#RolandMartinUnfiltered - Irvo Otieno Surveillance Video Released, GOP Defining Woke, National Medals of Arts & Humanities

Episode Date: March 22, 2023

3.21.2023 #RolandMartinUnfiltered:Irvo Otieno Surveillance Video Released, GOP Defining Woke, National Medals of Arts & Humanities The Washington Post obtained, edited, and released 9 minutes of surveillance footage from a Virginia state hospital moments leading up to Irvo Otiene's death.  We'll show you the disturbing video.  Roland will speak with Retired LAPD Sergeant Cheryl Dorsey about what went wrong and what needs to be done to address the disparities of deaths during mental health crises at the hands of the Police. The GOP continues using Buzzword Woke to rile up their conservative base. But they struggle to define what the word means.  Roland will show a clip of Fox News host Dana Perino fumbling to explain woke and suggesting WOKE is indefinable. President Joe Biden hosts a ceremony to award recipients of the 2021 National Humanities Medals and the 2021 National Medals of Arts.  Roland spoke to two of the awardees, Gladys Knight and Johnnetta Betsch Cole.  He will share what they had to say.  We all need life insurance, and one Colorado-based company makes it easier for black families to prepare for the worse.  Roland will speak with the CEO of Afrikare Life, a new life insurance platform. It's Time to Bring the funk on Roland Martin Unfiltered streaming live on the Black Star Network.  Let's go. Download the Black Star Network app at http://www.blackstarnetwork.com! We're on iOS, AppleTV, Android, AndroidTV, Roku, FireTV, XBox and SamsungTV. The #BlackStarNetwork is a news reporting platform covered under Copyright Disclaimer Under Section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976, allowance is made for "fair use" for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This is an iHeart Podcast. Taser Incorporated. I get right back there and it's bad. Listen to Absolute Season 1, Taser Incorporated, on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. I'm Clayton English. I'm Greg Glott. And this is Season 2 of the War on Drugs podcast. Last year, a lot of the problems of the drug war. This year, a lot of the biggest names in music and sports. This kind of starts that a little bit, man.

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

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

at taylorpapersceiling.org. Brought to you by Opportunity at Work and the Ad Council. Hey folks, today is Tuesday, March 21st, 2023. Coming up on RollerBot, Yana Filters, streaming live on the Black Star Network. I'm literally just outside the White House where a few moments ago, President Joe Biden ended up handing out medals for the National Humanities,

for the arts, as well as for humanities and arts. Among those who were honored, Dr. Janetta B. Cole, Gladys Knight, Bryan Stevenson, Colson Whitehead, and others. We'll show you exactly what took place here at the White House. The Washington Post, they have released a nine-minute video detailing the brutal death of a black man in a mental hospital in Virginia. We'll show that for you. You'll hear from our experts about this latest case of a black man being killed

at the hand of law enforcement. Also on today's show, white conservatives continue to whine and complain about the war. Where do I show you what Dana Perino said in Fox News? Just beyond stupid. That and more, folks, right here on Roller Mark Unfiltered on the Black Star Network., the fine And when it breaks, he's right on time And it's rolling, best believe he's knowing Putting it down from sports to news to politics With entertainment just for kicks He's rolling, yeah

It's Uncle Roro, yo Yeah, yeah It's Rolling Martin' Martin Rolling with rolling now He's funky, he's fresh, he's real The best you know, he's Rolling Martin Martin All right, folks. Last week, we had Attorney Ben Crump on, as well as the mother of this man in Virginia, Ervo Otieno.

He was, of course, in a mental hospital in Virginia when he was essentially attacked by seven sheriff's deputies. And so disturbing, disturbing video, folks. And there's no audio on the video, but it shows you exactly the actions of these officers. Shameful, despicable. They have actually been arrested and charged in this case. We're giving you a trigger warning, folks, because it's very difficult to watch. We're going to show you the video just so you can actually see what took place as these sheriff's deputies essentially killed this brother. Watch. So what you see, folks, you see here,

Irvo was actually bound. He was actually bound. His hands and feet were bound, and he was then dragged into this particular room, okay? He was dragged into this room. So you see right here four sheriff's deputies standing over him. You see three others in the background. You see six to seven other people standing all around. So we're talking about, I mean, literally a dozen people standing.

So now all of a sudden you see more individuals. Now you see, so you're trying to tell me that eight to 10 people required to actually get this brother uncontrolled. Now you see them kneeling on his legs, kneeling on his back, kneeling over his entire body. Okay. That's what you see right now. I mean, you literally see the officer, the ball hit in the middle. His entire weight is literally on this man's body. Now you're going to see in a moment, they're going to turn him on his side. OK, that continues. This literally goes on, y'all, for a total of nine minutes. You see the woman in the back now directing them. So we're talking about

anywhere from 12 to 14 people who were involved in exactly what took place here. Now, what then took place as this continues, as this continues, it was after 12 minutes, the deputies checked him for a pulse. And then after three minutes, they start CPR trying to revive him. An hour later, Otieno was pronounced dead. Cabell Baskerville, Dean of Winnies County's Commonwealth Attorney, says a separate Henrico County jail video shows deputies spraying Otieno with pepper spray and punching him in the side as well as the torso. These deputies, they are accused of a cover-up as they waited three hours to report Otieno's death to Virginia State Police. Now, let's just do this here, folks. Let's give me a two-box. I'm going to talk to Cheryl Dorsey,

retired LAPD sergeant. So we're going to keep playing the video while I have a conversation with her. Cheryl, glad to have you back on the show. I mean, so as you watch this video, Cheryl, I mean, look at the number of people, the number of people. Guys, keep showing the video. The number of people in this video dealing with one person, it's a dozen people. Yeah, it's really ridiculous, you know. And what happens is, you know, I like to refer to this as kind of a pack, a wolf pack mentality. You have all of these law enforcement personnel. You also have medical professionals who are standing around and everybody is in a zone. And at some point it becomes less about trying to get this person into custody if that's what they're trying to do, control, contain.

It becomes punishment. And it sounds like that's exactly what happened. At some point, you have deputies who are punching and spraying this individual. It's punishment. And it's so unnecessary. And you can see that having a clinician, a medical professional standing by isn't helpful. I've said this many times, that when you have someone who they say is violent and or aggressive, medical professionals are going to do just what we see here, stand down and let police deal with this person. And again, so you see these shares, deputies, and I mean, you literally are seeing individuals laying their entire weight on this man's body. I mean, you would think with 10 people,

you can restrain one person as opposed to putting your entire weight on a man's body. Listen, all you need in my mind is really four people. Everybody get a body part, get a limb, somebody get an arm, somebody get a leg. You got people on each side. You hold it down that way to have, and these are good size folks. If you look at this video, these are not little people. These are good size folks putting all of their body weight on this individual. And so it doesn't matter whether you have law enforcement or whether you have a medical professional who's used to dealing with someone who's in mental crisis. if you don't have someone with some common sense,

matters not the ethnicity, we see most of these folks are black. And nobody, nobody seems to be managing this incident and the containment of this individual. And I think that's an excellent point right there. I mean, look at the video. Who the hell is the supervisor? Who is the person who is literally directing this? I mean, we're looking at, as you said, mostly black. We're looking at

20. I mean, I'm counting 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13. I'm counting almost 15 people. Yeah. And it looks like the gentleman with the dark brown, and I don't know if these are all the same agency, but this dark brown uniform, he seems to have a chevron of some sort on his sleeves. And so is he the senior officer on scene? He seems to be most involved and engaged. Who's in charge of these civilians? Which of these people is an administrator in this mental facility? This is so unnecessary. This man is there allegedly to be helped by these people, and they failed him miserably.

Again, just unbelievable watching this. And again, we're talking about, I mean, you look at his body is laying motionless. They suffocated this man. I mean, they literally press the air out of this man's body. And now you see him laying there motionless. You see now they're performing CPR. Well, what the hell they think was going to happen if you got eight to ten people lying on a man's body. And you have to assume at some point, if he were able, he probably was verbalizing discomfort, distress. We don't hear it in the video. And then I'm just further bothered by the fact that it took a significant amount of time before they notified an investigative

authority that this man had in fact died? Is everybody getting their story together on the hospital side, on the law enforcement side? What was going on in those hours that it took to make a notification? I mean, it is stunning to watch this. Unlike the George Floyd video where there was audio, where you heard George Floyd crying out for help, crying out for his mom, all of that, you don't have any audio here. But I would say this is just as disturbing to watch them walk this man into this room, pin him to the ground. He came in alive, bound, hands and legs bound. And now you see them valiantly trying to save his life performing CPR when they are the ones who are responsible for this man having no breath in his body. Yeah. And so if his hands were bound, as you say, and his feet were bound, as you say, what was all that maneuvering about? It sounds like he was in some sort of custody, if you will. So what was that really all about? Just punishment?

Yeah, precisely. That's exactly the same thing that I have to say. And again, we now know they see you always know when you do something wrong, when you take when you take three hours to report what took place. So what that means is they were trying to get it together, no doubt. And we now know that at least, I think, 10 of the law enforcement officers were charged in the murder of this young man. And so, clearly, there's sufficient evidence to show that they did not do what they were there to do to assist this person. And so we'll have to see if there will be others, because there's more than 10 people standing around at that point. Well, and again, this goes to show you what happens when you need leadership on the ground.

And so you have folks who, after the fact, you know, are now trying to stay out of jail. If you do the right thing on the front end, then you don't have to worry about going to jail. Absolutely. And so we'll have to see, you know, what ultimately happens. And, you know, this is a great cautionary tale for everyone who's been yelling, oh, if we only had a medical professional, if there was a clinician on hand who's accustomed to dealing with someone in crisis, things would be better. I know that not to be true. And this sadly is evidence of that. Indeed. Cheryl Dorsey, we appreciate you joining us, breaking this down. Thank you so very much. Thank you. Folks, got to go to a break right here on Roland Martin on the Black Star Network.

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I'm Clayton English. I'm Greg Lott. And this is Season 2 of the War on Drugs podcast. Yes, sir. We are back. In a big way. In a very big way. 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

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You're not watching Roland Martin right now. Hi, folks. Roland Martin here. Still outside of the White House. I'll be at our studios shortly. We're just a couple of blocks away. But the event here at the White House ended a little late, so I had to go live from Lafayette Park. It's right across the street from the White House.

Let's bring up right now two of my panelists. We're waiting to connect with our third panel, Mustafa Santel Ali, former senior advisor for environmental justice at the EPA, Dr. Candace Matthews, statewide vice chair of Texas Coalition of Black Democrats. Mustafa, I want to start with you. I mean, looking at this video, I mean, it is beyond shameful to see what took place. And, again, you see how law enforcement responds. You heard what Cheryl Dorsey said. Most of the people who saw that video were African-American.

This man is dead. This man is dead by their actions. And how do you have somebody bound by their hands and their feet, and you still have 10 to 12 people literally sitting on somebody to restrain them. That is unbelievable. It is unbelievable, and that's why video is so important because, you know, when we don't have that, then folks can create their own narrative about how someone died. And then when you see it live and in color, unfortunately, you see exactly how it all played out. You saw the individuals, you know, I'm country.

You know, we call that being hogtied when you have both your feet and your hands, you know, that are bound like that. And we know that when you place that much weight and, you know, the previous guests, you know, shared, but those were folks who are pretty large folks. So when you have that much weight that's being placed on someone, especially after someone's been pepper sprayed, and for those who have never experienced that, you know, it can cause some serious problems in relationship to your lungs and a number of other types of things. So you have these cumulative effects of the weight of those individuals, plus if the gentleman had been pepper sprayed, causing this asphyxiation, this suffocation that we see in the middle of a mental health crisis when you're actually supposed to have people who are trying to help you and support you and not take your life? That to me right there is, again, can and say, look at the actions of the people here.

I mean, how in the world? Yeah, we don't have the audio, but there's no doubt this man was crying out for his life. And I don't understand, after all the videos we've seen, after George Floyd, after other videos, how you have cops who don't understand, you don't put your entire weight. I mean, think about it. If you just said the average weight of each one of the individuals in this video was 200 pounds, and you're talking about six people, that is literally 1,200 pounds of weight being compressed on your body.

That means death. And you know what, Roland? You're absolutely right about that because what we just seen right now is a live lynching. That's exactly what we've seen. We've seen a live lynching that was responsible by people that look like us. That is unacceptable. Number two is that policy, procedures, as far as dealing with someone that has a mental health crisis,

was not followed. And I can actually speak on this because I'm actually an expert when it comes to dealing with mental health crisis because by me owning a foster adoption agency and we have therapeutic children, they go through this all the time. And so when you have kids or even adults that go through a mental health crisis like this, you know what they actually would do? They would have that one little nurse that's probably about five, four that are coming now and they will shoot that person

with a sedative that will put them straight to sleep, that will end all of this, what they're doing here. This is unacceptable. It is against policy, and it's a real-life lynching. Look, I can only imagine what the hell the defense is going to be, and now these individuals, they now are facing charges. They now could go to prison for a very long time, Mustafa, when the actions, it could have mitigated. The actions that they took, if somebody chose to leave,

then guess what? That did not have to happen. Exactly. You know, leadership matters, and that's when you step up. When you see these types of situations escalating and getting out of control, then whether if you are the lead person on the site, you know you're the sergeant or lieutenant, or even if you're just a new person, you've got to be the one who takes and calms the situation down to make sure that people aren't losing their lives. Because we continue to see this time and time again. And, you know, rolling there, probably people are sitting at home saying, well, this will never, ever happen to me, so why should I care? If you go to the Center for Disease Control, they actually have a page there on mental health issues.

And 50 percent of people in our country are estimated to have some form of a mental health illness or breakdown or whatever it might be during their lifetime. So when you see these situations, this literally could be you, could be someone in your family, could be one of your children. And that's why we have to get engaged. And that's why we got to hold people accountable. We also got to change these dynamics. Well, Candace, here's the deal. They were in a mental hospital. How the hell do you deal with other mental patients? You're in a mental hospital. And you know, you're absolutely right about that, Roland. That's why it goes back to what I just said, is that when you have someone that has a mental crisis, okay, you have to use the correct procedure, which means when you have someone that is out of control and you already have these people bound, then that's

when you're supposed to come in with the sedative to give to them so they can relax and go straight to sleep, okay? And that's not what they did. You put, exactly, you have 10 people, and all of them was probably of a minimum of 200 pounds. So that got to be by what, 1,200 or more pounds that was placed on this young man? And they did not follow procedure. That's the problem, because they need training on mental health crisis. And then who else I think need to be charged are on mental health crisis.

And then who else I think need to be charged are the mental health professionals because you all are trained to deal with this type of crisis. You know you were supposed to go in and get that man a sedative. Y'all sit up here and let these people put all of their weight on this man and crush him with all of his breath. That is completely gone. That is unacceptable. It is just unbelievable to watch it.

The family, they're having a news conference with Attorney Ben Crump. We may have them a little bit later in the show. So we'll certainly let you know what happens there. So, again, folks, these officers, show them again in their orange jumpsuits. They now are facing criminal charges for their actions that killed this man in Virginia. The prosecutor moved swiftly to take the action against him. And so this is just shameful and unbelievable. Folks, we'll certainly have the latest for you

regarding this case as we get more information. All right, I got to go to break. We come back. We're going to talk about President Joe Biden awarding one of the highest honors or the nation's highest honor for those in the arts and humanities. A number of African-Americans received the award, including Gladys Knight, Dr. Janetta B. Cole,

Bryan Stevenson, Colson Whitehead, and others. We'll show you all of that. Plus, we'll hear from Dr. Janetta Cole. She talks about giving us a word. I caught up with her just outside the White House. This is where I am. The program ended a little before 6 o'clock. Of course, we went live at the top of the hour. And so we're here in Lafayette Park. Of course, the White House is right behind us. And so our Black Star Network studios are just two blocks away. And so we'll roll that video, and I'll try to hustle down the street to get inside for our studio. You're watching Roller Martin on the filter on the Black Star Network. Don't forget, if you're watching on YouTube, hit that like button,

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A lot of these corporations or people that are running stuff push black people if they're doing a certain thing. What that does is it creates a butterfly effect of any young kid who wants to leave any situation they're in. And the only people they see are people that are doing this. So I got to be a gangster. I got to shoot. I got to sell. I got to do this in order to do it. And the only people they see are people that are doing this. So I gotta be a gangster, I gotta shoot, I gotta sell, I gotta do this in order to do it. And it just becomes a cycle. But when someone comes around and is making other,

oh, we don't, you know, they don't wanna push it or put money into it. So that's definitely something I'm trying to fix too, is just show there's other avenues. You don't gotta be a rapper, you don't gotta be a ballplayer. You can be a country singer, you can be an opera singer, you can be a damn whatever, you know? Showing the different avenues.

And that is possible, and it's hard for people to realize that it's possible until someone does it. When you 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.

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Zelle is Roland at RolandSMartin.com. I'm Bill Duke. This is DeOlla Riddle, and you're watching Roland Martin Unfiltered. Stay woke. All right, folks. Welcome back to Roland Martin Unfiltered. I am here in Lafayette Park, folks, just outside of the White House. You see the White House right behind me. And so a little bit earlier today, President Joe Biden, Vice President Kamala

Harris, was ceremony held in the East Room, recognizing many of America's greats in the area of the arts and the humanities. And so there were a number of people who were recognized. It was actually the presentation of the National Medal of Arts and the National Humanities Medal Awards. And so there were 23 people who were honored today. A number of them were African-American. Gladys Knight, Dr. Jenna B. Cole, Bryan Stevenson. Also in the class, you had the International Association of Blacks in Dance, the Billie Holiday Theater. You also had writer Earl Lewis and Colson Whitehead, who was recognized as well. In his remarks, President Joe Biden made comments about each one of the honorees, which included Bruce Springsteen and Julia Louise Dreyfus, Vera Wang and others. Here is what he had to say about the African American honorees, as well as we'll show you the middle presentation that took place as well. Then what's going to happen,

I'm going to be walking down the street to our studio. So they're going to go to break. We come back. I should be in our studio and then I'll play for you what Janetta B. Cole had to say when I talked to her prior to the ceremony. Over 50 years ago, Billy Holiday Theater opened in Brooklyn. Black writers and actors from Samuel L. Jackson to Debbie Allen to Smokey Robinson debuted there in New York at this theater. Today, Billy still stages first-rate theater productions, nurturing new generation of Black playwrights, performers, as a culture of the cornerstone of our nation. And it's really, it's an incredible place. The same is true of the International Association of the Blacks in Dance, founded more than three decades ago to build solidarity for this vital art form. It connects dances to teach, performances to venues, educators to resources,

driven by the mission of preserving dance from the African diaspora for future generations. Last December, Gladys Knight, who I'm crazy about her music, I don't want to hurt her reputation, sat in this room to receive the Kennedy Center Honor. Later that night, Jill and I and Kamala and Doug in a theater full of fans showed our appreciation for the Empress of Soul. The Empress of Soul. A few weeks later, we invited Gladys back to the White House to perform at a summit with leaders from 50 African nations

as I honored the African nation's presence and prime ministers. But what better way to show who we are as a nation than to give Gladys Knight an opportunity to sing for the nation. Gladys, as I said before, you're truly one of the best things that ever happened in terms of music. I'm a fan. Colson Whitehead, one of the first and only novelists to win the Pulitzer Prize for back-to-back works.

How in the hell did you do that? Pretty good, man. I'm kind of looking for back-to-back myself. But I may have to do it on the Underground Railroad. With the Nickel Boys. Incredible, man. That's pretty damn impressive. And as an anthropologist,

the first black woman president of Spelman College. Pretty cool. Director of the National Museum of African Art. You know, Jonetta Cole takes the study of black history and culture to new heights. She has strengthened American education, advanced American scholarship, and enriched the lives of students of all ages in the future of our nation. Bryan Stevenson, a cherished son of my home state of Delaware, and one of the most important civil rights leaders, you know, exonerating the wrongfully convicted, funding the Legacy Museum and the National Memorial for Peace and Justice so the history of lynching and racial violence in America gets the reckoning it deserves, and providing a compelling foundation for me to be able to sign into law the Emmett Till's name to make lynching a federal crime. Brian does it all historically. He challenges us to get proximity to the suffering and abandoned and the poor and the condemned so that as we search for the humanity in others,

we find it within ourselves first. The Billie Holiday Theatre, Blondell Pennock. For being an artistic jewel for the nation, channeling its namesakes exploration of freedom and identity, the Billie Holiday Theatre cultivates some of our nation's most renowned black actors, writers, designers, and musicians, and has expanded the reach of American artistic expression and achievement. Fred Eichner. I know a lot of cops, and they get asked all the time, have you ever had to shoot your gun? Sometimes the answer is yes. But there's a company dedicated to a future where the answer will always be no. Across the country, cops called this taser the revolution.

But not everyone was convinced it was that simple. Cops believed everything that taser told them. From Lava for Good and the team that brought you Bone Valley comes a story about what happened when a multi-billion dollar company dedicated itself to one visionary mission. This is Absolute Season 1, Taser Incorporated. I get right back there and it's bad. It's really, really, really bad. Listen to new episodes of Absolute Season 1, Taser Incorporated on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

Binge episodes 1, 2, and 3 on May 21st, and episodes 4, 5, and 6 on June 4th. Ad-free at Lava for Good Plus on Apple Podcasts. I'm Clayton English. I'm Greg Lott. And this is Season 2 of the War on Drugs podcast.

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 TaylorPaperSealing.org. Brought to you by Opportunity at Work and the Ad Council. Thank you. For her iconic voice as the Empress of Soul, Gladys Knight's exceptional talent influenced musical genres from rhythm and blues to gospel to pop and inspired generations of artists captivated by her soundtrack of a golden age in American music. Amen.

Amen. Julius Cole. For being a celebrated leader of sanctuaries of higher learning and culture, a scholar, anthropologist, and academic pace setetter, Jonetta Besh Cole's pioneering work about the ongoing contributions of Afro- Latin, Caribbean, and African communities have advanced American understanding of black culture and the necessity and power of racial inclusion in our nation. applause Walter Isaacson.

Lewis. For writing America's history and shaping America's future, as a social historian and academic leader, Earl Lewis has made vital contributions to the field of black history, educating generations of students, while also being a leading voice for greater diversity in academia and our nation. Bryan Stevenson. For his moral call to redeem the soul of our nation. An advocate fighting tirelessly for the poor, incarcerated, and condemned, Bryan Stevenson follows the book of Micah's instructions to act justly, love mercy, and walk humbly as

he chronicles the legacy of lynching and racism in America, shining a light on what has been and all that we can be as a nation. Thank you. Amy Tan. Colson Whitehead. For his truth-seeking as an American literary icon, with genre-defying craftsmanship and creativity, Colson Whitehead's celebrated novels make real the African-American journey through our nation's continued reckoning with the original sin of slavery

and our ongoing march toward a more perfect union. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Amen. Now, y'all didn't hear, after every black person got the award, the audience went, Amen. It was only for the black people.

Y'all know how we roll. All right, we come back. We'll hear from Dr. Janetta B. Cole, one of the 23 honorees today at the White House. You're watching Roland Martin Unfiltered right here on the Black Star Network. Coming up on the next Black Table, a conversation with Professor Howard W. French on his new book, Born in Blackness, covering 600 years of global African history and helping us understand how the world we know today is a gift from Black people. There could have been no West without Africa and Africa. That's on the next Black Table with me, Greg Carr,

only on the Black Star Network. On the next A Balanced Life with me, Dr. Jackie, re-entry anxiety. A lot of us are having trouble transitioning in this post-pandemic society and don't even realize it. We are literally stuck between two worlds in purgatory. How to get out of purgatory and regain your footing and balance. What emotions they're feeling and being able to label them because as soon as you label an emotion, it's easier to self-regulate. It's easier to manage that emotion.

The next A Balanced Life on Blackstar Network. We're all impacted by the culture, whether we know it or not. From politics to music and entertainment, it's a huge part of our lives. And we're going to talk about it every day right here on The Culture with me, Faraji Muhammad, only on the Black Star Network. I'm Deborah Owens, America's Wealth Coach, and my new show, Get Wealthy, focuses on the things that your financial advisor and bank isn't telling you, but you absolutely need to know. So watch Get Wealthy on the Blackstar Network. Yo, what's up?

This your boy, Ice Cube. What's up? I'm Lance Gross, and you're watching Roland Martin Unfiltered. Alright, folks. Among the 23 honorees was the first, you heard President Biden say, the first black female president of Spelman College.

She also, of course, was the president of the other black female college, Bennett College as well. So the only person who's been the president of both black female institutions, Dr. Janetta B. Cole. She's always great to chat with. And she and I got an opportunity to catch up just outside of the White House before today's ceremony. Here's our conversation. When you're in the people's house, it's a blessing. That we built. It's a blessing to be in a house built by our people, enslaved people. And while we're in this particular period

in our country with attacks on who we are, on our history, on our presence. It's good to be in a place that I still say represents what this country could be. And also here today recognizing a number of great Americans, among them Gladys Knight, also Bryan Stevenson and others. Well, I'll tell you this, and you've heard me say it before. My mama told me a woman will be known by the company she keeps. And today I feel unusually grateful, unusually humbled to be in the presence of these heroes and heroes in the arts and the humanities.

And the thing about the arts and humanities, look, I played in the band, I was in elementary school, middle school, high school, and I tell people all education today, that we do not have the level of arts, band, music, dance, because by that cultivating that early on, it stimulates many of the sides, the other side of your brain also, I think plays a huge part on the education side. Clearly, clearly. I mean, first of all, I really do believe that our people, that black people have just given almost unbelievable amounts to the arts in this country. Where would our country be without black improvisational music?

Without soul music? Without the blues? Where would we be without the writings of Jimmy Bowen? Of Zora Neale Hurston? And so the arts are in our DNA. We are an arts field and a humanities expressing people. I agree. I'm glad you do.

Always good to see you. Always, my bro. And how's my alpha brother? He's doing good. Good seeing you. Good to see you. Hold on. Grab this microphone for me.

All right, folks. That was part of the conversation. They were trying to rush us to go inside to do some other interviews. And so I then caught up with Dr. Cole a second time. And we got a chance to talk about, again, the attacks on critical race theory and other things in history. And also, she talked about her being honored as one of those 23 honorees. And here's the second part of our conversation. When we talk about what is happening in this country, the attacks on history, critical race theory, we can go on and on and on.

Obviously, as an educator, that must be disconcerting. I'm outraged. I'm incensed that I am living in a period in my country when books are banned. Children's books are banned. I'm living at a time in the state of Florida where attacks are viciously being aimed at any and every department, professor, teacher, who, in quotes, is teaching about those things in black in, an assault on American democracy. And while I can be outraged, I know that the only response is to write about this.

It is to march about this. It is to march about this. It is to insist on legislation about this. Our history and our her story cannot be silenced. And anyone who's got half a sense must know, like our people would say, you can't know where you're going must know, like our people would say, you can't know where you're going if you don't know where you've been. And where we have been as a country

is filled, yes, with triumphs, but it is also filled with systemic actions of racism, of sexism, of homophobia, of all of that stuff. And saying, shh, we won't talk about it does not make it go away. We must have these courageous conversations about it. We must educate about it if we are ever to have a far more perfect union. And of course, last question, what does it mean when the nation honors you? You've got lots of awards, you've got plaques and all kinds of stuff like that. But when the nation, this country,

knowing our history as well, recognizes your contributions. It's humbling. It is simply humbling. But it also makes me acknowledge this was not just my work. I have simply been a vessel at a given period in time to carry on the work of our ancestors' work in the interest of the ultimate full freedom of our young people. There we go.

Well, that's certainly one of our great teachers there, Candace. Well, first of all, I so love her because one, she pretty much just broke everything down to show where we come from, where we're going. And in order for us to know where we're going, we need to know our history. And this award couldn't happen to a better person because of what she has perpetuated, what she has brought to our Black community. And I want to say congratulations again. And I look forward to meeting her real soon. Mustafa? Yeah, I've been blessed to actually meet Dr. Cole a number of times. And what you see is literally what you get.

She exudes love and confidence and commitment to our community, but to also making our country a more just society. So no one deserves the award more than she, although she was surrounded by other folks who have shown the same level of commitment. So congratulations, Dr. Cole. All right, then. Again, so she was one of the 23 honorees who was awarded, again, earlier at the White House. And we're hoping to catch up with Gladys Knight.

We're not able to do so, some of the other honorees, but certainly glad we had an opportunity to chat with Dr. Janetta B. Cole. All right, folks, opportunity to chat with Dr. Janetta B. Cole. Alright, folks, gotta go to break. We come back more on Roland Martin Unfiltered. We'll talk about Republicans, but these white conservatives, y'all, are losing their mind over the idea of woke.

Wait till I show you what Dana Perino said on Fox News. She got more damn sense than that. And I gotta talk about that crazy- white woman, Bethany Mandel, who said that, oh, she was just thrown off in an interview on The Hill TV. She was lying. And I'm going to show you how she was lying when we come back. If you're on YouTube, hit the like button, y'all.

We should be sitting over 1,000 likes by now. I see y'all commenting like crazy. We should easily have a thousand likes. So please hit the like button. It impacts the algorithm and which impacts the revenue we generate from the show. Also, please support us in what we do. Trust me, we're not getting the advertising dollars we need. We're beating that door down. Your dollars makes a huge difference. Trust me, it does. Last year, our fan base gave about $800,000. Let me be clear, without your support, we would not be in business. We would not have this show and the five other shows on the Black Star Network. And so please send a check and money order.

And this is what we're asking for. Our goal is every year to get 20,000 of our fans to give on average 50 bucks each. That's a million dollars. That's what our target goal is. And so you can give more, you can give less. Look, we appreciate every dollar you give. Does not matter how small, how large. Checking money orders go to PO Box 57196, Washington, D.C. 20037-0196. Cash app, dollar sign RM Unfiltered, PayPal RMartin Unfiltered, Venmo is RM Unfiltered, Zelle Roland at RolandSMartin.com, Roland at RolandMartinUnfiltered.com. And folks, I am going to be in Chicago on Friday for a book signing. We broadcast the show from there as well.

And so I'll let you know those details after the break. You're watching Rolling Mark Unfiltered back in a moment. I know a lot of cops and they get asked all the time. Have you ever had to shoot your gun? Sometimes the answer is yes. But there's a company dedicated to a future where the answer will always be no. Across the country, cops called this taser the revolution.

But not everyone was convinced it was that simple. Cops believed everything that taser told them. From Lava for Good and the team that brought you Bone Valley comes a story about what happened when a multi-billion dollar company dedicated itself to one visionary mission. This is Absolute Season 1. Taser Incorporated. I get right back there and it's bad.

It's really, really, really bad. Listen to new episodes of Absolute Season 1, Taser Incorporated, on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Binge episodes 1, 2, and 3 on May 21st, and episodes 4, 5, and 6 on June 4th. Add free at Lava for Good Plus on Apple Podcasts. I'm Clayton English. I'm Greg Glott. And this is season 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. I always had to be so good no one could ignore me. Carve my path with data and drive. But some people only see who I am on paper. The paper ceiling, the limitations from degree screens to stereotypes that are holding back over 70 million stars. Workers skilled through alternative routes rather than a bachelor's degree. It's time for skills to speak for themselves. Find resources for breaking through barriers at taylorpapersceiling.org brought to you by Opportunity at Work and the Ad Council.

Hatred on the streets, a horrific scene, a white nationalist rally that descended into deadly violence. You will not be free. White people are losing their damn lives. There's an angry pro-Trump mob stormed 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 rise of the Proud Boys and the Boogaloo Boys. America, there's going to be more of this. 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. I'm Deborah Owens, America's Wealth Coach, and my new show, Get Wealthy, focuses on the things that your financial advisor and bank isn't telling you, but you absolutely need to know. So watch Get Wealthy on the Blackstar Network. Thank you. Să ne urmăm. Okay, folks, I told you why I wrote my book, White Fear,

how the brownie of America is making white folks lose their minds. Now, there are some people, some television producers at other networks who won't have me on because the white producers don't like the title. What they should not like is the truth that I wrote about. And this whole reaction to white conservatives and woke, I mean, they apply woke to everything. If you read the New York Post, oh, my goodness, everything is woke, woke, woke, woke, woke, woke, woke, woke, woke, woke, woke, woke, woke. I mean, that's what they do. Everything is woke. Okay? It's their way of trying to

desensitize and diminish the reality of what woke means. So the other day on Fox News, Dana Perino, who was the press secretary for President George W. Bush, and she knows better, okay? She said one of the dumbest

things I've ever heard about woke. Trust me. Brace yourselves for the level of stupidity you're about to hear. One of the things about woke is, Matt, can you explain it to your mom? Think about that. And I remember when President Trump was running, and it was before he won in 2016, he used to get standing ovations initially when he would say, political correctness is ruining our country. And everybody that was clapping knew exactly what he meant.

But it's sort of like the Supreme Court definition of pornography. You know it when you see it. So the Democrats want to get you in an argument where you're having to define wokeism as if the Webster's Dictionary is defining it. And that's not what it is. It could be a feeling. It could be a sense. And I wonder if Republicans or conservatives are going to have to define it more. She could be right. I don't know. This will be tested. But the other poll numbers you showed are important. The one thing I don't see any candidate really doing right now is talking about a plan for pro-growth economic means. And that's

what Americans are pretty desperately looking for. What the hell is she talking about? Oh, it could be a feeling. It could be what it sounds like. Dana, what the hell are you talking about? And then in order to define it, how do you explain it to your mom? Dana, you were supposed to be an educated white woman, middle-aged. Your mama probably ain't got no clue. Okay, y'all want to speak of no clue? Here's Bethany Mandel, who wrote some book I don't even care about. I didn't even bother getting the title.

So she did an interview on the Hill TV show Rising. And she was asked, because she kept talking about woke, woke, woke, woke, woke, woke, woke, woke, woke, woke. So the sister during the interview asked her to define woke. Didn't go well.

Native Americans consider themselves very liberal and probably fewer of them consider themselves to be woke. What does that mean to you. Would you mind defining woke? Because it's come up a couple of times that I just want to make sure we're on the same page. So, I mean, woke is sort of the idea that. This is going to be one of those moments that goes viral. I mean,

woke is something that's very hard to define and we've spent an entire chapter defining it. It is sort of the understanding that we need to re totally reimagine and we, and we reduce society in order to create hierarchies of oppression. Sorry, it's hard to explain in a 15-second soundbite. We can take your time. It's hard to explain. Yo ass just said y'all wrote a whole chapter in your book, but it's hard to explain.

Y'all, it gets better. So poor little Bethany writes a piece in Newsweek, which basically is now a conservative outlet. Go to my iPad. And so, headline, I was asked to define what my humiliation went viral. Okay. So, y'all are really going to laugh at this one. So in the piece, she goes, right before we went on air, I heard one of the hosts speaking about parents in what I perceived to be a negative way. I panicked. Over my career as a loud and proud breeder, she's got six kids, I've often felt attacked by the left and braced myself to be ambushed on air about my own life choices as a mother of six children. Really?

Really, Bethany? Y'all, Bethany lying. Bethany lying her ass off. And do you know how I know Bethany's lying her ass off? I actually pulled and watched the video of the whole interview. Now, mind you, the entire interview with Bethany was 12 minutes and 42 seconds. All right.

Y'all, it was seven minutes in before they got to her stumbling and bumbling. She was asked a series of questions, go to my iPad, by the black female host, Brianna, the white boy, Robbie. She ain't stumbled, she didn't bumble. None of that. It was seven minutes. Then she screws it up. It's another five minutes after she screwed it up. So I'm trying to understand Mustafa.

Girl, why are you lying? Well, cause see, if you panicked, you would have panicked. Matter of fact, just see, let me help you all out. This is what happens when your ass start lying. Okay? When your ass start lying. They introduce her.

Now, I don't even want to show her book. Okay? So if somebody made a comment right before you went on the air, you probably are going to panic with the first question, right? That's right, Mustafa, Candace, probably the first question. You probably out of the gate if you panicked. I want y'all to see how little trifling ass Bethany answered the first question. Watch.

Training youth in politics, education, medicine, mental health, and even entertainment. The authors say that this is no longer a healthy or happy environment for these children. Co-author of Stolen Youth, Bethany Mendel, joins us now to discuss. Welcome, Bethany. Hi, thank you for having me. So help us understand, what do you see as what's going on with the left or progressives attack on youth today? Yeah, absolutely. So the crux of the argument of the book is that there is sort of a woke reimagining of our society. Do y'all see any panic? Do y'all see any stumbling and bumbling? Do y'all see her feeling

attacked? Now, in those first seven minutes, y'all, she kept talking about being the victim, being the victim, being the victim, being the victim. But, Bethany, that's what your trifling ass did with that little sorry ass column you wrote where you lied. You straight lied. Oh, my God. You know what? Let me just go ahead. Let me go ahead and advance this.

Okay, so maybe, okay, let me just advance this. Oh, in three and a half minutes. Y'all, watch this. All right. We three and a half minutes in. How do you negotiate this idea of an outsized victim culture and people claiming mental health issues that don't really exist with a book and a discourse that's talking about the mental health issues that do suffer and kind of framing kids in a crisis? I mean, there's a kid on a milk carton on your book in a way that obviously points to the fact that there's something real there in your view. How do you disaggregate what might be characterized as a mental health crisis caused by a focus on mental health crises and the idea that we should be perhaps less attendant to the idea

that people who say they have mental health crises are in fact experiencing mental health crises? So it's hard to disentangle the two. And how do you know when a child is experiencing a genuine mental health crisis versus that of a child who is sort of perpetuating their own misery in order to gain credibility among their peer. Fluid. I mean, we got no problem answering the question. Well, let's just see. Let's just advance it a little bit more. Here's the next question. And this is about a minute and a half before she totally screwed up on the woke part. Okay. Y'all ready for this?

Remember, she panicked. Remember, she said one of the hosts, she wouldn't name the host. It's only two y'all. The black girl, the white boy. She said one of the hosts. So white boy, he a host. She wouldn't name the host. There's only two, y'all. The black girl and the white boy. She said, one of the hosts. So, white boy, he a conservative. The black girl, she progressive. So, we know who she was talking about. But she wouldn't name him. But she said, oh my

God, they made a comment about me and I was just rattled. I panicked. The portion of the entity right now, y'all, we are five and a half minutes in. Her ass ain't panicked one time. Watch this.

People in my life who are educators and mental health professionals, I definitely never deny the reality that there's a certain kind of cultural cachet that's emerged of kind of hierarchies of oppression, let's say. But I've also seen a lot of people across the political spectrum express frustration with that. But I've also seen a lot of people across the political

spectrum express frustration with that. So I wonder if you could get into how you see this as a war of the left against the right, because framing it that way, when I think this is a broad concern that a lot of folks have a problem with, does kind of also recreate this kind of victim paradigm, where you have people saying we're being under attack by the left, instead of kind of also recreate this kind of victim paradigm where you have people saying we're being under attack by the left instead of kind of coming together and trying to resolve what I think is a broadly understood phenomenon. And so in this circumstance, there's a lot of things that are sort of a right left, right versus left conversation, but this is not one of them. And I agree with you. I think that there are a lot of people. Stop. I still don't see the panic. I don't see how terrified. Yo, she's six and a half minutes in. Six and a half minutes into the interview. We ain't panicked one time. She did

a little stuttering right there. But she answered my questions. Everything is fine. And then she, you know, then all of a sudden, then things begin to change. Then things begin to change quickly. Hit play. Sort of a woke reimagining that is very, very, very far left. Only 7% of Americans consider themselves very liberal. And probably fewer of them consider themselves to be woke.

And so, you know, when we talk about traditional... What does that mean to you? Would you mind defining woke? Because it's come up a couple times, and I just want to make sure we're on the same page. Stop! All right. We are now six minutes and 51 seconds in. This girl, she ain't stumble over her words.

She has not panicked. She has not had a panic attack. She has not had to call the cops. This Karen, this Karen has not, ain't been no problem whatsoever. I mean, we just been answering the questions. I mean, the black girl been asking questions. The white boy been asking a couple of questions. Everything going fine.

But now is the moment when the white woman loses her mind. And this is the part of the interview that I dare say is similar to the white woman who said a black man tried to beat me up, tried to steal my kids, tried to attack me as the way. Who was the white woman? What was her name? Sharon Smith, I think was her name. Then who was the white boy in Boston? Was it Stewart who claims the black folk?

You always blame the black person. See, that's really what Bethany did. you always blame the black person see that's really what bethany did let me blame the black girl see she made a comment the black girl made a comment and that's why uh i just panicked i couldn't answer the question i don't play y'all all of bethany's little comments now listen to bethany explain when the black girl asked her real simple, I'm just going to roll it back, like we're going to keep it plain, like boo, can't

justify it because you keep saying woke, woke, woke, woke, woke, woke, woke, woke, woke. Watch this. 7% of Americans consider themselves very liberal and probably fewer of them consider themselves to be woke. And so, you know, when, when we talk about traditional, would you mind defining woke? Cause it's come up a couple of

times that I just want to make sure we're on the same page. So, I mean, woke is sort of the idea that, um, I, this is going to be one of those moments that goes viral. I mean, woke is something that's very hard to define and we've spent an entire chapter defining it. It is sort of the understanding that we need to re totally reimagine and we, and we reduce society in order to create hierarchies of oppression. Um, sorry, I it's, it's hard to explain in a 15 second soundbite. create hierarchies of oppression. Sorry, it's hard to explain in a 15-second soundbite. But you took your time. First of all, boo, it was 45 seconds.

Now let me show you how the white boy tried to bail her out. I know a lot of cops, and they get asked all the time, have you ever had to shoot your gun? Sometimes the answer is yes. But there's a company dedicated to a future where the answer will always be no. Across the country, cops called this taser the revolution. But not everyone was convinced it was that simple.

Cops believed everything that taser the revolution. But not everyone was convinced it was that simple. Cops believed everything that taser told them. From Lava for Good and the team that brought you Bone Valley comes a story about what happened when a multibillion-dollar company dedicated itself to one visionary mission. This is Absolute Season 1, Taser Incorporated. I get right back there and it's bad. It's really, really, really bad.

Listen to new episodes of Absolute Season 1, Taser Incorporated, on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Binge episodes 1, 2, and 3 on May 21st, and episodes 4, 5, and 6 on June 4th. Add free at Lava for Good Plus on Apple Podcasts. I'm Clayton English. I'm Greg Glod. And this is season 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 people real perspectives this is kind of star-studded a little bit man we got uh ricky williams nfl player hasman trophy winner it's just a compassionate choice to allow players all reasonable means to care for themselves music stars marcus king john osborne for brothers osborne we have this misunderstanding of what this quote-unquote drug fans. Benny the Butcher. Brent Smith from Shinedown. We got B-Real

from Cypress Hill. NHL enforcer Riley Cote. Marine Corps vet. MMA fighter. Liz Karamush. What we're doing now isn't working and we need to change things. Stories matter and it brings a face to them. It makes it real. It really does. It makes it real. Listen to new

episodes of the War on Drugs podcast season two on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. And to hear episodes one week early and ad-free with exclusive content, subscribe to Lava for Good Plus on Apple Podcasts. 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 taylorpapersilling.org, brought to you by Opportunity at Work and the Ad Council. Okay, watch this. I mean, it's one of those things that,

I mean, everybody is weighing in, in vain against wokeness. We do some of it on this show as well. It's definitely something you know what it is when you see it. Is it wrong? Will you define wokeness then? I would say it's the tendency to punish people formally or often informally for expressing ideas using language specifically that is very new

that no one would have objected to like five seconds ago. So it's easier to come up with examples like, you know, punishing people for using the wrong pronouns or identifying structures of that kind. I would say it's the system of doing actual sensual. Let's take that example. Bethany, you're talking about... His punk ass literally said it's easy to come up with examples. This, Candace, this is what I'm talking about with these white conservatives.

They are so rattled. And here's why. Everybody listen to me to understand why these white conservatives are really freaking out. They're freaking out because young white kids know what woke is. And they're angry that young white kids were showing up at the George Floyd rallies. They're angry that young white kids aren't buying the bullshit of their parents. And they're like, yeah, we ain't down with that. And so now they want to brand everything as woke

what essentially has become the N-word for them. Let's just slap it on everything and so therefore, what we can do is we can diminish everything that comes after that. That's really what this is all about. Rowan, let me tell you something.

This foolishness that I just looked at just now is a narcissist that is an actual white supremacist, okay? First of all, with your ugly behind, you come over here and get on this show and you want to throw woke over here, woke over there, woke over this here. But then you cannot give us the actual definition of what woke is. And I'm going to be honest with you. Her ass know what woke is. But see, it's not going to fit her actual narrative of what she was on that show for.

And see what our sister girl turned around and asked her. You know? So tell us what woke is. Oh, she had her ass caught in the tail. So that's why she gets the shade fan of the day. See, if you, if they call me and say, Roland, can you define white fear? Oh, hell yeah,

I can. Hell yeah, I can. I'll break it down for you. But that's the deal. And so, they are trying to identify everything. No, we know who y'all are. We know what y'all do. We game recognize game, Mustafa. Yeah, without a doubt. You know, we know that this is all a part of the 2024 presidential election and others will be running at that time. So they're trying to do

whatever they can to weaken the steps to address injustices across our country. So if you say you want clean water, then they're going to say, well, you must want woke water. Or if you want clean air, it must be woke air. Or if you want health care for everybody, it's woke health care. So we understand the game. That's all it is. So, y'all, so, Bethany, I'm just going to let you know, your ass will not be coming on this show I don't give a damn

about your little book because I don't want to hear your ass try to describe again with woke ears when you can't even explain it and Dana Perino you know better you know damn good you know what Roland now let her come on this damn show

but let me tell you no no listen, listen, listen, listen. I ain't, listen, that girl ain't going to never, look, that Karen will never show herself on this show. Because, hell, if she thought Brie gave her ass a panic attack, I'm going to straight up give her a stroke. So, yeah, she just might want to go ahead and stay in her little white picket fence

with her white kids and her little white Karen world. And that's exactly what we're talking about because what she is is utterly clueless. Utterly clueless. And so, we gonna keep showing y'all every time these fools do this. And so we're going to keep showing y'all every time these fools do this here,

but I'm trying to explain to y'all what's going on. They are trying to ignite white fear because they need that to show itself up at the ballot box in the 2024 election. Just understand the game. Got to go to break. We'll be right

back. Roland Martin Unfiltered on the Black Star Woke AF Network. A lot of these corporations or people that are running stuff push black people if they're doing a certain

thing. What that does is it creates a butterfly effect of any young kid who you know wants to leave any situation they're in and the only people they see are people that are doing this so i got to be a gangster i got to shoot i got to sell i got to do this in order to do it and it just becomes a cycle but when someone comes around and make another oh we don't you know they don't want to push it or put money into it so that's definitely something i'm trying to fix too is just show there's other avenues you don't you know they don't want to push it or put money into it so that's definitely something i'm trying to fix too is just show those other avenues you don't got to be rapping you're gonna be a ball player it could be a country singer you can be an opera singer you can be a damn whatever you know showing the different avenues and that is possible and it's hard for people to realize Black Star Network is here.

Oh, no punches! I'm real revolutionary right now. Thank you for being the voice of Black America. 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? Pull up a chair. Take your seat. The Black Tape. With me, Dr. Greg Carr here on the Black Star Network. Every week we take a deeper dive into the world we're living in. Join the conversation only on the

Black Star Network. What's up y'all? I'm Will Packer. I'm Chrisette Michelle. Hi, I'm Chaley Rose and you're watching Roland Martin Unfiltered. James Martin is missing from Louisville, Kentucky, and has not been seen since New Year's Eve. The 15-year-old is 5 feet 10 inches tall, weighs 150 pounds, with black hair and brown eyes. Any more information about James Martin should contact the Louisville, Kentucky, Metro Police Department at 502-574-7111. 502-574-7111, 502-574-7111.

All right, a video out of South Florida has blown up on Twitter showing a racist rant hurled at a black West Palm Beach police officer. The man is confronting officers responding to a call about a group of people passing out anti-Semitic flyers. White supremacist John Monadio zeroes in on the black officer and begins yelling racist comments. Watch this, fool. Now we're investigating a littering crime, citations, and identification from everyone here. If not, you're going to go to jail.

Littering crime? Yes. I have to go and grab my backpack. You can see what I identified. I have no problem. I drove. Yeah, my ID's in my backpack. This nigger is getting in my backpack. Sir, you can see what I identified. I have no problem. This is your ID? Yeah, my ID's in my backpack.

Would you like to get it? This nigger is getting in my face. Sir, would you like to get your ID from me? Yeah, I would. Okay, let's get your ID. Away from this nigger. Let's get your ID. Yeah, get it.

Fuckin' me. I'm gonna follow you. See this nigger? See what he's doing? He's intimidated. Can I get in here? Fucking aggressive nigger. That's fucking...

No weapons in here, right? Shut up, nigger. No weapons. Sir, I'm going to take this. This is me. I'm not taking it. I'm going to put it right here while you get your stuff, okay? Go ahead. This is the hard part, man, huh? When I call you a nigger to your face, and you got to act like a white man and detain yourself. Huh, nigger?

This is hard for you, huh? Your low IQ wants to fucking attack me, doesn't it? Over a fucking word, nigger. Doesn't it? Yeah, nigger. Doesn't it? Yeah. It does. You are a fucking science experiment from the Jew. Y'all are free to leave. Have a good day. Alright, officer testosterone.

Mystery meat hybrid. Alright, nigger. See you later. Yeah, shut up, nigger. Shut up, nigger. No one cares about your fucking gay opinion, you faggot. Follow the law, you, hey, faggot, nigger. Shut the fuck up. fucking gay opinion, you faggot. Follow the law, you... Hey, faggot, nigger. Shut the fuck up. Now, no one was arrested, but

the man received a citation for littering. Don't be surprised if he runs up on some black people in his future, Mustafa. Yeah, you know, that officer actually presented himself and carried himself

in the way that we would hope in all situations that an officer would. I know it was difficult to be able to keep your composure, but he did. But yeah, you run up on the wrong folks, you're going to get checked real quick. See, they know who to play with and they know the situations where they can play. But, you know, you're going to find the right one one day. It's going to be a totally different situation. Oh, yeah. Don't be surprised. We're going to be showing him real soon when he gets a visit from Hashtag Team with that ass. All right. A white Georgia man will spend decades behind bars for racially motivated gas station shootings. A federal judge sentenced Larry Foxworth to 20 years in prison for charges after he pled guilty in December.

Prosecutors say the Clayton County man targeted two Jonesboro establishments in July 2021 because of the area's high black population. Foxworth admitted to the shootings at the time of his arrest because he did not like towel heads and didn't like people of color. And he was calling them the N-word. The judge also sentenced him to serve five years of supervised release after his prison term and ordered him to pay $1,000 in restitution. That's 20 years in prison for that racist, Candace. First of all, his ass need to have life in prison for that because it was premeditated. It was it was perpetuated by white supremacy. You made it very clear and you shot a Glock in these specific stores, gas stations where they had people that were of color.

And you made it very clear. So why is that safe to have someone with those ideologies back on the street? His old, ugly self need to be in prison for life for a hate crime. Well, trust me,

I can't wait when Jamal says, yo, what's up? How you doing? How you doing? Oh, no, baby. Just get a homestead ass. Oh, trust me. He going to see a whole. He going to meet some brothers.

Trust me. They going to be a part of it. They going to be a part of the welcome committee. All right, y'all. Philadelphia has reached the most significant mass protest injury settlement in the city's history. That city has agreed to pay 350 people who were injured by police during the response to the 2020 racial justice protest $9.25 million. Of course, those protests followed the murder of George Floyd. The city agreed to pay plaintiffs

in four separate federal civil rights lawsuits and contribute a half a million dollars to a fund that will counsel victims of police violence and other community-led programming. The damages awarded to each of the folks, about 350 plaintiffs, vary depending upon the circumstances of their cases. And so certainly glad to see that. And also out of Illinois, a lot of people are talking about this here. Former Congressman Bobby Rush, former Black Panther, has endorsed Paul Vallis, the former CEO of Chicago Public Schools, to be the next mayor over African-American Cook County Commissioner Brandon Johnson.

Rush announced his endorsement at an anti-violence march for Vallis' campaign. Rush was a longtime congressman there, and he could give Vallis a boost among black voters heading into the April 4th runoff. In addition to that, a number of black pastors have also come out and endorsed Brandon. Brandon has got endorsements from people like Senator Bernie Sanders, Senator Elizabeth Warren, Reverend Jesse Jackson Sr. And as I said, folks, I am going to be in Chicago on Friday. First of all, I got a book signing on Thursday, and then I have a book signing on Friday, and I'll be partnering with WVON Radio for the book signing. And so we

have invited both of the candidates, both of the candidates. We've invited Paul Vallis as well as Brandon Johnson to come to the restaurant where we have the show and the book signing to appear and talk about the issues. The Johnson campaign has put it on his schedule. We have not heard from the Vallis campaign. This is the book signing right here, folks. Again, I'll be live at Chemistry Chicago Restaurant at 5 p.m. The book signing is going to be at 7 p.m., and so we look forward to being there. Of course, that's 5 p.m. Chicago time, 6 p.m. our time. So the show will be live there, and, of course, we have the book signing as well.

So, Paul Vallis, come talk to a brother. Let's see what you got to say if you want to be the next mayor of Chicago. All right, folks, got to go to a brother. Let's see what you got to say. You're going to be the next mayor of Chicago. All right, folks, got to go to break. We come back more on Rolling Unfiltered on the Black Star Network. When you 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. Waste $100,000. We're behind $100,000. So we want to hit that. Y'all money makes this possible. Checks and money orders go to P.O. Box 57196, Washington, D.C. 20037-0196. The cash app is Dollar Sign RM Unfiltered. PayPal is R. Martin Unfiltered. Venmo is RM Unfiltered. Zelle is Roland at RolandSMartin.com. On the next A Balanced Life with me, Dr. Jackie, re-entry anxiety. A lot of us are having trouble transitioning in this post-pandemic society and don't even realize it. We are literally stuck between two worlds in purgatory. How to get out of purgatory and regain your footing and balance.

What emotions they're feeling and being able to label them because as soon as you label an emotion, it's easier to self-regulate. It's easier to manage that emotion. The next A Balanced Life on Blackstar Network. We're all impacted by the culture, whether we know it or not. From politics to music and entertainment, it's a huge part of our lives and we're going to talk about it every day

right here on The Culture with me, Faraji Muhammad, only on the Black Star Network. Hey, everybody, it's your man Fred Hammond. I'm Deion Cole, you're watching... Roland Martin, Unfiltered. Stay woke. I know a lot of cops, and they get asked all the time, have you ever had to shoot your gun?

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dedicated itself to one visionary mission. This is Absolute Season 1, Taser Incorporated. I get right back there and it's bad. It's really, really, really bad. Listen to new episodes of Absolute season one, Taser Incorporated on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Binge episodes one, two, and three on May 21st and episodes 4, 5, and 6 on June 4th. Add free at Lava for Good Plus on Apple Podcasts. Real people, real perspectives. This is kind of star-studded a little bit, man. We got Ricky Williams, NFL player, Heisman Trophy winner.

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

MMA fighter Liz Karamush. What we're doing now isn't working and we need to change things. Stories matter and it brings a face to them. It makes it real. It really does. It makes it real. Listen to new episodes of the War on Drugs podcast season two on the iHeart Radio 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 TaylorPaperSealing.org. Brought to you by Opportunity insurance companies in the United States. The first was the African Insurance Company, which was organized in 1810 in Philadelphia. And the one many people know about is the one out of North Carolina, the North Carolina Mutual Life Insurance Company. Now, the bottom line is African Americans for decades could not actually get insurance. Well, of course, integration, things begin to change. And so we have gotten away from insurance companies. Well, there is a new one called AfriCare Life. It's a black-owned company that provides an easy life insurance platform to help working-class people of African descent

and other people of color in the United States. Joining me now from Colorado Springs is Sam Ayani, founder and CEO of Africa Life. Sam, how are you doing? I'm good, Sam. Great to meet you. Okay, so first of all, when did you create this insurance company and what sets it apart from other life insurance companies? All right. So actually, this actually started out of necessity because people when I meet Africans that migrated to the U.S., they came from cash economy to an economy that is based on credits. And another reason was because there's just a whole lot of needs in the marketplace for our people because they are very less educated when it comes to how financial product works

in the US. So a few years ago, I met with a couple by referral. That's when I was still doing okay. And then this couple, they realized they needed life insurance. She was the wife. But then the husband refused that he doesn't need life insurance because he thinks that when you think life insurance, what Africans think generally is you're wishing

me death. So five months after that, after I met with them twice, this gentleman had a car crash and then died. The wife and the kids were left with nothing. This was the time that I realized that, okay, I need to go hard in actually going after our people, that this is not wishing you death. We all need life insurance. And that's where we started, but we've had other products in the process. So how has it gone so far? How many people have you signed up for your life insurance company? We have hundreds of people that comes to our platform every single day. And as you can see on this screen, the reason why we created the platform again is because our people don't like being pestered when it comes to financial services. So we created the platform

so that they can come there without being bombarded by calls from any agents, and that included my agents. We don't even call people unless they even schedule an appointment. So we are crossing over thousands, actually, every month now. And so, and again, it's also trying to get people to understand the benefits of life insurance. I mean, all too often we've seen where folks have passed away. They did not have the resources to be able to bury loved ones or look at life insurance as a financial instrument for their families. Yes, sir. And much more than just life insurance, like I said, is all the product that a lot of us in America, I would say black people generally, actually are uneducated when it comes to these financial services as a whole. So we've introduced all the products which actually include people to reduce their interest volume on all their debts. For example, when I

said the word APR, everyone knew what that is. But when you say TIP, most black people don't know what TIP is. And that is what most of us really need to know when it comes to debt, generally, is your total interest percentage, not just how much you are paying on the monthly or on a yearly basis. Questions from our panel. Mustafa, you first. Yes. Brother Ayeni, congratulations on getting this platform set up.

What were some of the challenges that you had when you were first starting to put this together, the platform? when you were first starting to put this together? One of the challenges, actually, that I feel that I think that a lot of black entrepreneur faces is actually being able to find investors and being able to find a bank to even back you up. So all this, actually, I had to bootstrap it. So it's from savings as well as my wife also helping, we're just putting money together in order for us to actually bring this to life. So everything is done by us. We don't have any investor as we speak right now. Candace?

Well, first of all, congratulations once again, my brother. But I have this one question. How can you engage this population that like to buy hair bundles, that like to buy Jordans, and don't give a damn about life insurance? How can you work with that population? Because they quit to want to do a GoFundMe and want to do a fish fry, you know, to try to bury their loved ones. But clearly you have this option, which I looked at your stuff and it's very easy to utilize. So what plan you have in place to target that population? Because they are the ones who need life insurance. Right. So the approach, like I said earlier, is that

we're taking education approach rather than sales approach. An ordinary life insurance agent or agency or life insurance company just want to sell to you. But we're taking education approach and that's why we created the platform

for people to just come, come, go through it, and you can actually learn all different types of life insurance, term life insurance, internal premium, whole life insurance, other permanent life insurances, such as IUL. You can learn all of that on your own without anyone bombarding you with any call. So that's the approach we're taking that, hey, just come. Let's educate you for you to understand what you are missing for not having life insurance as well as other products that can help you right now, not when you die, but can help

you. There are life insurance that can help you while you're still living that has been benefits. So, again, the approach we're taking is education. Let's educate our people. Then they can buy as much as they understand the need for it. All right, then. Sam, we appreciate it. We're happy to get more information.

You can get more information at afrikalife.com. That is A-F-R-I-K-A-R-E, life.com. All right, then. We certainly appreciate it. Thank you so very much. All right, folks, I've got to go to break. We come back. We will talk to the family of the man who was,

we opened the show showing you that video, the man who was suffocated to death by those sheriff's deputies in Virginia. We'll talk to his family. Attorney Ben Crump will come back. We'll also pay tribute to the great Willis Reed, graduate of Grambling State University, New York Knick legend, one of the greatest players of all time in the NBA, passed away today at the age of 80.

You're watching Roland Martin Unfiltered with Black Star Network. A lot of these corporations or people that are running stuff push black people if they're doing a certain thing. What that does is it creates a butterfly effect. Okay, here's what I need you to do. Any young kid who, you know, wants to leave any situation they're in, and the only people they see are people that are doing this. So I gotta be a gangster, I gotta shoot, I gotta sell,

I gotta do this in order to do it. And it just becomes a cycle. But when someone comes around and is making other, oh, we don't, you know, they don't wanna push it or put money into it. So that's definitely something I'm trying to fix too, is just show there's other avenues. You don't gotta be a rapper, you don't gotta be a ballplayer.

You can be a country singer, you can be an opera singer, you can be a damn whatever, you know? Showing those other avenues. You don't gotta be a rapper, you don't gotta be a ballplayer. You can be a country singer, you can be an opera singer, you can be a damn whatever, you know? Showing the different avenues, and that is possible, and it's hard for people to realize that it's possible until someone does it. Pull up a chair, take your seat. The Black Tape with me, Dr. Greg Carr, here on the Black Star Network. Every week, we'll take a deeper dive into the world we're living in.

Join the conversation only on the Black Star Network. We're all impacted by the culture, whether we know it or not. From politics to music and entertainment, it's a huge part of our lives, and we're going to talk about it every day right here on The Culture with me, Faraji Muhammad, only on the Black Star Network.

Hey, I'm Donnie Simpson. What's up? I'm Lance Gross, and you're watching Roland Martin Unfiltered. All right, folks, welcome back to Roland Martin Unfiltered. Moments ago, the family of Ervo Odino, they finished their news conference with Attorney Ben Crump. They join us live right now. We have his mother, Caroline, brother Leon, as well, and this year's attorney, Crump. Glad to have you all here.

It was shocking to watch that video. The Washington Post put together a nine-minute edited version. And to see, I mean, it was very reminiscent of what took place with George Floyd. We did not have the audio, but to sit there and watch six to eight people, a total of 15 people standing around, literally pressed their bodies against him, taking the life out of his body, and then to try to see them frantically save him was shocking and stunning and just an abdication of decency and morality. Yeah. And Roland, thank you so much for always giving our people a voice. And Ms. Caroline said, no, no, Attorney Crump,

we have to do Roland Martin because he always talks about our issues. She never thought it would be her child being lost in this tragedy that she'll be talking to you about. But I will let her tell you about her feelings when she saw that video. And Leon, his brother, is also present here with us.

Roland Martin. Please go right ahead. Yes. First of all, I'd like to say thank you so much, Mr. Martin, for getting us to your show to tell the story of my son, Ivo Otieno. When I saw that video, of course I'd seen it before, but each time you see it, it's like you're seeing it for the first time, it was hard to watch and traumatizing, really. I mean, these officers, I shouldn't even call them officers anymore, because this man, this group of nine men

and one woman took the life, squeezed the life out of my son, and just staying on top of him and pinning him down and pressing on him until they made sure that he was not breathing anymore. It makes you wonder, you know. It makes you wonder. They are put in place to protect and serve. When my son left my home, I did not ever think he was not coming back. So, anyway, when I got the news today,

I was so happy that at least the process towards justice has begun. And for these man, I hope that we will pursue and fully, you know, achieve justice for Ivor Otieno. Leon, the thing for me is, as I sat there and I watched it, and again, I literally counted at one point 15 people in the frame. 15 people. And I'm sitting there going, no one? Like, first of all, his hands were bound and his feet were bound, correct? Yes. Correct.

And iron legs. So his hands are bound, feet are bound. Why in the hell are eight people sitting on him? Right. Great question. Great question. If you've ever watched MMA, boxing, or wrestling, you notice there's an official controlling the fight,

you know, stopping the fight at any given point so that they can reset and continue the match. In this case, my brother is laying there weak. He ain't got no energy. He's not kicking. He's not fighting. His hands are shackled and his feet are shackled. And you wonder, if you watch the video, if you wonder, are they just having a show? Are they just watching and hoping that? What are they hoping to see if they're just standing there watching? So I personally feel like every single person in that room is responsible.

Yes. They failed him. Roland, and we must know that he was having a mental health crisis, but they didn't treat it like a medical issue. They treated it like a criminal issue, what we see far too often in our community. But man, wasn't he in a mental hospital? He was in a mental hospital. That's why I'm confused. People who are in mental hospitals are likely going to have

mental health episodes. So you probably have a different strategy of dealing with them and not having 10 people sit on them. Well, before you could even get to the mental hospital, we took him here in Richmond to a hospital called Henrico Doctors Hospital. He was at the hospital. They went ahead. He was on a hold for 72 hours to get treatment. They went ahead and pulled him off treatment. The police pulled him off treatment.

They created a situation for him, pulled him off treatment, and took him to jail where there was no doctor, no medicine for the weekend. And we would really want to find out what happened at Henrico Jail. We would love to see that video because me as a mother really think, and I know a lot happened at that Henrico Jail before my son was transferred to Central States.

Yeah. And Roland, what she's saying, he was in a hospital. The police took him out of the hospital to jail, even though he committed no crime, has no criminal history. And then they take him to Central State, and we see what transpires, that they give him an overdose of excessive force that kills him when he needed a helping hand, Roland Martin. It was just shocking and stunning. And I know for you, Caroline and Leon, to have to watch that video, difficult. It's one of the reasons we didn't play it.

But the one thing that we do know, what always happens in these cases, and Ben, you know this very well, we hear these cops say one thing, but the video says something else. And I don't know what any of them could try to say. They probably would try to say, well, you can't hear what's being said, but the man's hands and feet were bound. He's on the ground.

Lifeless. And you literally see them putting their full, they're sitting on the man. Yeah. And Roland, three years after George Floyd, why would anybody, any law enforcement officer, put their knee on the neck of a restrained person who's facedown? We can't understand. And so thank you for covering it, Roland. The family, they follow you and they were so grateful.

We know your panel really is going to break this one down. And we look forward to watching everything that the panel says because they help teach me a lot as we go to court listening to your panels. Well, we appreciate it. Again, our sympathies, Caroline, Leon as well. And we'll keep covering this case to the panels. Well, we appreciate it. Again, our sympathy is Caroline, Leon as well. And we'll keep covering this case to the conclusion. Thank you so much, Roland Martin. We appreciate you. Thank you, Roland. I used to watch your show every day regularly. Well, I appreciate it. And I hate that we get to meet under these circumstances, but I'm sure we'll be meeting soon.

Thank you. Thank you very much. That's just, it's just, you know, the thing for me, Mustafa, I think about the Sandra Bland. Sandra Bland told her mom she was going to be on my show one day. Unfortunately, it was on the show talking about her death. And it's just hard to cover these cases and to have to do those interviews. But the reality is they simply don't get the coverage necessary. And there are people, I remember when I was at TV One, I had our president, and he was white, Brad.

And Brad sort of asked me, you know, well, it's like, this is like every day. And I'm like, yes, because black people are being killed every day. And if we don't cover these stories, who the hell will? And that's why we do what we do. Yeah, without a doubt. You know, we continue to see law enforcement and others who continually try to dehumanize us. The show plays an important role because it re-humanizes who we are, both in life and in death, so that they can no longer put that false narrative out there.

You know, I'm always remembered of the words of James Baldwin, you know, when he said some of the things that he shared with us about making sure that we are highlighting these injustices that continue to happen. So, you know, the Black Star Network, the work that you've always done for years and years is so incredibly important in making sure that justice becomes a reality for our people. It's just it's unfortunate that we have to keep doing these stories. But the bottom line is, as Ida B. Wells, that portrait we have over there, light has to always expose darkness. It's about truth. Absolutely, Roland, because this platform is very needed. Because you've got to keep in mind, you've been in media for quite some time. And then, you know, we deal with the media all the time, and they only

want to put certain stories that they want to tell. But see, you are actually putting it out there so everyone can know this is what's affecting us. And just like what Ben Crump just said, he's going to be looking at us

to help him with his case. So, Roland, keep it up. And everybody that's watching this, you donate to my brother, man, because we need this show. Keep it black. Stay woke. I appreciate it. And one of the things that also happens,

you know, we cover the highs and lows, and unfortunately, we also cover when one of us becomes an ancestor, folks. The great Willis Reed, one of the greatest players in NBA history, passed away today at the age of 80. He, of course, an NBA legend, a multiple all-star, named one of the 50 greatest NBA players of all time. Willis Reed, many people remember that game where he had a torn muscle and he came out of the tunnel to rejuvenate and energize the New York Knicks

to go on to win a title. This is what the New York Knicks released on their social page. The Knicks organization is deeply saddened to announce the passing of our beloved captain, Willis Reed. As we mourn, we will always strive to uphold the standards he left behind, the unmatched leadership, sacrifice, and work ethic that personified him as a champion among champions. His is a legacy that will live forever. We ask everyone to please respect the family's privacy during this difficult time. That was a statement from the New York Knicks. This is what NBA Commissioner Adam Silver had to say. Willis Reed was the ultimate team player and consummate leader.

My earliest and fondest memories of NBA basketball are watching Willis, who embodied the winning spirit that defined the New York Knicks championship teams in the early 1970s. He played the game with remarkable passion and determination, and his inspiring comeback in Game 7 of the 1970 NBA Finals remains one of the most iconic moments in all of sports. As a league MVP, two-time NBA Finals MVP, and a member of the NBA's 50th and 75th anniversary teams, Willis was a decorated player who took great pride in his consistency.

Following his playing career, Willis mentored the next generation as a coach, team executive, and proud HBCU alumnus. We send our deepest condolences to Willis' wife, Gail, his family, and his many friends and fans. Of course, the folks at Grambling also recognized his passing as well with a statement that was released by the university. He, of course, was also honored. His jersey was retired by Grambling State. This is a photo from that ceremony there as well. And Willis Reed, after he retired, he returned back to his roots there

in Louisiana, living not far from the campus as well. And so certainly a kudos go out to the Grambling State family, the NBA, the Knicks family, as well as the NBA legends on the passing of, indeed, one of the greatest players, but not just one of the greatest players, folks. This is a man who traveled the country working with kids, traveled the globe. He has done amazing, amazing things. And he, of course, at one time was an assistant coach under Bill Russell with the Sacramento squad there as well. And so Willis Reed, a great ballplayer, a great humanitarian,

there at the age of 80. Folks, that is it for us today on Roland Martin Unfiltered. Candace, Mustafa, thank you so very much. Folks, we'll see you tomorrow today on Roland Martin Unfiltered. Candace Mustafa, thank you so very much, folks. We'll see you tomorrow right here on the Black Star Network. is here. Oh, no punching! I'm real revolutionary right now. Support this man, Black Media. He makes sure that our stories are told. Thank you for being the voice of Black America, Roller. Be Black. I love y'all.

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