lose Their Minds, available at bookstores nationwide. Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Books a Million, Target. You can also download your copy on Audible. We'll be right back. Question for you. Are you stuck? Do you feel like you're hitting a wall and it's keeping you from achieving prosperity?

Well, you're not alone. On the next Get Wealthy with me, Deborah Owens, America's Wealth Coach, you're going to learn what you need to do to become unstuck and unstoppable. The fabulous author, Janine K. Brown, will be with us sharing with you exactly what you need to do to finally achieve the level of financial success you desire through your career. Because when I talk about being bold in the workplaces, I'm talking about that inner boldness that you have to take a risk, to go after what you want, to speak up when others are not. That's right here on Get Wealthy, only on Black Star Network.

Up next on The Frequency with me, Dee Barnes. She's known as the Angela Davis of hip hop. Monet Smith, better known as Medusa, the gangsta goddess, the undisputed queen of West Coast underground hip hop. Pop locking is really what indoctrinated me in hip hop. I don't even think I realized it was hip hop at that time. Right. It was a happening. It was a moment of release. We're going to be getting into her career, knowing her whole story, and breaking down all the elements of hip

hop. This week on The Frequency, only on the Black Star Network. I'm Faraji Muhammad, live from LA, and this is The Culture. The Culture is a two-way conversation, you and me. We talk about the stories, politics, the good, the bad, and the downright ugly. So join our community every day at 3 p.m. Eastern and let your voice be heard. Hey, we're all in this together. So let's talk about it and see what kind of trouble we can get into. I know a lot of cops, and they get asked all the time, have you ever had to shoot your gun?

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

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

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

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

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

It makes it real. Listen to new episodes of the War on Drugs podcast season two on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. And to hear episodes one week early and ad-free with exclusive content, subscribe to Lava for Good Plus on Apple Podcasts. We asked parents who adopted teens to share their journey. We just kind of knew from the beginning that we were family. They showcased a sense of love that I never had before.

I mean, he's not only my parent, like, he's like my best friend. At the end of the day, it's all been worth it. I wouldn't change a thing about our lives. Learn about adopting a teen from foster care. Visit AdoptUSKids.org to learn more. Brought to you by AdoptUSKids, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, and the Ad Council. It's the culture.

We daze at three, only on the Black Star Network. Hatred on the streets, a horrific scene, a white nationalist rally that descended into deadly violence. You will not be black. White people are losing their damn lives.

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

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

This is white people. Hey, what's up, y'all? I'm Devon Franklin. It is always a pleasure to be in the house. You are watching Roland Martin Unfiltered. Stay right here. Swagger tells the story of a young basketball player going through the travails of life as he is one of the top hoopers in the DMV, but also in the country. Airs on Apple TV+, created by NBA All-Star Kevin Durant and also Reggie Rock Bythewood. In his second season, here is the trailer for this year.

Basketball. Since I was a kid, I fell in love with this game. I'm on the rise. And when I'm gliding through the air, it's like pressing mute on everything else. Jace Carson has arrived. New season, new level. Get your butt to school.

Play long. Given all of your options, you have to decide. Do you want to be good at the next level, or do you want to be great? Distractions are often demanded. Don't defend me. I'm abandoned. As Cedar Cove pro, I expect you to be acutely mindful

and acutely prepared. Not just on the hardwood, Mr. Carson. Understood? Understood. Chase has got too much riding on his senior year. We need to know he's with someone who will watch his back. You did say I haven't needed anything. Swagger prep on three. One, two, three!

Swagger! Something horrible stopped because my best friend stepped up and did something about it. Unfortunately, I don't think it'll be likely that things will work out for him. All the work you've done, you're so close. And you put it all in grit. I had to. You could go to

jail. Who else was with you that night? Let's go, let's go. He attacked a man with the help of three others. Everyone is watching. Now is the time to stand with the kids. Our school's reputation is at stake. I feel like I'm drowning.

Don't let other people's opinion become my reality. Come on! The world ain't ready for what's about to happen. Not even close. Look in my eyes, I'm blinded by, I'm on the rise. All right, folks, let's introduce nearly the entire cast. To my right, far right here, Tristan McWiles. He plays his other star as Alonzo Powers. We have, of course, Chanel Azura.

She plays the mother of the star Hooper. And she calls herself a hustler, but we gave her a new name last night. And she plays Jenna Carson. To my left is my man, Bridget Rock Bythewood. He is a co-creator, writer, extraordinaire. Y'all know that man over there. Ain't got no sense whatsoever. Orlando Jones.

He plays Dr. Emery Lawson on the show. The superstar of the show, he's sitting right over there. He plays, of course, Jace, brother who goes through a whole, whole lot. We got Isaiah. How you doing? Y'all good? How you doing? All right.

Gotcha, gotcha. And, of course, ain't seen her in years since she was in Annie. Y'all know. Quarvision A. Wallace, she plays a top hooper, Crystal, on the show as well. Glad to have all of y'all here. Y'all had a busy press day, so glad y'all decided to stop by. The Black Star Network, where we keep it real black. As you can see, all the blackness in here.

That's right. This ain't no blackness in here. That's right. This ain't no regular TV show here. Reg, I want to start with you. First off, how did this come to fruition? So probably around 2018, Kevin Durant met with Brian Grazer at Imagine Entertainment. They talked about this idea of having a series loosely inspired by Kevin's, you know, sort of AAU teams, Grassroot Basketball. They met with me. I went out to Oakland. He was at the Warriors at the time. I met with KD. And and after the end of the meeting, you know, I decided I was going to go ahead and write and create this show because I really felt just a real great palette and canvas for a great series that was about basketball, but really about just youth growing up in America. What's the better basketball audio visual in the crib? Your wife's loving basketball or swagger? What's the better basketball audio-visual in the crib? Your wife's a loving basketball or swagger?

I mean, loving basketball is a classic, so we don't even touch that. Some just just, you know. Yeah, yeah, no. And, you know, look, I've been very fortunate to have really, you know, helped Gee get that off the ground. And that was like, that was like one of our first babies, you know. And so she did an amazing job with that. And that's her space and Swagger's in this space.

It's a different thing that we're going for. I mean, obviously, you know, basketball is a backdrop. But it's a different story. It's a different era. Isaiah, you're not an actor. How did you show up here? Shoot, I should be asking just like you. I mean, wow, it's been four years now that we've been at this. I met these people when I was 16 and they brought me in with open arms. I remember going to concerts and watching Mac

with my family. Chanel, she's just been so motherly to me and just everybody here is just treating me like family since I came in the door. So it's like, now we're here on season two and we still got something to say. Chanel, last night at the premiere uh which we streamed you said you play a hustler i'm like no no no you're an aggressive entrepreneur uh and and so because you don't play the mom who's sort of clueless

and being led around i mean you're like no i, no, I'm the CEO of J-Sync. Yeah. That's what I like about Jenna's character. You get to see black women, they are, they can be everything in the community and Jenna is the aggressive entrepreneur. She's also selling her Hollyann

products. It's like Mary Kay. That's her side hustle. She also has a job job. She works for the gas company. So there's some truth that he's showing from our neighborhoods. We were talking, and so you said that you have a family, a brother who plays pro basketball, but that really wasn't your thing. And so you had to compete for this role against some actual hoopers.

Yes, I did, which was interesting, to say the least. But I didn't let that stop me. I mean, I just went in like I was Crystal, and I came out feeling like Crystal, and here I am, Crystal. I mean, what can I say? Reggie, did you want a hooper or did you say, look, you're going to have to do this? Yeah, I mean, it was really, you know, in the casting process, we auditioned actors and saw what they could do on the court.

We auditioned ballers to see if they could act. And, you know, Quvenzhanay fell into the category of actor. It was like really a big question mark because her audition, there was like some serious ballers out there. But the name of the show is Swagger. And she walked in with the most swagger. She just sort of took the role. Her hooping was really good. It was promising.

She went down in her good. It was promising. She went down in her audition. It was promising. Yeah, but that's the thing, right? Because. Why she slide down the chair like, OK, I don't know. Don't do that. Don't do that.

But what we did, we had a basketball camp. You know? But I just wanted to tell you this one thing. So in the audition, she gets down on the floor, bust out these push-ups where the ball is in one hand. She slides it over to this hand. She slides it over to that hand and nobody else was doing that. So just that, that grit, that determination. And we gave her like three months of basketball training and you know, she came out legit. Well, I know you happy you didn't have to hoop with these young boys. I did., yeah. I did. I played with them.

I played with them the whole time. The whole time. Really? I did. We did two-a-days. We did everything together. Yes. How about your fans?

Hey, listen, I let Isaiah speak for me. In my day, I can certainly play. So it was just fun to be on the court, fun to play with them and hang out. So you're talking about two months ago. In your day. Exactly. What? They just had me run up and down the court with them a couple months ago.

Right. But don't get me wrong. Orlando's a hooper. I remember 20 years ago seeing him ball. And so when his role came up, I knew I wanted Orlando for his chops. Seeing him ball what? Were you ever doing Biker Boys? It was, yeah, it was actually like before that, right? Yeah, before that.

Before that. Before that. Yeah. Okay. We met, actually, Orlando and I met in the writer's room in a different world. And that's where we met Gina. That's where I met Orlando. But Orlando was balling. And that's where we met Gina. That's where I met Orlando.

But Orlando was balling. And so I always remembered that. And so there might be a little surprise. Could be. Orlando might end up with a basketball in his hand in season two. We'll see. It's possible. It's possible.

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

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

on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Binge episodes 1, 2, and 3 on May 21st and episodes 4, 5, and 6 on June 4th. Add free at Lava for Good Plus on Apple Podcasts. I'm Clayton English. I'm Greg Glod. And this is season 2 of the War on Drugs podcast. Yes sir, we are back. In a big way. In a very big way. Real people,

real perspectives. This is kind of star-studded a little bit man. We got Ricky Williams, NFL player, Heisman Trophy winner. It's just a compassionate choice to allow players all reasonable means

to care for themselves. Music stars Marcus King, John Osborne from Brothers Osborne. We have this misunderstanding of what this quote-unquote drug thing is.

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

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

I always had to be so good, no one could ignore me. Carve my path with data and drive. But some people only see who I am on paper. The paper ceiling. The limitations from degree screens to stereotypes that are holding back over 70 million stars. Workers skilled through alternative routes rather than a bachelor's degree. It's time for skills to speak for themselves. Find resources for breaking through barriers at taylorpapersceiling.org. alternative routes rather than a bachelor's degree. It's time for skills to speak for themselves.

Find resources for breaking through barriers at taylorpapersceiling.org, brought to you by Opportunity at Work and the Ad Council. Got it. Matt, how did you get involved in this? Honestly, Reggie, you know, Reggie called me when he was doing the casting for this and told me about this character that he's like, listen, I have this character. Everybody's not going to necessarily like him, but he has this like five page monologue that I need somebody to land. He's like, I keep on telling everybody about it.

Everybody's like, who's going to, who can do this? And I'm like, trust me, I got the kid. I got the guy. And he was like, you know, just let me know how you feel. And sent me this journal entry about the character. And literally, the rest was history. One of the things I think is really interesting, in terms of how you integrate one social media into this,

the vibrancy of colors as well, which you're not just dealing with basketball and academics. I mean, you're really dealing with all the other things that a young brother in a single household has to deal with here in the DMV. So talk about putting all of those elements together to make for a nuanced and rich storyline. Yeah, well, I just really call it, you know, having a view from every seat in the house.

You know, so we wanted the perspective of the basketball players, the coaches, the educators, the moms, the dads, those that are really doing everything they can to help, you know, an individual, you know, reach their goals, and those that are just in the way, you know? So that's really a part of it. And look, we really take pride in the basketball and the show.

We really take a lot of pride in the way we shoot it with our camera operator and roller blade. Yeah, I don't think there's anybody, I don't think there's a basketball game, a basketball show that's better than ours when it comes to our cinematography and our actual basketball. I can't, I'll put money on our team right yeah and and as as important as the basketball is really at the end of the day it's really like about holding a mirror up to society um reflecting on what's going on in the world and maybe even suggesting where we need to go hold tight one second we're're going to go to break. We come back more with the cast of Swagger.

Also, my panelists get an opportunity to ask a question as well. Folks, be sure to check it out on Apple TV+. You straight with that, Jessica? Apple TV+, you good? All right, y'all. I'm just messing with her. And then, of course, we'll be back in just a moment. Don't forget, download the Blackstone Network app, Apple Phone, Android Phone, Apple TV, Android TV, Roku, Amazon Fire TV, Xbox One, Samsung Smart TV. Support us in what we do by joining our Bring the Funk fan club. Send a check money order to PO Box 57196, Washington, D.C., 20037-0196.

Cash app, dollar sign, RM Unfiltered, PayPal, or Martin Unfiltered. Venmo is RM Unfiltered, ZL, Roland Unfiltered. Venmo is RM Unfiltered. Zelle, Roland at RolandSMartin.com. Roland at RolandMartinUnfiltered.com. Be sure to get a copy of my book, White Fear, How the Browning of America is Making White Folks Lose Their Minds. Yep, I said it. A man was like, damn, really?

Sure did. Somebody had to say it. Get your copy. Bookstores nationwide. Vons and Orgles. Amazon. Ben Bella Books. Books a Million. Target. Get your copy. Bookstores nationwide. Vons and Orgles. Amazon. Ben Bella Books. Books a Million. Target. Download your copy on Audible. We'll be right back. Hatred on the streets. A horrific scene. A white nationalist rally that descended into deadly violence.

On that soil, you will not be. White people are losing their damn minds. There's an angry pro-Trump mob storm to the U.S. Capitol. We're about to see the rise of what I call white minority resistance. We have seen white folks in this country who simply cannot tolerate black folks voting. I think what we're seeing is the inevitable result of violent denial. This is part of American history. Every time that people of color have been killed, they have been killed. This is the time that we have to stop the violence. This is the time that we have to stop the violence. This is the time that we have to stop the violence.

This is the time that we have to stop the violence. This is the time that we have to stop the violence. This is the time that we have to stop the violence. This is the time that we have to stop the violence. This is the time that we have to stop the violence. This is the time that we have to stop the violence. This is the time that we have to stop the violence. This is the time that we have to stop the violence. This is the time that we have to stop the violence. This is the time that we have to stop the violence. This is the time that we have to stop the violence. This is the time that we're seeing is the inevitable result of violent denial.

This is part of American history. Every time that people of color have made progress, whether real or symbolic, there has been what Carol Anderson at Emory University calls white rage as a backlash. This is the wrath of the Proud Boys and the Boogaloo Boys. America, there's going to be more of this. There's all the Proud Boys guys. This country is getting increasingly racist in its behaviors and its attitudes because of the fear of white people.

The fear that they're taking our jobs, they're taking our resources, they're taking our women. This is white fear. We talk about blackness and what happens in black culture. We're about covering these things that matter to us, speaking to our issues and concerns. This is a genuine people-powered movement. There's a lot of stuff that we're not getting. You get it.

And you spread the word. We wish to plead our own cause to long have others spoken for us. We cannot tell our own story if we can't pay for it. This is about covering us. Invest in Black-owned media. Your dollars matter. We don't have to keep asking them to cover our stuff. So please support us in what we do, folks. We want to hit 2,000 people. $50 this month. Rates $100,000. We're behind $100,000. So we

want to hit that. Y'all money makes this possible. Check some money orders. Go to P.O. Box 57196, Washington, D.C., 20037-0196. The Cash app is Dollar Sign RM Unfiltered. PayPal is RMartin Unfiltered. Venmo is RM Unfiltered. Zelle is Roland at RolandSMartin.com. Hey, what's up, y'all? I'm Devon Franklin.

It is always a pleasure to be in the house. You are watching Roland Martin Unfiltered. Stay right here. Folks, welcome back. Talking with the cast of the Apple TV Plus show, Swagger, entering its second season. So I'll start with this here. So we talked about, obviously, how it's all set up. I want to talk about improvising.

How much room does Reggie give you all to create, to flow? You got something that's written, but the ability to be able, if you see something, and the ability just to be able to say, let me run with this in a different way. You want me to leave the room? No. No, I think that's one of the beauties of working with Reggie.

You know, and sometimes it's not us. Sometimes he sees things literally on the fly that, oh no, no, we need to fix this. Yo, throw this in there. Reggie's king of that. Yo, throw this in there. Say this line. Or whisper something in your ear just to kind of see

how the other person reacts to how that works. But he gives you space as an artist to kind of just, to paint on his canvas. Because not everybody wants you to paint. They're like, no, read them damn lines that's written. Tricks. No, he always gives us room to work. I mean, for me, especially on the basketball court,

I get to do a lot of my thing and kind of give head nods to iconic moments in the NBA and iconic moments throughout the culture. It's really fun to work with. Look, I don't feel like you need to change the words. Does it

give you space? Absolutely. I mean, I feel this character is as much Reggie's as it is mine. But writing-wise, I feel like I often stick to the words because they're beautifully crafted. Reggie's my favorite writer. I'm not shy about that. So I feel like it's, you know, I want to do what he kind of lays out.

It's called job protection. Way to go, Orlando. Way to go right there. That's a good one. That's a good one. Your thoughts? You're going to get the same thing. Yes.

It's very well thought out. The room that he puts together before we're even brought into the room, he has people and they're taking from all of their stories and they're putting it together. I even talked to, I'm sure he had talked to people before he wrote the words, you know? So it's very well thought out and when it comes to us, it's like, oh, I know this person in my community. I want to show it.

Also, he kind of writes for us. He listens to the way we talk and he writes things that just flow with the way you know we already have our dialect so we say listen to how we talk meaning overhearing the conversations off camera and then and it's essentially writing in your voice i mean that and we've had long discussions before shooting just about where we're at in our lives you know this is a real director he likes to really touch base with us i think that's the most fun thing about working with him what you got i mean everybody didn't take everything that i could possibly say

i feel like we went around the table right right i'm gonna give you some insight into it yeah go ahead really at the end of the day, it's not about the words. It's about the subtext. It's about what's underneath it. So a lot of times with ad-libbing, it's appropriate, but a lot of times ad-libbing, you will go and say what it is your character is feeling. And in our show, we really lean into the silence,

the power of silence is what we talk about. So really the biggest space that we play in is not even the words. It's just the meaning beneath the words. And that's really where we find our gold. Also facial expressions. Also things like, it's interesting watching it, holding a lot of those shots for a long time. I think about when Steve McQueen did 12 Years a Slave, how he used silence for like long, like you're watching and you're going, okay,

they're going to cut now? He took it 15, 18, 20 seconds versus four or five. Yeah, so I mean, the power of silence

is very, very important and just, you know, and also I have like a great writing staff, you know, so it's not me

banging out the scripts, you know, but just. How many different writers on the team? What is it, like eight? Let's see, yeah. Got the producer off set, so just help me out,

but it's me, it's Steve, it's Joy, it's Raquel, it's Rebecca, it's JM, it's George Dorman, and Autumn, eight of us, right? Yeah, eight of us. Questions from my parents. I'll start with Niambi. Your first. Okay. Well, thank you.

And I appreciate you all being here. What I was curious about is how you all decided on the location for filming because that's as much a part of the show as all the other scenes. So how did you decide on location? Okay. I'm going to just sort of give you like the real, real answer, which is...

No, give us a fake one. Give us a fake one. Well, you know, well, there's a soundbite version, but here's the reality. It's my show. You can do a soundbite. You can just talk. So I was looking at very...

Ain't no producer in my ear. Okay. I own this shit. Don't worry about it. Go ahead. You can say shit on So I was looking at various... Ain't no producer in my ear. Okay. I own this shit. Don't worry about it. Go ahead. You can say shit on your show, too? I can say shit on my show because I own this shit. So I was looking at various locations.

Aggressive entrepreneur. I was in this particular place in Richmond, which is where we did the bulk of our shooting. We did some in Maryland, but I was going down this particular street, and I looked back and I said, hey, can we turn down this street instead? I don't know why, Roland,

but I said, let's turn down this street. We turned down this street. There's a community center. I said, can we go into the community center? I'm on. We go into the community center. I said, can we go into the community center? I'm on. We go into the community center, and I see this gym that has blue, yellow, and red. Now, the deal is, prior to me going there,

I Googled paintings on Emmett Till. Emmett Till, the most famous 14-year-old in American history. Our characters were 14 years old when we started, and the colors of this painting by Lisa Whittington had prominent colors of blue, yellow, and red. And I started to call it Emmett blue, Emmett yellow, Emmett red. So I go into this gym, it has those colors,

and I just felt like it was like a spiritual connection and it was a lock, and that's what we ended up shooting there. Cool, cool, cool. And again, just so you know how we multitask, you were talking about, Lisa showed me that piece of artwork last night. And it was quite provocative. Go to my iPad.

There it is right there. That's it, right? And so when I saw this, right, so here's the deal. Like if you look at the left side of the painting, there's the blue, there's the yellow. Right. And that's the hope and optimism and everything that we really aspire to have happen with our kids. And the other side, you know, the eyes gouged out and represents all the pain. And so like even in the red that's in that stuff, that's like in that gym, red was out of bounds. And this is the way we sort of work and operate,

and I work with my DP. So we really very specifically looked at this painting, and that became my color palette for the series. All right. Go, LeCoultre. Larry. Yeah, great show. I'm a longtime basketball fan. I want to talk about some of the lessons that

the show teaches right there are a lot of recently some nba older ballers who've been in the news making bad decisions what are some of the lessons some you know probably young prodigies young brothers and sisters who come in through the pipeline what are some of the lessons they can learn from watching your show to kind of consider, particularly when it comes to who's family, who's not family? He's like, mm, mm. Wow. Look, I think navigating what it must have meant to be as young as Kevin Durant was moving from high school

to pros, that's a young man becoming a man. The pitfalls that you can run into in those situations are many. So I think what you get from this show is how difficult those things are and how a community of individuals is what helps you navigate that. That's the word, right?

Like community. It is a community. Like that's what we are imparting in our show and to our audiences, the strength and power of community. Tanya. Yeah, so congratulations on a successful first season. What are you looking forward to doing differently in the second season?

Are you going to take any risks? Are there things that you're going to do differently having a successful season under your belt in this upcoming one? Who wants to take that? I think first and foremost, it's not about changing the recipe, especially if people like it. Consistency is key. But I do think that we take it up a notch. I think we take it up a notch.

Grab the microphone. Microphone. Oh. Sorry. I do think that we take it up a notch this year. I do think that we take it up a notch this year. I do think that we, you know, it's not... We take it up a notch in basketball. The way that these boys are playing basketball are...

They're playing on a whole other level. You know, it's ridiculous watching them. The acting is superb. You get a chance to see these guys performing at such a level that you forget who was just a basketball player and who was an actor. Everybody's kind of bringing their A game. But I also think that the stakes are a little higher for everyone involved. You have all of these people who are now in

such high places in their life that a fall can be detrimental to their entire life. So, yeah. Everything, it just feels like the stakes are just raised a lot higher. Cool, cool. Now, again, I was improvising.

So, Ben Watson played 15 years in the NFL. He's next on the show. Come on, Ben, come over here. Look, I don't follow no rules because I told you I ain't got to ask nobody. That's precisely. All right, so come on. Just stand right next to Mac. Hand that microphone right there. All right, so come on, just stand right next to Mac. Mac, hand that microphone right there.

All right, Reggie, so you've got a cat played 50 years in pro ball. 16. 16, all right. I forgot the final season. It all counts. I got it. 401K. I got it. And with seven kids, all 16 count.

What would you want to ask a former guy who played the highest level that could possibly work within the integration of this show and the character? I know a lot of cops, and they get asked all the time, have you ever had to shoot your gun?

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

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

We are back. In a big way. In a very big way. Real people, real perspectives. This is kind of star-studded a little bit, man. We got Ricky Williams, NFL player, Heisman Trophy winner. It's just a compassionate choice to allow players all reasonable means to care for themselves. Music stars Marcus King,

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

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

And to hear episodes one week early and ad-free with exclusive content, subscribe to Lava for Good Plus on Apple Podcasts. Here's the deal. We got to set ourselves up. See, retirement is the long game. We got to make moves and make them early. Set up goals. Don't worry about a setback. Just save up

and stack up to reach them. Let's put ourselves in the right position. Pre-game to greater things. Start building your retirement plan at thisispretirement.org. Brought to you by AARP and the Ad Council. What's the level... What's the level of commitment? Brandon, get me in the chair, please. Go ahead. What's the level of commitment it takes to be good

versus excellent versus elite? That's good. Good, excellent, elite. So part of that is your genetics. I'll just throw that out there. Thank you, sir. So when it comes to being good, excellent, and elite in sports,

some of that is what your mom and daddy put in you. But within that, there are levels. Like I play with a guy, you may have heard of him, named Tom Brady. Now, Tom, people think he's not athletic. He is. Slide that chair over here. He's tall. He's tall. But what he did was he was able to,

he would be the, you know, they say the first one in, last one out type of thing. It wasn't just that. He was able to relate in a way to his teammates in a team game to where he is 40-something years old and 22 year olds feel like he's their best friend that that's beyond sports that's beyond breaking down film and beyond understanding all the nuances of the game that's relational and when you're talking about a team sport and lifting all boats and lifting everybody else around you so that help you help you be great a lot of it is about being relational. That's what I think people forget about,

especially at the quarterback position. And so, I mean, finding whatever is your niche. I had a coach who always talked about doing your job, doing it well, but finding your niche, what you do well, and then working on your weaknesses, but make sure your strength is always your strength. Isaiah, you're a hooper and an actor. He played the highest level.

What you got? I didn't play no basketball though. I was terrible at basketball. I fouled out all the time. They had a character who fouled out all the time in season one, but he got better in season two. That would have been me. That's Royale. I'm trying to think of the question,

but the kind of second what you said about being a great teammate, that's something that kind of like goes unsung. Everybody's worried about the points and putting on for the team, but it's those guys who really see the other players on the team that make those players want to play with you. That goes all the way up and down You know the the highest levels. I think you could have a short memory Yeah, you gotta have a short memory

I just I'm just saying I just heard somebody literally say that exact that's a day sect I Did you do I have a really short memory. Why? Yeah, what I mean by that is nobody's going to be perfect. No matter what profession you're in, unless you're rolling, you ain't never going to be perfect. So you are going to make mistakes. You're going to throw a bad pass.

You're going to miss a shot. You're going to miss a rebound. You're going to turn the ball over, those sorts of things. Who is mentally tough enough to do those things and not allow it to impact their play? Those are the guys you see us in. There are a lot of folks who have a lot of talent, a lot of folks who work hard, put in the work,

but mentally they're unable to get over the obstacle or the hurdle of failure. And so they either draw back and they don't extend themselves because they're scared of failing, or when they do fail it impacts them so much that they're rendered useless with whatever else uh is is could have could have been in their future i think that's like the hardest thing as a parent and we see parents do it i try not to do it roland you know but it's like you know when you have children that

are athletes and i have a i have one who's a D1 athlete, plays baseball, it's allowing them the opportunity to fail and to come back. Because often when your kid fails, that hurts. And then you pass that on to your kid and then they get the wrong message. So much of that, and we see it in the show, but so much of, like, the coaches, the parents, like, not wanting that kid to ever fail. I don't think that's just sports.

I mean, I raised six of my nieces, and then there were a lot of times when they would do stuff and I purposely would not intervene. And they would look at me, and I'm like, no, I'm not going to help you. And they'd be like, what do you I'm like, no, I'm not going to help you. And they'd be like, what do you mean? I'm like, I'm not going to help you. Because for me, and I apply the same thing

even to what we do with the show. The greatest thing for me, anybody who works for me, is I need to see you think. I need to see you think your way out of this problem. I know I can come up with a solution that quickly, but I need to see you think your way out of this problem. I know how I can come up with a solution that quickly, but I need to see you think your way out of the problem because if you can think your way out of the problem while I'm standing here,

you'll be able to do this when I'm not here. And I think that's part of the thing. And so, again, as I look at, and this is in terms of how I even look at many shows and even movies, there are so many multiple lessons that can be applied. So it's not solely about just what happens in sports, but you can take the exact same thing and literally apply what he's talking about to acting,

apply it to media, apply it to being a publicist, apply it to being a business manager, all of those different things. Go ahead, Ozzy. With that being said, I've got a question for you. How far did nutrition go in your high school to pro timeline? Your body changes, my friend. Yeah. It was always funny.

I remember playing and, you know, I see these guys come in, receivers, dudes that can run fast, you know, can run all day. And they come walking in with McDonald's, Wendy's, and everything, right? But then you would see the guys that were like 10, 12 years in, boy, they eating, you know, the baked chicken, the vegetables, leafy greens, their plate looks like, you know, all the colors of the rainbow are all represented on their plate. And so you learn those things over time.

One thing somebody told me when I first came into the league is that you know Don't let football use you use football in essence They were saying use this this opportunity use this gift and also if you take care of your body Your body will take care of you I think that applies to a lot of different things But if you take care of your body as your machine which it is Especially in athletics, and what you put in and how you fuel yourself, it'll take care of you.

You know, it's another thing that a lot of people are talking about now they didn't talk about before. So we have the nutrition. The other component, sleep. Yes. Like, like, actually, actually, hold on one second. Hold on one second. Can y'all hear me? Can y'all hear my phone? Uh-oh. Who's that? Spud, can you hear my phone? Can you hear me? Is that who I think it is? Pull it up.

Can y'all get an audio? Don't do that to me right now. I'm right here. I'm going to start. Spud. We have you on the radio. I'm going to cut your ass out. No, Spud.

I got your punk ass on my TV show, so stop blowing cigars damn small. We're talking about nutrition. Right smoke. We're talking about nutrition. Right, so we're talking about nutrition. So, Spud, I'm on the show. I'm talking with the cast of Swagger. Ben Watson just brought up the importance of nutrition. I want you to tell the story of when Moses Malone made you come to breakfast and taught you about nutrition.

No, yeah. I probably would. Now, Moses get up early and eat. I don't get up early because I probably would just get in. I'm single. So he called me to come over to his house to have breakfast. And he got all this fruit and all this stuff. Yeah, by the time I got there, he had already ate

because he get up way earlier than me. He used to eat real healthy. I didn't. So you wanted some pancakes, grits, bacon, eggs, and you said he had this huge platter of fruit in front of you and he taught you as a rookie how to eat to survive in the NBA.

Yeah, first I had to bring my newspaper, though, because I was a rookie. But Isaiah Hill is the star of the show Swagger, and he was a little shocked by me sitting here calling you. So let me just pass him the phone. I told you, we do whatever we want on this show. So there you go. Ask him whatever question you want to ask him.

Salute, legend. How you doing? What's up? Okay. So, you know, what do you have to say, you know, to the youngins that are kind of coming up and, you know, trying to follow in your footsteps, I say? I work with a lot of –

Not the cigar-smoking part, the basketball part. Yeah, I mean, I work with a lot of pit bulls that just, you know, can just tear it up on the floor. And, you know, you are probably the pioneer, one of the lead pioneers in that. So, you know, what do you say to those kids that are coming up now? Because, you know, we have one of those on our show, Musa, that he's not stopping now. He's trying to dunk. He's trying to take it to the next level. So, you know.

What's your advice, bud? You know, you got to work on your game, man. Most guys, you got to get in the gym so you can work on your game you know most people try to find some weakness you have like when i first came in they say i couldn't go left i couldn't shoot threes and stuff like that so i just stayed in the gym working on my game where i could uh try to because doc rivers would tell me like man if you want to stay in the n, you got to get a jump shot. You just can't drive past

everybody. So every year, every opportunity I got, I try to work on my game to get better. And that's why the last, like, 10 years of my career, I started because I got better at shooting free throws, you know, got better at defense. Well, you get over

picking roles back then, but you have to get in the gym and work on your game. Nowadays, I work with the G League team. You know, you can't shoot most of the time. You're not going to get picked up if you can't shoot. Well, look, go work on your golf game with your new hip.

Hey, I got an 18-year-old hip now, boy, it's good. I'm going to look forward to taking some of your cigar murder to golf course alright alright baby I'll ask you love you brother see we do whatever I know a lot of cops

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

one visionary mission. This is Absolute Season 1. Taser Incorporated. I get right back there and it's bad. It's really, really, really bad. Listen to new episodes of Absolute Season 1, Taser Incorporated, on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

Binge episodes 1, 2, and 3 on May 21st and episodes 4, 5, and 6 on June 4th. Add free at Lava for Good Plus on Apple Podcasts. I'm Clayton English. I'm Greg Glod. And this is season two of the War on Drugs podcast. Yes, sir. We are back. In a big way.

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

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

it real. Listen to new episodes of the War on Drugs podcast season two on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. And to hear episodes one week early and ad-free with exclusive content, subscribe to Lava for Good Plus on Apple Podcasts. Here's the deal. We got to set ourselves up.

See, retirement is the long game. We got to make moves and make them early. Set up goals. Don't worry about a setback. Just save up and stack up to reach them. Let's put ourselves in the right position. Pre-game to greater things. Start building your retirement plan at thisispretirement.org. Brought to you by AARP and the Ad Council. Final thoughts. I'll go around. I'll start with you. This season, not giving anything away, but what should folk expect to feel? Season two. folk expect to feel season two? Our community can feel like they are seen

this season. I think that I want people to feel heard. I want people to feel like they can relate to what they're watching. Matt? I want people to feel loved.

I want people to feel empowered. Because there's so many different perspectives in the show, you feel like what you're seeing is about more than basketball. Somehow. You feel like what you're seeing is about more than basketball. Somehow you feel like what you're seeing is about a part of your life. So I think that's something special about Swagger. I want people to feel the strength and the vulnerability,

just embracing each other and our community and making the most of the time we have. Reggie the question for you is why should people not skip the intro? I talked to Lisa last night. Oh you mean the main title? Well the intro once you would you mean in terms of could a lot of times they skip intro right so she and I had a long conversation about what y'all put into the intro. Right, right. And how important that is.

Well, the intro, the main titles was created by Lisa Whittington, the same artist who did the Emmett Till painting. And we really talked about how our characters in their own right are works of art. And she created a main title sequence. She painted a sequence with the community, with our players, and it's real work of art and she created a main title sequence. She painted, you know, a sequence with the community, with her players and it's real work of art. And there are storylines throughout that. Yeah. And so, you know, you won't know what the storylines are when you first watch, but when you go back, you'll see it and you'll see it. And can I take that question you got to everybody?

Go ahead. You know, I want to say also what people could expect is, number one, like the best shot basketball on TV. And, you know, so our camera operators are rollerblades, and we do that to really have the audience feel like they're a part of the action. But the other part of it is the reason why the basketball has to be so good is because we need the audience to lean in. And so while you're leaning forward, we're going to hit you with the truth. Cool, cool. Glad all of you are here. Before we go, I'm going to give somebody a shout out.

She's not going to like it. So Jessica is sitting over there. She does PR. Come on here, Jessica. Yeah, I did it. Come on. Roll that chair over here. Come on. So Jessica is sitting over there. She does PR. Come on here, Jessica. Yeah, I did it. Come on. Roll that chair over here. Come on.

I want to hear all that. So it don't matter. So she'll get over it. So Jessica, so let me explain to y'all how we met. So Jessica was a student. Where were you in college? I was at University of Iowa, but I was interning for Boundary. Okay.

So she was at University of Iowa? All right. So we're at National Association of Black Journalists convention. What city were we in, Milwaukee? Um, I think it was Indianapolis. Alright, one of them cities. So, she's interned with Don Lemon in Chicago, and there was another sister who was in Chicago. And our convention is four days, so it's like like Friday, and convention really gets going Friday, Saturday. So they about to bounce. And I'm like, where y'all going?

And so they said, look, we only have money to be here for a day and a half. They were like, we were here Thursday, half day Friday, we gotta check out of this hotel. And I was like, now mind you, I came to Stutt in 1989 with my first convention in New York. I was like, y'all gotta, I said, it's a lot more the convention you gotta see. I was like, y'all got to, I said, it's a lot more of a convention you got to see.

They were like, look, we broke. We broke. Straight up, we said, we broke. So I was like, all right, where y'all staying? I said, come on with me. So I walk over, walk over to the hotel. I'm like, all right, I need you to extend their room for the next two days. They look at you, they're like, is he joking?

I'm like, no, I'm not joking. Put the credit card down, extend the room. I was like, all right, y'all enjoy the convention, and walk the hell off. And then it was years later when she's at Fox, and we were at NABJ DC, and was it Shots? Shots fired, Shots fired. And so they had a panel, and she was like,

no, no, no, Roland has to do the panel. Now I completely forgot I did all this uh and then she then we get on it was an email she then she reminds me of the story uh of the importance of again uh paying back so it sort of came full circle she's like no no you gotta I gotta have him do this panel do this panel uh and then of course uh she leaves uh leaves Fox joining Apple and so uh appreciate all the great work you've done bringing folks in. See, that's right. Bring that chair over here.

I've got to shout you out. And the reason that's important, because, again, it's a lot of folks. I was one of those folks who came to our first convention. All I had was $75 the last four days. Luckily, we had a whole bunch of free receptions. So I ate at every reception to extend that $75. It's all important. So congratulations to y'all.

Congratulations, Jessica, being an Apple TV+. Looking forward to season two. And thanks for coming and hanging out with us on the Black Star Network. Thank you. Congratulations to you, too, brother. I appreciate it. All right, then. So, folks, y'all clap.

Y'all go ahead. Y'all, they got mamas and other people here. They got everybody here. All right, y'all. I've got to go to break. When we come back, Ben and I are going to chat about his book right here on the Black Star Network. You're watching, of course, Roller Martin Unfiltered. Don't forget, download the Black Star Network app, Apple phone, Android phone, Apple TV, Android TV, Roku, Amazon Fire TV, Xbox One, Samsung Smart TV.

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I picked up about 30 checks today from the post office. So send a check, yeah, they actually read you. They still checking money orders, bro. Straight up. But guess what? It all cashes. Checking money orders, PO Box 57196, Washington, DC, 20037-0196.

Cash app, dollar sign, RM Unfiltered. PayPal is rmartinunfiltered. Venmo, rmunfiltered. Zelle, roland at rolandsmartin.com. Roland at rolandmartinunfiltered.com. When you get a copy of my book, even those proceeds go back into the show. Y'all know how we do. So get a copy of my book, White Fear, How the Browning of America is Making White Folks Lose Their Minds.

Orlando's like, did he really actually do this? You're damn right I did. Say it again, Ben. Hey, just say what needs to be said. And that photo's on the cover. That's from January 6th. There's a reason I did that. Download your copy, Amazon, Barnes & Noble. You can get it there. Download your audio copy on Audible. I'll be right back. All right. On the next A Balanced Life with me, Dr. Jackie, owning your energy and how to use it.

Trust me, it impacts the people on your job, who you attract, and even your love life. What you give out is what comes back to you. So like attracts like, right? So if you come in with a negative space and I match that negative energy, then two seconds later, somebody else coming with more negative energy.

And then I was just always just matching negative stuff. And here's the kicker. If you're not careful, that energy can even be stolen. That's all next on A Balanced Life on Blackstar Network. Early days in the road, I learned, well, first of all, as a musician, I studied not only piano, but I was also drummer and percussion.

I was all city percussion as well. So I was one of the best in the city on percussion. There you go. Also studied trumpet, cello, violin, and bass, and any other instrument I could get my hand on. And with that study, I learned again what was for me. I learned what it meant to do what the

instruments in the orchestra meant to each other what the instruments in the orchestra meant to each other in the relationships. So that prepared me to be a leader. It prepared me to lead orchestras and to conduct orchestras. It prepared me to know, to be a leader of men, they have to respect you and know that you know the music. You have to be the teacher of the music. You have to know the music better than anybody.

So you can't walk in unprepared. Me Sherri Shebritt with Tammy Roman. I'm Dr. Robin B, pharmacist and fitness coach, and you're watching Roland Martin. Up next on The Frequency with me, Dee Barnes. She's known as the Angela Davis of hip hop, Monet Smith, better known as Medusa the Gangsta Goddess, the undisputed queen of West Coast underground hip hop.

Pop locking is really what indoctrinated me in hip hop. I don't think, I don't even think I realized it was hip hop at that time. Right. You know, it was a happening. It was a moment of release. We're going to be getting into her career, knowing her whole story,

and breaking down all the elements of hip hop. This week on The Frequency, only on the Black Star Network. I'm Faraiq Muhammad, live from L.A. And this is The Culture. The Culture is a two-way conversation. You and me, we talk about the stories, politics, the good, the bad, and the downright ugly. So join our community every day at 3 p.m. Eastern and let your voice be heard.

Hey, we're all in this together. So let's talk about it and see what kind of trouble we can get into. It's the culture. Weekdays at three, only on the Black Star Network. right now. Black power. We support this man, Black Media. He makes sure that our stories are told. Thank you for being the voice of Black America, Rollin. Be Black. I love y'all. All momentum we have now, we have to keep this going. The video looks phenomenal. See, there's a difference between Black Star Network

and Black-owned media and something like CNN. You can't be Black-owned media and be scared. It's time to be smart. Bring your eyeballs home. You dig? Next on The Black Table with me, Greg Carr, a very different take on Juneteenth with the one and only Dr. Senada Ahmed. We'll explore the amazing foods, remedies, and rituals that are a part of our history and the Juneteenth holiday.

So it's our responsibility to return the healthier version to our folks instead of just the red look yours marketed to us the red sodas and the other things I mean what is the Kool-Aid man have to sound like Louis Armstrong. An enlightening and tasty out of the black table. Only on the Black Star Network. Up next on The Frequency with me, Dee Barnes. She's known as the Angela Davis of hip hop. Monet Smith, better known as Medusa, the gangster goddess,

the undisputed queen of West Coast underground hip hop. Pop locking is really what indoctrinated me in hip hop. I don't even think I realized it was hip hop at that time. Right. You know, it was a happening. It was a moment of release. We're gonna be getting into her career, knowing her whole story,

and breaking down all the elements of hip hop. This week on The Frequency, only on the Black Star Network. Question for you. Are you stuck? Do you feel like you're hitting a wall and it's keeping you from achieving prosperity? Well, you're not alone. On the next Get Wealthy with me, Deborah Owens, America's Wealth Coach, you're going to learn what you need to do to become unstuck and unstoppable. The fabulous author, Janine K. Brown, will be with us sharing with you exactly what you need to do to finally achieve the level of financial success you desire through your career. Because when I talk about being bold in the workplaces, I'm talking about that inner boldness that you have to take a risk, to go after what you want, to speak up when others are not.

That's right here on Get Wealthy, only on Black Star Network. I am Tommy Davidson. I play Oscar on Proud Family, Louder and Prouder. Right now, I'm rolling with Roland Martin, unfiltered, uncut, unplugged, and undamned believable. You hear me? Folks, a new book by Ben Watson dropped today. It is called The New Fight for Life, Role, Race, and a Pro-Life Commitment to Justice. He wrote the book with Carolyn Traver. Ben joins us.

Ben, glad to have you here. Thanks for coming by on release day. You previously did a documentary. Yeah. And you interviewed me, and we had an interesting conversation. And since we did that, it was amazing how a lot of the time I just kept getting revealed with all of these people, especially when

Roe v. Wade was overturned. All of these folks who are pro-life kept saying they were pro-life. But then when it came to other matters that dealt with life, they got real quiet. And even you were like, what is going on? Like, yo, what's going on here? And it reminds us of our conversation, you know, during that documentary. And that's why I wrote the book, honestly. You know, the new fight for life is like now in a post-war world, what does pro-life advocacy really look like? And it looks like the things we talked about.

When 76% of abortion-determined women say they would prefer to parent if their circumstances were different. You know what those circumstances usually are? Obviously, relationship with a dad. But it comes down to health care. It comes down to adequate housing. It comes down to livable wage. It comes down to education. All those sorts of things that may not seem to be pro-life, quote-unquote, they all feed into the life issue and so part of the reason

why i wrote the book was kind of you know and i quote you in there talking about those issues is that i got tired of people saying that black women were three to four times more likely to have abortions and just leaving it there and i always want to know the question why and when you dig deeper there is an inextricable link between justice issues like no health care or no housing or a 10 to 1 wealth gap and decisions to abort. I'm adamantly pro-life. I believe in protecting the human person inside the womb, but I also believe that it's imperative that we serve people outside of the womb so they are in a position to make that decision. And see, that's where a lot of folk in the pro-life movement would depart with you. And it was interesting when we were talking, because I remember when you first asked me

that question, you were like, hey, why is this happening? And I kept saying, if you ignore the economic aspect, then you're losing sight of really what's going on here. And that's my greatest problem when people go, no, no, no, no, this is cut and dried. It's real simple. Then that's when I go, okay, okay. If you want to have a pro-life conversation,

let's have that hardcore, multifaceted conversation. Yeah, and that's where it gets difficult because that's where it gets political. And we live in a very political culture. Look, politics is important. Legislation is important. I applaud it, Roe being overturned. I will say that.

I applaud it, lives being saved. We've seen that. But also, there needs to be an impetus or an urgency, I would say, as Dr. Keene would say, the fierce urgency of now to address those systemic issues. And quite frankly, too many people don't want to do that. In fact, Diana Bass was on the show on election night, and she and I got into it. And I made a point that the Supreme Court case that overturned Roe v. Wade came out

of Mississippi. Yeah. Yeah. way it came out of Mississippi. But then they showed that Mississippi was unprepared for the additional 5,000 babies that are going to be born in the first year post Roe, and public policy-wise, don't want to do Medicaid

expansion. There's a crisis of OBGYNs in the state. Maternal health deserts. Right. Where there's no maternal health for counties and counties and counties and women are facing challenges and some of them facing death because they're unable to get maternal health care. Well, we just saw

Tori Bowe, the track athlete, die trying to have a child. And it was just a stunning story. And the point that I was making even with her was, okay, Mississippi, you wanted the law overturned, but you're not prepared. I know a lot of cops, and they get asked all the time,

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

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

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

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

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

And to hear episodes one week early and ad-free with exclusive content, subscribe to Lava for Good Plus on Apple Podcasts. We asked parents who adopted teens to share their journey. We just kind of knew from the beginning that we were family. They showcased a sense of love that I never had before. I mean, he's not only my parent, like he's like my best friend. At the end of the day, it's all been worth it.

I wouldn't change a thing about our lives. Learn about adopting a teen from foster care. Visit AdoptUSKids.org to learn more. Brought to you by AdoptUSKids, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, and the Ad Council. You say you support life, but you ain't prepared for the babies that are about to come in. And it's not even the not being, it is the not being prepared. But it's, there's no energy to prepare. You know what I'm saying? Like, there has to be the empathy to say this is important

and we are going to, we're at least going to talk about it. And what happens so often is, you know, on the Democratic side, there's the social safety nets and all those sorts of things. On the Republican side, there's the social safety nets and all those sorts of things. On the Republican side, there's the piety and the pro-life. And what I'm saying is that it's okay to have a pro-life commitment. I have a pro-life commitment. I believe in protecting life, womb, and the tomb.

But that includes these other things, and you shouldn't be so adamantadmitted, pro-life, but be unwilling to engage. And this is simply when it comes to the black community. Look, abortion has impacted us more than any other ethnic group. I mean, that's just the truth. The question is why. And so is poverty.

Exactly. And a lot of times we point at Planned Parenthood, and I got my issues with them 100%, but they go to places where they can pick fruit. And so why is that fruit so ripe there? It's because of all these other lists of things, not just currently but historically. Look, a 10-1 wealth gap or 12-1, whatever it is, didn't just come out of nowhere. It's not because black folks don't want to work.

And also where Planned Parenthood is going is you no longer have community health centers. Because there are health services that are provided there. And so when I hear people complain about Planned Parenthood, then I go, okay, you can't cut

community health centers and then say, oh, well, let's fix the problem. Yes, but you're negating what's there, which is why I say there's a difference between people who are pro-life and those who are anti-abortion.

True. And I'll tell you the other group of people, there's a large group of people, specifically in the black church, of people who are maybe clergy, maybe black Christians who are uncomfortable with abortion on demand because of their ethics. They're uncomfortable with that. But they're also uncomfortable with not addressing these other issues that plague us specifically. And that group of people, I felt, have been kind of nameless and voiceless in a way, because they don't quite fit into the

extremes in either party. And so part of the book is encouraging the black church, meaning black believers, black Christians, no matter what denomination they're in, that their voice matters, that they are heard, and that this idea of, as we see throughout scripture, do justice, love kindness, walk humbly before God. As we see in Jeremiah, I'm a God of righteousness and justice and kindness. As we see in different, in Isaiah, when the people are chastised because they are oppressing people and God sees the blood running in the streets and he says, no, this is not right. Our people and our story is one where we understand the importance of uplifting life.

We understand that ethic, but we also understand that justice demands that we do certain things to promote human flourishing. Many things, quite frankly, that this country has not done or has refused to do. Are those in the so-called pro-life movement listening to this from others where they love to have Ben Watson standing on stage but then all of a sudden when you start talking about that other stuff it's like what are you doing? It's always going to be some of that but that ain't never stopped

anybody from saying anything that's important and so I would say that there are and even in what you said the pro-life movement which is largely under the banner people who say they're pro-life, you're talking about white, evangelical, Republican. But a pro-life ethic is a lot more multifaceted and diverse. A good friend of mine named Sherilyn Holloway, Pro-Black Pro-Life is her organization. You should check her out.

You should have her on the show. But black woman is not in that far right pro life camp, understands these issues. Another guy, Justin Gibney, who speaks this language, but there's a large group of people. We just don't have the loudest voices. And so there are people

who not only are listening, but are informing some of the things I talk about in the book and agree with it. And then there are some who this is just a bridge too far for them. And, you know, some folks you just got to let go, but there are others who are willing to be challenged. The hope is that people are challenged and that people are encouraged with the book.

You especially say row, then race. Yeah. And it's a lot of folk who go, Ben, what you doing? This ain't about race. Well, it is about race for many of them when they drop the statistic. Yeah. And so what I found, like I work for an organization called Human Coalition. We have telehealth in 18 different states based in Texas,

but we have brick and mortar pregnancy resource centers around the country, but we also have partnerships. But what we do is when a woman calls in, we're able to connect her with social services if she needs financial help or educational help or employment those sorts of things um but but the the important thing that we do and that i've heard through my time in the pro-life movement is the statistic about black women right and it gets thrown out there. Oh, quickly. Well, yeah, quickly. 40 million black babies being aborted.

And I mean, they'll, yes. But it's almost like a, you know, feel sorry for them. Or it's the pro-life version of Chicago shootings. Yeah, or black-on-black crime. You know, it's one of those things. And so I thought to myself,

you know, when I hear that, one or two things can happen, logical conclusions. Number one, black folks like killing their children more than any other ethnic group in America. That's one conclusion. I don't believe that to be true. But if you believe that, just go ahead and say it. The other one is why and what are the factors, many of which you and I talk about all the time and you talk about on this show, that I think make the black community more vulnerable to abortion.

And then the third one is what are you going to do about it? Yes, and that's what we talk about in New Fight for Life. Questions from the panel. Nyambi, I'll start with you. Thank you, Roland. I would just ask, why is there this fixation on Margaret Sanger? I get that there is some sense

that she had a eugenics leading, but lots of people, including black people, did as well. Why can't we be pro-life or discuss that conversation without leaning on tropes that have been debunked, that have been fact-checked over and over again? Why can't it be a conversation about your position on probably one of the most defining issues that doesn't rely on trotting out tropes that are only partially true and shade the larger question around Black women's inconsistent access to birth control and other kinds of things, that this

is really about Black women and the care for them. Where is that conversation? Where is the conversation about black women's maternal mortality and even the space for a conversation about black women who don't want to be mothers? I think the Margaret Sanger conversation is comfortable and it's a convenient shield for a lot of people to address in the things you just talked about.

It's comfortable, quite frankly, to talk about Margaret Sanger and eugenics as the reason why blacks are aborted at a larger number or a disproportionate rate. Again, like you said, if you look at Margaret Sanger, she was a eugenicist. Eugenics covered not only ethnicity, but also mental capability, physical capability, so it wasn't just about race. And quite honestly, Margaret Sanger isn't the one who introduced abortion and Planned Parenthood. It was Alan Guttmacher, a man. Margaret Sanger, there are different reports on that,

but she wasn't championing abortion. But it's convenient to talk about her because then you don't have to talk about the injustice and inequity in maternal health care, in health care in general, in wealth, in employment, and all the other things that are impacting the black community. It's convenient. And so I don't talk about Margaret Sanger that much in the book. I do mention her because it's important to mention her at least, but I don't rely on her or use her as the reason why black women face these disproportionate rates. And I think that the biggest thing I encourage pro-lifers to do is to listen to black women. They will tell you what they need and what they want.

And many of them do not say, I need you to reject Margaret Sanger. They say, we need healthcare. We need autonomy in the sense of being able to get a job and education, those sorts of things, opportunities. Well, what also trips me out is the fact that if you just look at sheer numbers, more white folks have abortions than anybody else want to. When you look at the statistics, that's typically because you have public numbers that are reported. It's a whole bunch of private places that are doing abortion where white folks have insurance that we know nothing about. But to your point, the black status

just constantly being thrown out. And I go, so you love singling out black folks. I'm like, when are you going to single out white folks? Or when are we going to step into the more difficult conversation that might cause you to bleed across party lines to addressing social safety nets and promoting all of these driving factors. Because see, here's the deal.

When you start talking about social safety nets, you then are going to have to now deal with systemic racism. Because if you talk about social safety nets, then they go, well, why do we have to have that? Well, if a black college graduate is making, on average, less than a white high school graduate. Or if a white woman, I mean a black woman with the same degree and the same education as a white man is making 35 percent less in her income. That's a problem, especially when you compound that over time. And so if I'm looking at the from the statistics that we have from CDC now they may not be

complete for sure but if I'm looking at the average abortion determined woman disproportionately she is from an ethnic minority black she is 29 years old she has one child she has at least a high school education probably partially of a college education she would say that she is underemployed or has partial employment. And she might also say that her housing situation is in flux. And so if I'm trying to impact her because I don't want any more abortions, and I'm speaking about myself because I don't believe in abortion. So I'm speaking about myself. But if I'm looking at her, I'm saying that now that Roe has been overturned,

what are some different things I can get behind? How does something like paid leave, which is not federally mandated, but only about 27% of women qualify for it, and some women don't take it to take care of their children because they don't want to lose their job. How does something like that

connect to the life conversation? Well, we just had a folks on the other day talking to a woman on with the Anne Casey Foundation talking about the high cost of child care. And so people start going, wait a minute, if I have this baby, now it's child care. What I can't afford now is all those different things. And so now we start going into the then public policy, who supports what? And so typically those social safety nets, Republicans are like, let the market decide. We don't need this here.

But over here, you oppose it. And then that's, look, I keep it real basic. I can't understand how somebody called themselves pro-life, but you want to cut SNAP benefits. That's food. We talked about that. When 30,000 people die from hunger every single year, but you're pro-life. Eating is pro-life. You got to have food.

And even within that, and even within all the frustration that I have, even within all the frustration that I have sensed from many of the black folks in my churches and community, friends, that we have when it comes to that issue, it still doesn't change the conviction that life is important, womb to tomb, and that life has value, womb to tomb, and inherent dignity, womb to tomb. It just makes us have the need to do things for ourselves. Yep. to tune. It just makes us have the need to do things for ourselves. It makes us have the need to push the other side even more and to push our government to do what it's supposed to do in correcting and redressing so much that it has had a hand in doing incorrectly, in doing wrong. Tanya, your question. Yes, I really appreciate that you are making a contribution that reflects kind of a more nuanced boys, one who was born to me at the age of 45, and I was acutely aware of the statistic around that my colleague mentioned around black women's mortality in the birthing space. We recognize that there are social determinants, political determinants that contribute to the decision-making process,

but some Black women decide they don't want to have a baby. They don't want to give birth because they don't want to die. Like they are, their decision is informed by that statistical reality. And so the question is, do we take away an option that would allow them to exercise agency and preserve their own life before we have the safety nets in place? Or do we put the safety nets in place so that people don't have to make that choice? Because right now, and I'm in Georgia, they aren't ready, as Roland said, for the onslaught of—we already have an overwhelmed child welfare system with too many children, most of them are black and brown, and too few parents

willing to adopt them, they did not prepare for the avalanche of babies that the already overburdened child welfare system is now responsible for. And so what quality of life are those children going to have if they're aging out of an underfunded child welfare system and we're forcing black women to go through a birthing process that for many of them may lead to death. Well, I live in Georgia as well. Live right outside of Atlanta, a little bit past the airport. And so I hear you 100 percent. And I've heard the statistic and I get it.

I understand why a woman or a man would make that decision because of those statistics. I would ask a couple questions that I think we need to ask ourselves when we consider these tough decisions. And one of them is, at what point is it not okay to have that abortion? Like at what point does the child, is it five weeks, is it six weeks, is it 13 weeks, is it 40 weeks? At what point is it not okay? Because that helps inform us that the life is worth living.

And then also on the flip side of that, if you think about the fact that black children are three times more likely than the white counterparts to be born in poverty, that's an issue. But which one of those children should we say shouldn't be here? Like which one of those children in our community don't have value?

And in the 50 years or so since abortion was the law of the land what disparity in wealth health housing education that has impacted the black community which one has been solved while we've had unfettered abortion and so when we think about it in that respect abortion is it's not it's not a solution now all those things you talked about, about the social determinants of health, and look, we're not going to hold our breath and wait for the cavalry to come and think that all those things are going to be taken care of,

because quite honestly, they haven't been. But that doesn't determine how we view life. Instead, we and others fight to make sure those things are taken care of. And that's the reason why I wrote the book. That's the reason why I'm involved. That's the reason why it matters to me. But not to make little of that conversation or that decision you're talking about, because that's a very real feeling for a lot of women,

and quite honestly some men who are facing these decisions as well. I'm going to go to a quick break. We'll come back on Roller Mart Unfiltered. Larry, you're going to get your question in as well. Folks, we're talking to Ben Watson about his new book, It Dropped Today. The book is The New Fight for Life, Role, Race, and a Pro-Life Commitment to Justice. We'll be right back on the Blackstar Network. There's a lot of stuff that we're not getting. You get it. And you spread the word. We wish to plead our own cause to long have others spoken for us. We cannot tell our own story if we can't pay for it.

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Venmo is RM Unfiltered. Zelle r martin unfiltered venmo is rm unfiltered zelle is rolling at rolling s martin.com on a next a balanced life with me dr jackie owning your energy and how to use it trust me it impacts the people on your job who you attract and even your love life. What you give out is what comes back to you. So like attracts like, right? So if you come in with a negative space and I match that negative energy, then two seconds later,

somebody else coming with more negative energy. And then I was just always just matching negative stuff. And here's the kicker. If you're not careful, that energy can even be stolen. That's all next on A Balanced Life on Blackstar Network. Hello, we're the Critter Fixers. I'm Dr. Bernard Hodges. And I'm Dr. Terrence Ferguson.

And you're tuning in to... Roland Martin Unfiltered. All right, folks, we're back. Concluding our conversation with Ben Watson about his new book, The New Fight for Life, Roe, Race, and a Pro-Life Commitment to Justice. Larry, your question for Ben. Yeah, Rowan, thanks for having a platform to discuss this issue. And Ben, very interesting. Your book sounds, you know, I have to go out and purchase it and read it.

And this is an important discussion to have, particularly in the black community. One of the things I want to highlight is we know like the last 15 to 20 years, perceptions among black people when it comes to reproductive rights has shifted dramatically. Right. So more than a majority of black folks now support a woman's right to choose. So one of the things I wanted to talk to you about is you talked about race and you talked about some of the impacting some of these social issues. And you talked about listening to black women. And so the majority of black women support the right to choose as of right now. And so I want to talk a little bit about how you balance that as a male in terms of what's happening in terms of the perceptions in the black community and the idea of also respecting black women's autonomy when it comes to these issues relating to reproductive rights. Yeah, I've seen some of those statistics as well, Larry, I believe. And some of those things have really shifted in the last maybe four years or so when it comes to statistics. Look, the Black

community for the most part has been socially more conservative in abortion, marriage, those sorts of things, even though our party that most of us vote for has not been. And so there has been that shift. I would say that conversation, number one, as a man being involved with that, I think I heard you say something about a man being involved with that. People ask me sometimes, a lot of times, like, why is a man, why are you talking about that? And I'm like, look, I got seven kids. They all got 46 chromosomes, 23 and 23. and I'm like look I got seven kids they all got 46 chromosomes 23 and 23 so I am involved with this with this issue but also also if a woman gets pregnant regardless a man was involved that's what I'm saying that's what I'm saying so we split the chromosomes so so men are involved in this no matter what anybody anybody would say and then the second part of

your question maybe the first part I may have gotten switched, but you asked about listening to black women. And that's what we've done at our organization, at Human Coalition. More importantly, even in writing this book, there were several women who I spoke to, and several women's organizations. One of them is the Whole Life Project. You can look them up, the Whole Life Project. It's a collection of about 40 or so different women around the country, all black women for the most part. And these are the things that I put in the book. These are the

things that they said were obstacles or barriers for them in their abortion decisions. Some of them had had abortions already. Some of them multiple abortions. Some of them were not married and had not even given birth to a child yet. But these are the things that they talked about. So as far as listening to black women, that's what we've been doing. But also I think it's important to remember that historically the black community has been a pro-life community, not in the political sense, but in the sense of a Fannie Lou Hamer, in the sense of a woman who was fighting for voting rights and civil rights, but also was an adamant proponent of life

throughout her life. I mean, even as recently as 20 years ago, when it came to politics, this was not the divisive issue that it is now. Much of that happened when Ronald Reagan, Republicans, all this stuff. We can get to the history at

another time. More majority. It became a wedge issue. Exactly. And so now we are reaping the bad fruit of that. So, no, and also, it doesn't change your, not necessarily my

conviction, but when I talk about life and I talk about life holistically, life has value no matter who says it doesn't. That's something that we've always stood for. Well, also, I think, again, what is a troubling aspect of this, the Dobbs decision comes down, Clarence Thomas writes in his, alright, he throws out there, contraception is next. And so then you go. Okay. Hold on. All right, so not now

Then you go in the hole up because it's the same thing to the Catholic Church born and raised Catholic Founding found in my grandparents living room. So it's like so Catholic Church opposes abortion got it, but opposes contraception So then you go, okay, so you oppose abortion now you also want to talk about now getting rid of contraception. So then you go, okay, so you oppose abortion. Now you also want to talk about not getting rid of contraception. And then you should talk about a system that's not prepared for handling an influx. And so then people go, well, dang,

you're also going to oppose condoms next? Well, it's always going to be something wrong. It's always going to be something. There's always going to be something that might be coming next. You always start with a foundation. We're building a house in Georgia, as I just mentioned. It's almost done. Can't wait for you to come visit us.

Two months, we're going to be in it. But what they did with that house, in the very beginning, they built a foundation. Now, the house had a bunch of iterations because stuff was right and stuff was wrong, but they had a foundation to build on. And so if your foundation is the image of God in people, the value of people, if it's not that, that's okay. But then you have to explain why it's not okay to kill a five-year-old. Okay? So if that's your foundation, then we work from there and we address all the things that

make the house flourish. We address the HVAC system, we address the roof, all those sorts of things. And that's what it looks like in this pro-life movement. That's my encouragement to people in this book, The New Fight for Life, is that the pro-life advocacy honestly has to look different because much of the rhetoric is driving people away. I think there are people who are kind of in that middle ground. Some of the questions we even talked about tonight,

where if the pro-life, the class pro-life majority, you know what we're talking about, were to say, look, racial justice is important because it impacts life. Look, health care is important because it impacts life. Look, healthcare is important because it impacts life. Food deserts are important because they impact life. Correcting all that has been wrong, compounded, the criminal justice, that's important.

You know why? When you're ripping out black men for serving, for doing the same crimes as their white counterparts, but they're staying in jail for longer, that impacts life. And so these are all things to me that are life issues that don't enter the conversation a lot of times, but it all starts with the integral foundation of human dignity, womb to tomb. And here's what you're going to run up against.

I know. No, no, no. In Alabama, I think it was Riley, governor of Alabama says we need to change the tax code in Alabama. We're taxing folk, I think, around 4,500, 5,000. And he literally uses Jesus as the model for it. Chamber of Commerce, numerous groups around the state support changing it, saying we're taxing people at a too low of a rate. They're poor.

Loses by 65%, 65-35. Who were the biggest folks who voted against this Republican governor who used Jesus as the model for changing the tax code? White conservative evangelicals. Voted against him for changing the tax code. So they did not vote with a Bible. They voted with a pocketbook. And so I believe the fundamental schism in the pro-life anti-abortion movement,

whatever you want to call it, is that white conservative evangelicals say one thing about the Bible, but when it comes to how do you deal with those issues you talked about, then they ain't talking

Bible. Then they talking pocketbook. Well, it's like this. It's like this. For many, that's the case. For some, it's not. I don't paint people with a broad brush because I know a lot of them. But that still doesn't change how are we going to deal with this in our community. And one of the things I love about your show and I love about your message is a lot of

times you talk about the fact that all this might be going on out there and People are treating us a certain way out there But in here we're gonna take care of our own but you're gonna build our own we're gonna respect ourselves we're gonna do all these sorts of things and so We can hold the United States to task for a lot. But at the same time within our households, we can make decisions for life. I think that's vitally important.

And I'll tell you this, within our churches, because the church has the power and the ability, and has already been doing these sorts of things, to not only support women and children, but to support entire families and entire communities. That's what our churches have done, and that's what they'll continue to do.

Well, the church has got its own set of problems in that an increasing number of people are not going to the church because the church ain't been doing what it's supposed to do as well. We got a lot of people to hold the task, don't we? They got some stuff to do as well. Y'all, the book is The New Fight for

Life, Role Race, and a Pro-Life Commitment to Justice by Ben Watson. Ben, I appreciate it, man. Thanks a bunch. I appreciate you, man. Folks, that is it for us. Tanya, thank you so very much. Niambi, Larry, thanks for being on today's panel. I greatly appreciate your contributions. Folks, do not forget, if you're watching on YouTube, hit the like button, y'all. That impacts the algorithm, which impacts the revenue. That's where we get most of our money to fund this show. Ain't no millionaires and billionaires sending us checks. Trust me, your contributions are hugely important. I cannot tell you enough what it means. When I was out there yesterday on Black Lives Matter Plaza here in D.C., a brother walked up to me. He actually handed me,

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