#RolandMartinUnfiltered - Israel-Hamas War, Tampa, Fla. Cop Misconduct, VP Kamala Harris College Tour, VA Voter Purge

Episode Date: October 12, 2023

10.11.2023 #RolandMartinUnfiltered: Israel-Hamas War, Tampa, Fla. Cop Misconduct, VP Kamala Harris College Tour, VA Voter Purge Hamas militants attacked Israel by air, sea, and ground.  National Security Expert Dr. Nola Haynes is here to make sense of this full-fledged surprise attack. A Florida NAACP Chapter is demanding the Tampa, Florida, Police take accountability for misconduct by its officers.  Two videos have surfaced showing one officer taunting black residents and another choking a man during an arrest.  The  NAACP Hillsborough County branch president will join us tonight to discuss how they plan to keep people safe from those sworn to protect them.  Thousands of Virginia voters have been purged from the voter rolls.  Democrats are demanding the Department of Justice investigate.  Virginia House Democratic Leader Don Scott will explain how the removal of names happened.  Vice President Kamala Harris' "Fight for Our Freedoms" College Tour was at the College of Charleston.   And I'm going to share my thoughts on "The Kamala Harris Problem" and why folks don't give her the respect she deserves.  Also, we're going to pay tribute to "Uncle Redd."  The youngest of the Tulsa Race Massacre has died at age 102. 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. I wouldn't change a thing about our lives. Sometimes the answer is yes. But there's a company dedicated to a future where the answer will always be no. This is Absolute Season 1, Taser Incorporated. I get right back there and it's bad. Listen to Absolute Season 1, Taser Incorporated on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. I'm Clayton English. I'm Greg Glott. And this is Season 2 of the War on Drugs podcast. Last year, a lot of the problems of the drug war.

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

Listen to new episodes of the War on Drugs podcast season two on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Today is Wednesday, October 11, 2023. Coming up on Roller Martin Unfiltered, streaming live on the Black Star Network. Hamas militants attack Israeli by air, sea, and ground. And now Israel is responding.

We'll talk about the devastation in the Middle East that has caused more than 2,000 deaths on both sides. And national security expert Hector Noah Haynes is here to make sense of this war. A Florida NAACP chapter is demanding the Tampa police take accountability for misconduct by its officers. Two videos have surfaced showing one officer taunting black residents and another choking a man

during an arrest. We'll be joined by the president of the NAACP, Hillsborough County branch. Thousands of Virginia voters have been purged from the voter rolls. Democrats are demanding the Department of the NAACP Hillsborough County branch. Thousands of Virginia voters have been purged from the voter rolls. Democrats are demanding the Department of Justice investigate. We'll be joined by Virginia House Democratic Leader Don Scott on this issue. Vice President Kamala Harris' fight for our freedoms college tour for the College of Charleston.

We will have some of that for you. Also, I'm gonna break down the continuing stories about why national media keeps saying Kamala Harris is a problem and really what is going on here. Plus, we're paying tribute to one of the three surviving descendants of the Tulsa Race Massacre, Uncle Red. He has passed away at the age of 102. It is time to bring the funk on Roland Martin Unfiltered

on Blackstone Network, let's go. He's got whatever the piss he's on it. Whatever it is, he's got the scoop, the fact, the fine. And when it blips, he's right on time. And it's Roland, best belief he's knowing. Putting it down from sports to news to politics, with entertainment just for kicks. He's rolling, yeah, with some go-go-royale. Yeah, yeah.

It's rolling, Martin, yeah. Yeah, yeah. Rolling with rolling now. Yeah, yeah. He's funky, he's fresh, he's real the best, you know he's rolling, Martel. Now. Martel. For the last several days, we have had to witness a shocking, devastating video coming out of the Middle East

after Hamas militants issued a surprise attack on Israel. Nearly more than 2,000 people have been killed on both sides, Israelis as well as Palestinians there in the Gaza Strip. Twenty-two Americans have also died. Israel, what they've done is they've responded in kind. They have banned electricity, water and other items coming into the Gaza Strip. Other countries are enforcing a blockade as well. They are attacking and going after many of the Hamas strongholds there in the Gaza Strip. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and National Unity Party leader Benny Gantz

says the government will not pass any laws or make any decisions that do not concern the conduct of war. Now, President Joe Biden, he, of course, has also been speaking out. He spoke again today, making it clear that the United States stands strongly and firmly with Israel. This has led to a lot of back and forth on Capitol Hill. You also have members of both parties talking about what needs to be done to actually provide additional resources to Israel in this battle. So many different things have been going on. You've had various universities, excuse me, various students at the university have been issuing statements.

Some of them highly critical. You've got folks who have also been criticizing. They've been criticizing members of Congress. Folks are making decisions. Do they stand with Israel? Do they stand with the Palestinians? You've got critics of Black Lives Matter Chicago for what they've been posting. Again, a significant number, a significant number of folks speaking on both sides, multiple sides of this issue. It has led to a lot of consternation as we were seeing again as these bodies are being are being pulled out of the rubble. We're seeing reports, unfortunately, a lot of disinformation on social media as well, trying to understand exactly what is going on, what is going on over there as we speak.

Here's President Biden speaking a little bit earlier. Give me one second. All right, folks, let me just pull this up. Here we go. I mean, I've been doing this a long time. I never really thought that I would see and have confirmed pictures of terrorists beheading children. I never thought I'd ever... Anyway, I... But there are countries in the region that are trying to be of some help, including

Arab nations, trying to be of some help. So... Doug Imhoff, who is, of course, the second gentleman who was married to Vice President Kamala Harris. He is also Jewish. He also spoke today. Here's what he had to say. You're all hurting. The entire Jewish community is hurting. I'm hurting. We grieve with you.

We stand with you. But thank God we have the steady leadership of Joe Biden and Kamala Harris during this unthinkable time in our history. Their moral compass, their calm, their empathy are what we need in this time of crisis. And we saw that yesterday when President Biden, with Vice President Harris and Secretary Blinken by his side powerfully addressed the nation and made clear to the world that Israel has the United States' unwavering support. Our president and vice president are making sure Israel has what it needs to defend itself. We are grateful for their leadership and support for Israel at this exceptionally difficult time. We also acknowledge and address how these events will impact us as Jews. All right. Joining us right now is national security expert Dr. Nola Haynes. So, Doc, glad to have you here. So, all right. Where do we even begin?

First of all, this started with this surprise attack by Hamas against Israel. Some 5,000 rockets were fired. So I want to do this here. A lot of people, a lot of people really have no understanding of anything in this region. So let's first do this here. Explain to folks the difference between Hamas and the PLO. And so when you see people talking about they stand with Palestine, it doesn't mean that they are defending Hamas. So explain to people who don't quite understand this region at all. Thank you so much for doing this segment. It's very important. And I think it's important to talk to everybody about what's happening, especially folks in our community. And that is

a great starting point. You know, we can go all the way back to 1948 when the state of Israel was even founded. This is how far this goes back. It goes all the way back there. And there are different times in the 60s and the 70s where you had different squirmishes. There was a six-day war in 1967, 1972. There are so many instances that you can point to, but nothing quite like this on this scale. So in 2006, Hamas came into power in Gaza. I want to be very clear about them having power in Gaza. There's the West Bank and there are other parts where Palestinians are in Lebanon and Jordan. In 1948, when Israel became a state, and a lot of Palestinians were forced to go elsewhere. They migrated to many different parts.

So we're talking about the Gaza Strip. So they came into power in 2006, and it's been a bit of a roller coaster since then. They ousted the Fatah party that was there, and then also the PLO. And Hamas got started with the Egypt's Brotherhood, which was kind of an organization that dates—I forget exactly when they came into power, but it was a pretty powerful organization. But then they broke off, and then they became Hamas. So they've had a presence, I would say, probably since the 80s, and they became Hamas. So they've had a presence I would say probably since the 80s and they slowly gained power. And they officially came into power

in 2006. So when you say coming to power, I feel like I understand that was an election. And this was when President George W. Bush was there. And there were a number of people who were trying to explain to the Bush administration, do not move forward with this election.

Hamas is going to win. And so, Conley's the rightful secretary of state. They said, no, there's going to be an election there. And that's exactly what happened there in the Gaza Strip. And so, what you had is you had Hamas, who was saying to people, we're going to provide you food, shelter, things along those lines. We're talking about a territory with about 2 million people, half of them children, 90% of the place doesn't have electricity.

You've had the U.N. Secretary General literally call this an open-air prison. And so folk have to understand really what this area is like and really what is going on here, which explains why Hamas has been able to control the Gaza Strip. Go ahead. I'll give you an example. Think about the Taliban right now being in charge of Afghanistan. You can say they came to power, but they took it, essentially. So we really are talking about a terrorist organization running the Gaza Strip, but like you said, Roland, with over 2 million people in that area. So when we say they came to power, that's a nice way of saying a lot of people didn't have a lot of choice. They were looking for something different because they were suffering.

And so this is very, very typical with a lot of choice. They were looking for something different because they were suffering. And so this is very, very typical with a lot of terrorist organizations. They will promise, promise, promise. And in some instances, they will actually do the work. They will actually come and feed you. But they also have these ulterior motives where they want to also enact some level of Sharia law, right, through force. So that's another part of it. So Palestinian folks have been living under pretty extreme circumstances since 2006. And you have these competing power centers among the Palestinians. You have the PLO.

Yasser Arafat was their leader for a very long time. And they were the traditional group. You've got Hamas, which some may call the militant wing, and so you have folks at odds. Now we're seeing stories out of Israel saying that Netanyahu wanted to isolate the PLO and then support being driven to Hamas to be able to then, frankly, crush both. Exactly, because one of the things, and Hamas has been very clear about this, they want part of Jerusalem. They want the Palestinian state to be recognized. They want

the state of Palestine, and a big piece of that is Jerusalem. So I kind of want to fast forward to 2017 when the embassy was moved to Jerusalem. Hamas was not happy with that. They were not happy with the Trump administration at all. So that's kind of like a starting point. And hold up, hold up. Before you go there, you had many white conservative, white evangelical Christians here in the United States who wanted that to happen as well. And so what you have here, you have this very interesting alliance going on where you have white evangelicals who are strongly backing that and pushing that, where you had a number of folks who are Jewish who were sort of like, is this really a major deal? And so that was, again, one of those conflicting issues where you

had folks on multiple sides. You're like, well, why are y'all pushing this thing so diligently? Right. And I am not a biblical scholar. Yes, I did go to divinity school, but I leave that to my colleagues who know more about that, where that really goes all the way back. That's a biblical textual argument. Right. A lot of evangelicals will stand ten toes down on. They really will. And they see Jerusalem as being the crowning jewel.

Right. So when the embassy was moved to Jerusalem, you're right. There were a lot of evangelicals, not just white ones. A lot top of that, the Abraham Accords. So there's this process of normalizing Israel. And what I mean by that is, is for other states in the Middle East to recognize Israel as a sovereign state. And so the normalization process that a lot of people are talking about, there's a lot of mis- and disinformation around Iran. There are a lot of people are talking about. There's a lot of mis- and disinformation around

Iran. There are a lot of conspiracy theories being drawn together. But the gist of it is, is that there was a critical piece of normalization that was happening with Saudi Arabia. So some of these, the way that people are weaving stories together is to say that, well, Hamas definitely is interested in destabilizing the region. I mean, you don't attack unless your goal is to destabilize, right? And so a lot of people are saying that 2017, with moving the embassy to Jerusalem, coupled with normalization, recognizing Israel as a sovereign state, are the sparks that really pushed Hamas to this extreme point. So that is a point of view.

Things are still unfolding. We're still finding out information. But I want to make one thing very clear. Roland, you mentioned mis- and disinformation earlier. There are a lot of stories out there about Iran having direct involvement in helping this happen. We do not have evidence of that, first and foremost. Right, right. Hold on one second, because the reason I want to really hit that point,

first of all, I'm going to go to a break. We come back. I want to deal with that, because when President Biden spoke yesterday, he was attacked by a lot of right-wing folks. He didn't mention Iran. They were behind this. These are the same people who were yelling Iraq had weapons of mass destruction. We've also seen these reports

saying that Hamas has beheaded 40-some-odd children, but then we're hearing from official folks in Israel that that cannot be confirmed. So it's a whole lot of stuff that's being thrown out. It has not helped because Elon Musk, they're not his ex, also Twitter, they're not even stopping a lot

of stuff. So really people right now are saying a lot of things are happening that are actually not. And so I want to pick up when we come back on that. I just want to just walk people through. And I want to talk about, again, I want you to give people an understanding why the United States has historically stood so steadfast with Israel. And then we're going to also get into why do you have this relationship, this alliance, if you will, between a lot of African-Americans and the Palestinians. And so people need to understand there's a whole lot of things here at play. Geopolitics, American politics.

Yes, oppression, racism, you name it. All these things are happening. And right now, so many people are now being sort of pushed into a corner where people are saying, all right, who are you with? It's either Israel or the Palestinians. You can't be for both. And you've got celebrities who are getting in trouble. You've got people, universities. It's all members of Congress.

It's all sorts of drama that's being laid out. So we just want to unpack some people. So we, our folks, have the accurate, proper information. So Nola, hold tight one second, folks. We'll be right back on Rolling Mark Unfiltered right here 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. 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, raise $100,000. We're behind $100,000, so we want to hit that. Your money makes this month. Waits $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. 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. I know a lot of cops, and they get asked all the time, have you ever had to shoot your gun? Sometimes the answer is yes. But there's a company dedicated to a future where the answer will always be no. Across the country,

cops call this taser the revolution. But not everyone was convinced it was that simple. Cops believed everything that taser told them. From Lava for Good and the team that brought you Bone Valley comes a story about what happened when a multi-billion dollar company dedicated itself to one visionary mission. This is Absolute Season 1, Taser Incorporated. I get right back there and it's bad. It's really, really, really bad. Listen to new episodes of Absolute Season 1, Taser Incorporated on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Binge episodes 1, 2, and 3 on May 21st and episodes 4, 5, and 6 on June 4th.

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

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

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

Listen to new episodes of the War on Drugs podcast season two on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. And to hear episodes one week early and ad-free with exclusive content, subscribe to Lava for Good Plus on Apple Podcasts. We asked parents who adopted teens to share their journey. We just kind of knew from the beginning that we were family. They showcased a sense of love that I never had before. I mean, he's not only my parent, like, he's like my best friend. At the end of the day, it's all been worth it. I wouldn't change a thing about our lives. Learn about adopting a teen from foster care. Visit AdoptUSKids.org to learn more.

Brought to you by AdoptUSKids, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, and the Ad Council. I'm Faraiji Muhammad, live from L.A., and this is The Culture. The Culture is a two-way conversation, you and me. we talk about the stories, politics, the good, the bad, and the downright ugly. So join our community every day at 3 p.m. Eastern

and let your voice be heard. Hey, we're all in this together. So let's talk about it and see what kind of trouble we can get into. It's The Culture, weekdays at 3, only on the Black Star Network. Me, Sherri Shebret, and you know what you're watching. get into. It's the culture. Weekdays at 3, only on the Black Star Network. Me, Sherri Sheppard, and you know what you're watching, Roland Martin, unfiltered.

Well, it's good to be back in Charleston, but I want to just first of all say a few words about what's happening in Israel right now. And needless to say, I'm completely outraged by what has taken place. We are looking at extreme acts of terrorism that must be condemned in no uncertain terms. There is absolutely no justification for terrorism. The president and I take very seriously our commitment to Israel and to the people of Israel to support them and in particular to give Israel what it needs to defend itself. One of our highest priorities, of course, is the safety and well-being of American citizens, and that will continue to be among our highest priorities. It is also critically important that, as we have been, we will stay in constant communication

and contact with our allies, with our Israeli partners, with members of Congress, as we have been doing in these last few days. In fact, this morning I was on a call that the president was on with Prime Minister Netanyahu, which is now one of many calls that have taken place, to restate our commitment that is unwavering to stand with Israel and the Israeli people. So thank you. All right, that was Vice President Kamala Harris. Today we go back to our guest, Dr. Nola Haynes, national security expert.

Nola, for people who don't understand the relationship between the United States and Israel, very close, we send Israel billions of dollars annually. Yeah. This relationship goes all the way back to 1948. We were the first back to 1948. We were the first country to recognize Israel as a state. They are our security partner and ally. They believe in democratic values, and our relationship is very, very strong.

And when you say our security partner, folks have to understand, we rely on Israel and the relationship and intelligence when it comes to many of those other countries in the Middle East that don't have democracies and that, for many of them, they have been enemies of Israel and vice versa. Absolutely. Yeah, absolutely. And a part of it, a large part of it is it is a new-ish state. And what I mean by that is the Middle East is very, very old. History means a great deal in the Middle East. There's this saying that the Middle East never forgets, that it knows its history.

So you have a newly formed state where Palestinians believe is their land. You know, like Native Americans here believe that much of this country, if not all, belongs to them. It is something very similar. So you have this new state forming, and then you have the United States that is coming off of winning World War II and pretty much destroying two countries in Japan. You have this new emerging superpower backing Israel. So who's going to go up against that country? And again, you and what you had here was you had a country that was created because you had you had European Jews who were being killed in Germany. And so it was the creation, frankly, of their own country, a homeland for them.

And then you have Palestinians who are saying, wait a minute, you're taking our homeland, our land to create a land for them. And then again, you had Jewish, Muslim. Now all of a sudden you've got the back and forth. And that literally has been the battle. Whose land is it? Who owns it? And then when you throw in the, yes, those white evangelicals, their whole deal is, wait a minute, that land originally belonged to Israel. And so you've got all of these conflicting things going. And so the United States has been trying to pursue this two-state solution. President Jimmy Carter, every American president,

has been trying to actually negotiate that for the longest. And some say we came very close at times. But the reality is you still have two folks who are at odds over the same territory. Exactly. You know, it's really simple as it's history, stupid, right? It's one of those moments. Again, history means a great deal in the Middle East. And hundreds of thousands of Palestinians were displaced from their homeland. And Jerusalem is such a huge piece to this narrative.

And that really is the crowning jewel for both Israel and for Palestinians. Right. So it's the crowning jewel for Christians, for Jews, and for Muslims. So that part of the world, that specific place holds sway for various reasons for different Abrahamic religious groups. So there's that part. We cannot, I cannot state that anymore clearly how theology and religion is wrapped up into this and how it gets warped and how it gets used and weaponized. So that's one part of it. And let me say this here,

because I love when these idiots think I'm not following what they're saying. Sponsors are like, oh, Roland's trying to play it safe. No, it's called facts. So the problem is it's a whole bunch of people out here who are black, who are white, or whatever, who actually have no idea what the hell they're talking about. They have no understanding of this region,

no understanding of the history, don't understand how we even got to this point. They can't tell you the difference between Hamas and Hezbollah or any of those things. And so yeah, what we're not going to do is, we're not going to sit here and go through hysterics. We're going to actually give folks critical information.

Now, to that particular point, before we went to the break, you said there's been no confirmation that Iran has been involved in this. The Wall Street Journal had a story that dropped a couple of days ago crediting sources as saying that Iran helped Hamas plan this. But Israeli intelligence and American intelligence have not been able to planned this. But Israeli intelligence and American intelligence have not been able to confirm this. And that story dropped. And then what happened? Folks ran with it. It was like, oh, there you go. Iran was involved. See, I don't like people who instigate

and play with fire and then try to hide their hands because this is serious. You know, we're not playing around here. You know, you come out with allegations like that, you need to have evidence to back it up. So what I know is there is no evidence yet to confirm that. Now, with that said, does that mean that Iran has not been complicit in terms of, you know, funding terrorist activities, partnering with Hamas? I'm not saying that. Regarding this specific situation, there is no evidence. And then another story that is out there that is also disinformation so far

is about Hezbollah and Lebanon. There's a story that's... Hold on, hold on, hold on. Before you even go there, again, for folk who are clueless, who don't know, what is Hezbollah? Hezbollah is another Hamas-like organization out of Lebanon. You know, I want to say this, Roland. I've studied terrorism for a very long time. And one of the things that has been swirling around, a question over the last couple of years, you know, has terrorism retreated or do we still need to worry about it? Well, what happened a few days ago, clearly we still need to worry about it, right? And so I was one of the people out there saying terrorism has not gone away, but I was looking more at Afghanistan

and Western Africa. And I will admit, you know, this Hamas strike has definitely taken everyone by surprise. But because Hamas has done what it's done and they have had different partnerships with different terrorist organizations in the region, people are also bringing Hezbollah and Lebanon into the mix, too. I'm glad you said that because there was a lot of criticism of U.S. officials by saying, hey, the Middle East is quiet. It has been. I mean, really, really what you heard a lot in the Middle East were the protests in Israel when it came to Netanyahu trying to change the judiciary there. You had massive protests happening there. For the longest, it was quiet. So the reason this has has blown folks away because it seemingly came out of nowhere. And then you you had Israeli and American intelligence officials say they didn't even see this coming.

You know, it reminds me of the beginning of Russia, Ukraine, and people said that it kind of came out of nowhere, although we had very good intelligence saying that it was going to happen. My analysis of that is I think in many ways we stopped paying attention. You know, we stopped listening. And when you think about it. So because it wasn't hot button, because it wasn't on fire, it was like, oh, we're all good. Everything's cool. Exactly. And again, I'll give Putin as an example.

Putin had been saying all along he wanted the former USSR to be, you know, to go back to its former glory. He had been talking smack about Ukraine for a while. He thinks that Ukraine is beneath Russia, that they belong under the boot of Russia. He's made these statements. But how seriously did we take this, right? Even with this massive intel failure, with Hamas attacking Israel in over 20 different locations, 20, that is extreme for any measurement that exists in the world. And we're still getting information about that intelligence failure. But a lot of this is ego, right? Because there was an assessment made that terrorism had retreated, that terrorism was not the thing to look at. Many indicators said that what we should be looking at is not global terrorism, but proliferation of WMD. There was some information

out there that was saying that. So, you know, I don't have the full story yet. I don't know what contributed to the intel failure, but somebody took their eye off the ball. A lot of somebodies took their eyes off the ball, right? Because for more than 20 locations to be attacked in Israel, that's a lot of planning. That's a lot of chit chat going on somewhere. Somebody's having conversations. Somebody's convening people together. So the massive intel failure, just like with 9-11, this will be talked about and studied for a very long time because this is unprecedented. Before I go to break, then go to my panel. I got to ask you this here. We keep seeing these stories that 40 children were beheaded, but I'm also hearing that that

has not been confirmed. What do you know? That it's not confirmed. So this again, and for people to understand, when a story like that just gets thrown out there, what it creates in the mind of people, oh, these people are so heinous, do whatever you want to them. So again, we keep seeing it, and in fact, I've seen some stories where initially journalists say,

oh, they actually saw the bodies. Now those media companies are backing off of those initial reports. Right. And Roland, something you asked me earlier, you know, it's it's meant to dehumanize Hamas. Obviously, what they did was disgusting and terrible, but it's not meant just to dehumanize Hamas. But when you put when people put Hamas and all the Palestinians together, it's meant to do that. Right. So it's meant to think of them as being all of Palestinians. I mean, in terms of being savage, in terms of being extreme. And when you dehumanize anyone, it is a lot easier to go and kill them. right? So what Hamas did was disgusting and heinous

on every single level. But the one thing that I do want to say, the one thing that I know is also very important to this administration is recognizing the difference between what Hamas did and Palestinians just trying to live their lives every single day. That is a distinction that this administration is standing on. And I'm happy that they are because it is a distinction. And for people that are saying, well, they voted them in, well, you can't call them a terrorist organization today and not yesterday. So either they are and they have been, which is to say, I'm sure there was a lot of, yeah, they were elected in, right? They got elected. So you can't just make up that they're a terrorist organization just today, right? Without following that thread.

So yes, they are technically in power, but there are a lot of everyday Palestinians who just want to live their lives and they in no way deserve what's happening to them. All right. Hold tight one second. I've got to go to break. We come back with more of Dr. Nola Haynes, plus our panel as well. You're watching Roller Mark Unfiltered right here on the Black Star Network. Don't forget, if you're watching on YouTube, hit the Like button. Same thing you're watching on our OTT app. Support us in what we do.

Send your check and money orders to PO Box 57196, Washington, D.C., 20037-0196. Cash app, dollar sign RM Unfiltered, Dollar Sign, RM Unfiltered, PayPal, or Martin Unfiltered. Venmo is RM Unfiltered. Zelle, Roland at RolandSMartin.com, Roland at RolandMartinUnfiltered.com. And be sure, of course, to download the Black Star Network app, Apple Phone, Android Phone, Apple TV, Android TV, Roku,

Amazon Fire TV, Xbox One, Samsung Smart TV. And be sure to get a copy of my book, White Fear, how the- I know a lot of cops, and they get asked all the time, have you ever had to shoot your gun? Sometimes the answer is yes, but there's a company dedicated to a future where the answer will always be no. Across the country,

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

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

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

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

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

And to hear episodes one week early and ad-free with exclusive content, subscribe to Lava for Good Plus on Apple Podcasts. Sometimes as dads, I think we're too hard on ourselves. We get down on ourselves on not being able to, you know, we're the providers, but we also have to learn to take care of ourselves. A wrap-up way, you've got to pray for yourself as well as for everybody else, but never forget yourself. Self-love made me a better dad because I realized my worth. Never stop being a dad. That's dedication. Find out more at fatherhood.gov.

Brought to you by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the Ad Council. The founding of America is making white folks lose their minds. Available at bookstores nationwide. Download the audio version on Audible. We'll 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. There's all the Proud Boys. 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. On the next Get Wealthy with me, Deborah Owens, America's Wealth Coach, you're going to learn about the silver tsunami, which means that a million people are turning 65 every day, and they're going to need some kind of care. You're going to meet two sisters whose situation with their own family led them to start a business in this industry. And now they're showing others. This is our passion,

our mission, our purpose, our ministry. That's right here on Get Wealthy, only on Blackstar Network. Hello, I'm Paula J. Parker. Judy Pryde on The Pryde Family. I am Tommy Davidson. I play Oscar on Pryde Family, Louder and Proud. Hi, I'm Jo Marie Payton, voice of Sugar Mama on Disney's Louder and Prouder Disney+. And I'm with Roland Martin on Unfiltered. All right, folks, welcome back to Roland Martin Unfiltered. All right, folks.

Welcome back to Roland Martin Unfiltered, my panel. Joining us, we have Dr. Nola Haynes, Dr. Larry J. Walker, Assistant Professor, University of Central Florida. Rebecca Carruthers, Vice President for Election Center out of Washington, D.C. Scott Bulgin, an attorney out of D.C. as well. Glad to have all three of you here. It has been a whole lot of discussion, Larry, everywhere about how people are responding. You got celebrities and organizations and people issuing statements and who do you stand with?

You're standing with Israel or standing with the Palestinians. You got people who are saying, how dare you not? How you dare you not condemned Hamas? How you dare? How dare you not condemn Israel? A lot of people have been talking about this here. Black Lives Matter Chicago posted this. And this was, of course, this image right here. I stand with Palestine. That is all. That is it. And of course, people were very critical because some of the Hamas folks who flew in to a concert

there flew in as paragliders. And so folks have found this to be extremely insensitive. They've been blasting them. Then you have the people who have been saying, well, this represents all of Black Lives Matter. Well, that's not true because the Black Lives Matter grassroots folks issued their own statement. The Black Lives Matter Global Network, go to my iPad, where they said that that that BLM Chicago is not affiliated with Black Lives Matter Global Network.

And this is this is one of the things that happens, Larry, when this is one of the problems that Black Lives Matter Global Network. And this is one of the things that happens, Larry, when, and this is one of the problems that Black Lives Matter has had, people, again, who care that they ain't BLM Chicago, but they're not actually part of the group. It's sort of like having a group calling themselves the NAACP chapter, but not tied to the actual NAACP.

The people are blasting the entire Black Lives Matter movement. You've got universities where you've got students that are releasing statements as part of organizations. Then you've got folks like Bill Ackman, the billionaire, saying, oh, let's out all of these students so we don't hire

them. And so, you've got a lot of people, Larry, who are like, you know what? I'm not going to say a damn thing because frankly, if I take any position, it ain't helping me yeah that's you made some excellent points first of all i you know i'm glad you had dr haynes on i follow on twitter so she provided some really excellent analysis on a very complex issue and look roland i worked on a number of issues relating to israel other foreign affairs issues when i worked on Capitol Hill. And as you, in your previous conversation, highlights, this is a very complex issue. And I think when it comes to the age of social media, the lesson that, there's a lesson a lot

of people haven't learned, and it's that you can just remain silent. Not everyone has the expertise to talk about complex foreign affairs issues. And as you talked about, some universities have posted comments, obviously a lot of policymakers and celebrities, et cetera. And as you talked about, some universities have posted comments, obviously a lot of policymakers and celebrities, et cetera. And in some cases, many cases, those individuals just stay silent because they don't have an understanding of the complex issue, as Dr. Haynes has talked about the last several decades. But also, like you said, you can go further back than that to talk about these issues relating to the region. The other thing I want to talk about, Roland, that you mentioned is BLM in Chicago. Once again, this idea to remain silent and just kind of when you're not an expert,

when this is not your area or expertise, just to stay out of it and let those who study these issues relating to foreign affairs and understand the Middle East, to let them have a general conversation about what's going on. The other thing I want to highlight, Roland, as it relates to BLM in Chicago and that statement they put out, it feeds the flame of right-wingers and those who are anti-Black to once again give one example of an entity who puts out a statement on social media to highlight why Black Lives Matter, the organization itself, doesn't matter, and obviously trying to assert that they want to affiliate themselves with terrorism, which we know is not accurate.

But overall, once again, this issue of what's happening in Israel right now is a complex issue, and it needs context. And that's why I'm so happy that you had Dr. Haynes on, because members of the black community, in particular on social media, talk about this issue, and a lot of folks have no idea what they're talking about. But the thing here, Rebecca, is that there are people who have been highly critical of Israel and their treatment of the Palestinian people.

You have folks who say, guess what? They have a right to fight back. Jimmy Carter wrote a book calling what Israel is doing to the Palestinians, calling it apartheid. A lot of people took offense to that as well. You have significant emotions.

But I think if you strip all of that away, here is, for me, how you look at it. Death is death. And so Hamas attacks Israel. People at a concert. You see the stories of them storming kibbutz, killing people in their homes. You know, the videos that are being taken.

And then, of course, how Israel responds, killing Palestinians. Right now, more than 2,300 people are dead. I don't, I wouldn't be celebrating anybody or anything. Death is death. This is pain. This is suffering. And family members are having to deal with this, whether you are Palestinian or Israeli? You know, what we're watching is definitely unattainable. There's so much that's happening

so fast. There's so much misinformation. There's disinformation. And just to remind your viewers, this is one of the most highly concentrated areas on the planet, the most population-wise dense. Something else that's also an issue is that there currently isn't an ambassador to Israel from the United States. So that also hinders us from having an adequate response and actually having that information gathering that's so important, especially in the first few days of this conflict. The other issue, you know, taking a step back and watching this, is it is disheartening as I'm listening to U.S. officials talk about what's happening. I'm waiting to hear about the talk about peace. How do we back up? How do we move

away from the precipice that we're currently at, where the whole region can devolve into further negative consequences? How do we actually just slow down, let tempers go back down in order to figure out what is the solution, what are the constructive things that could happen next? And so what I'm concerned is that in the U.S., we're playing politics with this issue, with, like you said, there are so many innocent people on all sides who are being unjudiciously murdered, slaughtered, killed, reports of raping, reports of all sorts of atrocities. And I think all of us need to take a step back, let this cool down just a moment so we can figure out what is the peaceful way forward, because what's happening now is not sustainable, regardless of how people feel the

response should be. We can't do this for the next week, the next month, the next years. We have to figure out a way forward. But the reality, Scott, that is Israel has made it perfectly clear. They are going to destroy anybody tied to Hamas. And that is actually happening. And they're leveling in any building where Hamas may be in. Yeah, with the U.S., without the U.S., so in spite of the U.S., they're going to go in and turn Gaza to rubble. And, you know, you're right. Death is death.

Let me just say this, though, because I follow Nola also. Hamas is not Palestine. Hamas is not Palestinians. And we keep lumping them together, the media does, that even politicians do. And I say that because then that leads to this question. I understand never again that Israel uses, and this is one of those never again moments in 2023, but we got to be strategic and surgical when you turn Gaza to rubble. You have innocent people there. You have women and children there. You have hostages there. How do they get out? You got to go in and find them if you can, but you've got to give them the pathway out. There are three ways out of Gaza, and I believe Israel has shut down two of those three. And if

they have, there's only one way. You've got to give those people time to get out if you're going to turn it to rubble. If you don't, you are doing—if you go in indiscriminately and say to hell with everybody, then you're just repeating this cycle of violence. I understand that Israel is going to do what they're going to do, right? And emotionally, I don't blame them. But in the end, once we turn Gaza to rubble, where do we go from there? And you see, this dialogue now is about revenge. Got it. But as soon as you get through that, right, and we honor the dead and we mourn the dead, we still got a big-ass problem in the Middle East. And maybe, maybe this triggers some type

of resolution. But I got to tell you, there's a lot of violence on both sides. And you can't resolve or settle a conflict as long as bombs are being dropped on all sides. And so the other thing is, you know, we got to, if you're critical of Israel in the U.S., right, they label you anti-Semitic. It has always bothered me that there is blame to go on both sides. There's tit for tat on both sides. But if you criticize Israel, you criticize them in any way, shape, or form, white America and others will label you anti-Semitic. We've got to stop that because both sides have to take some

responsibility. And this rhetoric in the media and what have you is really harmful when you talk about beheading kids, because President Biden said, I didn't think I'd see the day where terrorists were beheading children, right? So now he's put that out there. He just ran that clip, actually. And so that's dangerous rhetoric. And we just got to get past this revenge piece and Gaza being laid to rubble. And the real question we need to be talking about is twofold. And I'll end on this. Where do we go from here? Right? And how did this happen? Because Hamas may have representatives who run Gaza, right?

But Hamas is a terrorist organization. Those Palestinians there may have voted for them, but that doesn't make them liable for Hamas's actions and brutality in what we've just observed this past week. Final comment from you, Nola, and that is this. Frankly, right now, ain't nobody talking about peace. At the end of the day comment from you, Nola, and that is this. Frankly, right now, ain't nobody talking about peace. At the end of the day, right now, Nola, it is absolute,

brutal retribution, and it is war. Yeah, no, on site, like for real. But I will say two things about diplomacy. So in terms of where do the Palestinians go, there are over 100,000 Palestinians right now in U.N. shelters. But as you noted earlier, rolling there, about 2.3 million Palestinians in Gaza alone, right? So Egypt has said that they will not let Palestinians in. Now, there are ongoing diplomatic talks with Egypt to hopefully get them to change their minds, essentially. Qatar, they are also negotiating to help get women and young folks out of Gaza safely. So there are diplomatic efforts that are happening. Actually, right now, the secretary of state is in Israel. He's in Israel and Jordan today through the 13th. So there are diplomatic talks that are happening. Diplomacy is going to be a huge part of this.

In terms of peace, Roland, as you stated, if it's not on Israel's mind, it's not going to be on the U.S.'s mind. It's a similar situation with Ukraine. If it's not on Zelensky's mind, then it's not on the U.S.'s mind. You know, we will absolutely continue to support Israel like we've always done. We have a security package on the way right now, and I'm sure Congress will probably vote to have more security packages sent to Israel as long as this takes. And unfortunately, this is right now, the policy is pretty much as long as it takes. So I know that that can sound disheartening. And in the world that I exist in, arms control and international security,

the level of idealism exists in the diplomacy space. And because the U.S. is not directly involved in either war, it's up to what Israel wants to do and whatever Ukraine wants to do. And that really is the truth of it. As soon as there's a moment turning towards peace, you best believe that there will be moment turning towards peace, you best believe that there will be people all over that because people are already thinking about it. They're writing policies around it. There are people who are wanting peace and who are thinking about peace. But as long as Netanyahu says on site, as long as Zelensky says on site, that's what it's going to be. All right. Dr. Della Haynes, we appreciate it. Thanks a lot. Thank you.

Folks, when we come back, we'll talk with the Tampa NAACP about police brutality there. Plus, in the next hour, the constant attacks on Vice President Kamala Harris, saying, oh, she's missing. She's been working. I'm going to unpack and deconstruct really what is at play here. You're watching Roland Martin Unfiltered right here on the Blackstar Network. I know a lot of cops and they get asked all the time, have you ever had to shoot your gun? Sometimes the answer is yes, but there's a company dedicated to a future where the answer will always be no. Across the country, cops called this taser the revolution.

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

on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Binge episodes 1, 2, and 3 on May 21st, and episodes 4, 5, and 6 on June 4th. Add free at Lava for Good Plus on Apple Podcasts. I'm Clayton English. I'm Greg Lott. And this is Season 2 of the War on Drugs podcast. Yes, sir.

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

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

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

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

Just save up and stack up to reach them. Let's put ourselves in the right position. Pre-game to greater things. Start building your retirement plan at thisispretirement.org. Brought to you by AARP and the Ad Council. All change is not growth. Right. But thoughtful change is real good fertilizer.

And that's what has been so beneficial to us. But you also were not afraid of the pivot. Well, and I'm a black woman in business. Come on, I don't care how I dress up. I don't care who I'm speaking with. I don't care what part of the world I am in. I still am a black woman in business. Being afraid of the pivot, being fearful of change is not what got me here. Respectful

of change. Respectful of pivot. Yeah. Fearful? No. Uh-uh. No. On the next A Balanced Life with me, Dr. Jackie, we meet Ricky Fairley. She was given a death sentence by her doctor 11 years ago. But for Ricky, giving up was not an option. She declared war on her disease, turned her entire life upside down, and won the battle. I know that God left me here to do this work. And when you talk about faith, faith is what got me through. I mean, I had to relinquish my faith and give my life to God

and say, OK, God, what have you got for me? And he gave me my purpose. And that's why I'm here. Her amazing story of strength, balance, and survival here on A Balanced Life with Dr. Jackie on Black Star Network. Coming up next on The Frequency right here on the Black Star Network,

Shanita Hubbard. We're talking about the ride or die chick. We're breaking it down. The stereotype of the strong black woman. Some of us are operating with it as if it's a badge of honor. Like you even hear black women like aspiring to be this ride or die chick. Aspiring to be this strong black woman. At their own expense.

Next on The Frequency right here on the Black Star Network. Hey, what's up? It's Tammy Roman. Hey, it's John Murray, the executive producer of the new Sherri Sheppard Talk Show. It's me, Sherri Sheppard, and you know what you're watching, Roland Martin Unfiltered. Tampafarm Police Department, folks, under heavy scrutiny after videos of policemen misconduct were released. One video shows an officer taunting black residents during a bust,

and the other is an officer suspended for putting his hands on a black man's neck during an arrest. Both incidents happened last year. Joining me now from Tampa is the Healdsboro County NAACP Branch President, Yvette Lewis. Yvette, have y'all had conversations with the police department? What have they said? Basically, with the first incident, a veteran police officer that has been there for 10 years, they said that he was just having a bad day, the police officer was. He was having a bad day.

This is coming from a person with a badge and a gun where somebody could end up being killed. That is correct. And that came from the chief of police here. And the other gentleman, they covered it up and hid it for so long,

but they just said he was very remorseful and he was sorry for what he did. So neither one was suspended? One, the second one where he was choking the guy out, he got three days suspension. But that's it. So let me tell you, these incidents, like you said, Roland, happened last year. They called me to put the fire out because they knew the community would be in an outrage. But why did you have to put the fire out?

That's their job. Thank you. So and I refuse to accept the explanation that they gave, which was one was having a bad day. And the other one, which was one was having a bad day and the other one, it was a good arrest. And so therefore everything was good. And, you know, and these gentlemen are still on the police force and still doing things to the community. And there's a lack of distrust with what's going on. So no response from the mayor, from the city council? Nothing from the mayor.

The mayor has been absolutely silent. And this is the thing. The mayor is a former chief of police. And city council has not said anything. And this is the same city council three years ago who apologized to the African-American people for how they treated them back then. But yet there's nothing that they're doing. So what's your next step? The next step is definitely reaching out to the Department of Justice to look into this matter, to see what is going on, because this police

department has a history of biking while black, arresting people for just riding a bicycle, and renting while black, arresting people and putting, evicting people out just for a simple arrest or something that a police was called out to. So I have definitely reached out to the Department of Justice to investigate this police officer, the police department, for what they're doing. All right, then. And all of the police, Tampa police,

that's in our area that is on these specialty squads, they don't look like us. Mm-hmm. All right. Well, Yvette, certainly keep us abreast of what happens next. Hopefully you're going to get some answers from the elected officials there in Tampa. Thank you. I hope to as also will.

All right. Thanks a bunch. Folks, we come back with voting purges in Virginia. More than 10,000 folks knocked off the rolls. What's going on? We'll talk with the House Democratic leader will also talk about the constant. Now three years of stories saying Vice President Kamala Harris.

She's awful. She's not ready. What's really going on here? I'm going to deconstruct that thing for you. So you could understand what is happening. You're watching roller and plus will also be remembering one of the last three descendants the survivors of the Tulsa race massacre he passed away the 802nd and two were talking You're watching Roller, and plus, we'll also be remembering one of the last three descendants,

the survivors of the Tulsa race massacre. He passed away the day of 102. Remember, Uncle Red. You're watching Roller Martin Unfiltered on the Blackstone Network. I'm Faraiji Muhammad, live from L.A., and this is The Culture. The Culture is a two-way conversation. You and me, we talk about the stories, politics, the good, the bad, and the downright ugly. So join our community every day at 3 p.m. Eastern and let your voice be heard. Hey, we're all in this together. So let's talk about it and see what kind of trouble we can get into. It's the culture. Weekdays at 3, only on the Blackstar Network.

On the next Get Wealthy with me, Debra Owens, America's Wealth Coach, you're going to learn about the silver tsunami, which means that a million people are turning 65 every day, and they're going to need some kind of care. You're going to meet two sisters whose situation with their own family led them to start a business in this industry and now they're showing others. This is our passion, our mission, our purpose, our ministry. That's right here on Get wealthy only on black star network. All charges not growth right but thoughtful change is real

good fertilizer and that's what has been so been a physical team. If you also were not afraid of. Well, I'm a black woman in business come on, I don't care how I dress up I don't care who I'm speaking with I don't care what part of the world I am in I still am a black woman in business. Come on, I don't care how I dress up. I don't care who I'm speaking with. I don't care what part of the world I am in. I still am a black woman in business. Being afraid of the pivot, being fearful of change is not what got me here. Respectful of change. Respectful of pivot. Yeah. Fearful? No. Uh-uh. No.

Hey, what's up, y'all? I'm Devon Frank. I'm Dr. Robin B., pharmacist and fitness coach, and you're watching Roland Martin Unfiltered. Early voters are underway in Virginia, but more than 10,000 Virginians were removed from the state's voter rolls because they were incorrectly listed as felons. Now they are called for the Department of Justice to investigate. Don Scott, as Virginia's House Democratic leader, he joins me to explain how that many people, how this happened. So, Delegate Scott, what the hell is the Young administration saying?

Well, what they're doing, as always, is they're showing how incompetent they are at this game. Part of what they're trying to do is shrink the voter rolls. They want to shrink their electorate. That has been their goal since day one. Just a few months before the election, a month before the congressional elections in 2022, they accidentally processed 256,000 registered voters at the very end, right before the election, something that should have been done a long while ago. So we already know that their goal

is to prevent folks from voting. This latest snafu is another attempt by them to disenfranchise voters, disproportionately disenfranchise African-American voters. And that is what they have done, and that's what they have proven to do every opportunity they get. Thankfully, we have a congressional delegation, along with our state delegation, that has been calling for a federal investigation. We're asking the U.S. attorney to take a look at this, the Department of Justice to take a look at what they're doing here in Virginia.

We have some of the most consequential elections of our generation coming up. This is the election that will decide whether women will continue to have bodily autonomy or their own reproductive health in Virginia. This is the election that will determine whether we will continue to fund public schools and not throw away our public education system by an experimental lab school system that the governor wants to do. This is an election that will determine whether we will legalize marijuana in Virginia

and create an adult-use legalization market in Virginia. This is the election that will make sure that we continue to move forward with equity and criminal justice reforms in the Commonwealth of Virginia. Any idea who those 10,000 are? We don't. We don't know. And we're asking for that. They've said that there are 10,000, but we think it only disenfranchised some other number, maybe 300 people. We just don't believe

them. They don't have credibility on this issue. We know for a fact we have many members in our own House of Delegates why serve who are election deniers. And so we don't trust them, and we really need to have an outside organization come in and look over their shoulder because this is no coincidence that these things happen well within 30 days of the election on November 7th. And this is November 7th. We'll be electing all 140 members of the General Assembly, 100 in the House of Delegates, while I serve and 40 in the Senate. And so it's not a coincidence that within 30 days of the election, they're playing with the voter rolls again. Rebecca. Besides asking Department of Justice to come in, what is the party doing to make sure that folks are double checking their registration

and make sure that they're eligible to get out and vote? That's a great question. We are doing everything in our power to let the community know what is going on. We're using text messages. We're using social media. We're using our attorneys to let folks know that these things are going on, that they should really be examining and making sure that they're registered to vote. We're telling them to go to the website IWillVote.com to make sure that they are registered to vote. They can check their voter registration there,

or they can go to the Virginia Department of Elections website to verify that they are registered. They have to put their information in, and they can do it easily on their cell phone or on a laptop or this device But we can find out within moments whether they're still registered or not because we know that they are doing everything in their power To remove them we're going to be challenging every vote if they try to prevent folks from voting I still tell everybody still go and vote and if we have to fight to get your vote counted after the fact, even if it's a provisional ballot that you cast, the law permits us to do that, to make sure that you are allowed to vote. Scott. Hey, Scott Bolton here. Two things that I'm sure your lawyers are thinking about,

and maybe you can confirm it. Of course, Scott. Of course, Scott. He's an alpha man. Of course they are. But go ahead. Well, his lawyer is a capitalist, brother. I'm sure the lawyer is a capitalist. No, an alpha man. Of course they are. But go ahead. Was lawyers a capitalist, brother? I'm sure the lawyers are a capitalist. No, they're not. No, they're not. Go ahead. Okay, brother. Let me just ask you this. We're not going to have this Divine Nine fight tonight. Right, right, right. Okay, so there are expedited FOIA requests. There is temporary restraining orders, injunctive relief. I hope the lawyers are

looking at that because I think you can meet both of those requirements just based on the public information that I've been listening to. Are those on the table? Because that'll get you the PR and hopefully the relief that you really ultimately want to get the word out. Well, you know, it was in the Washington Post today. It's in all of the local papers today. The information is getting out, and we're making sure that we're doing that. The Alliance group, you may have heard of them. They're our attorneys here for the Democratic Party of Virginia.

We have a voter protection unit, and we're doing everything in our power to make sure that we have a legal strategy that's aggressive, and if we need to litigate, we will. Okay. Win with Olive. Thank you. Larry? Yeah, sure. Thanks for coming on this show.

So you talked about you have a number of your colleagues are election deniers, but you mentioned you don't have an idea who these voters are. So I'm curious at first, what are some of your colleagues on the other side, I'll have to say. And then secondly, the reason why I'm making that point is, what if it happens to be some of these individuals, half of them individuals from the other party? And particularly, I make that point because you mentioned there are election deniers, and there's always questions about Virginia and other states that it's rigged. So I'm curious about what some of your colleagues, your Republican colleagues would say about this issue. That's a great question. They hadn't said a whole lot. They've been very quiet. They've deferred

to the governor on this issue. They've been very quiet. And I'm always amazed, the last election in 2021, when they won the majority by a slim margin, they were not denying elections. If the system worked fine when they win, but when they lose, then there's something wrong with the system. So I'm not surprised that they would try to use tactics right now so they can build in some early excuses on why they should lose this election. We're going to be monitoring this very, very aggressively because we know these are the tricks they've played for generations,

and we will not allow it to happen in the coming of the Virginia, not this time. We're on top of it. We're going to continue to monitor it very aggressively. Thank God we have a state delegation and a federal delegation that is asking and monitoring the situation and asking for an aggressive follow-up from the U.S. attorney. Unfortunately, our attorney general here, Jason Meares, hasn't said a word about this. He's a Republican, hasn't said a word about this. He'll investigate anything that has nothing to do with this type of stuff outside of his purview,

but he won't look at these issues that affect the rights of the citizens of the Commonwealth of Virginia. All right. And, folks, as a reminder, we're going to be in Fredericksburg on Monday, continuing our conversation with House Democratic candidates there. It's a community conversation in Fredericksburg. We're going to be right there, Zion Church of Fredericksburg beginning at 6 p.m. Eastern.

Look forward to packing the house out. Look forward to seeing all of you there. We, of course, were in Suffolk last night, Virginia Beach on Monday. Again, Fredericksburg is next week, and then we're going to make our way to Petersburg and also Richmond as well. Delegate Don Scott, I appreciate it.

Always good to see a fellow Texas A&M Aggie and Alpha brother on the show. Always leading the way, unlike Scott's Kappas. Whatever. Whatever. All right. Thank y'all. Y'all have a great night, and I appreciate y'all having me on. Let's stay on this game. Let's stay focused.

We can win this election. We only have to turn three seats, and y'all are now speaking to the first. I will have the opportunity to be the first African-American ever to become speaker in the Commonwealth of Virginia. So thank y'all for having me. All right. Let's make it happen. All right, Don. Thanks a lot. I appreciate it. All right, folks. Don't forget, Virginia, October 16th, the voter registration deadline to vote in this year's election. Those who register after this date through Election Day can still do so and will vote using a provisional ballot. October 27th is the deadline to apply for

an absentee ballot to be mailed to you. Virginians can request an absentee ballot through the mail fax or online. November 4th, the last day of early in-person voting and deadlines to apply for an absentee ballot in person. Early in-person voting will end at 5 p.m. and November 6th is the last day a voter can request an emergency absentee ballot. And remember, the election day is on November 7th. All right, folks, when we come back, we're going to talk about early voting in Louisiana. Also, Car Connie Russell finds out her fate in Alabama over her fake abduction. Why the constant, the constant grilling and attacks on Vice President Kamala Harris? And remember, one of the last three survivors of the Tulsa race massacre who passed away,

they were aged 102. You're watching Roland Martin Unfiltered on the Black Star Network. Support us in what we do. Join our Bring the Funk fan club. Send your ticket money. Order at appeal 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. Be sure to download the Blackstar Network app, Apple phone, Android phone, Apple TV, Android TV, Roku, Amazon Fire TV, Xbox One, Samsung Smart TV. We'll be right back.

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 ban. 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 tearthepaperceiling.org. Brought to you by Opportunity at Work and the Adilling.org brought to you by opportunity at work and the ad council 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.

On a next A Balanced Life with me, Dr. Jackie, we meet Rikki Fairley. She was given a death sentence by her doctor 11 years ago. But for Rikki, giving up was not an option. She declared war on her disease, turned her entire life upside down, and won the battle. I know that God left me here to do this work. And when you talk about faith, faith is what got me through. I mean, I had to relinquish my faith and give my life to God and say, okay, God, what have you got for me? And he gave me my purpose. And that's why I'm here. Her amazing story of strength, balance, and survival here on A Balanced Life with Dr. Jackie on Blackstar 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 so please support us in what we do folks we want to hit 2,000 people $50 this month

wait $100,000 we're behind 100,000 so we want to hit that y'all money makes this possible check some money orders go to peel box five seven one nine six Washington DC two zero zero three seven dash zero one nine six the cash app is dollar sign RM Unfiltered. PayPal is R Martin Unfiltered. Venmo is RM Unfiltered. Zill is Roland at RolandSMartin.com. Hello, we're the Critter Fixers. I'm Dr. Bernard Hodges. And I'm Dr. Terrence Ferguson. And you're tuning in to Roland Martin Unf the field. Folks, Louisiana's election takes place on Saturday. Polls will open at 7 a.m. and close at 8 p.m. You can still vote if you're in line to vote by the time the polls close. If you have not voted, be sure you head to the polls. It'll cast your ballot. Louisiana's could elect

its first black statewide elected official since Reconstruction. A significant number of black folks, 900,000 in that state who can vote. Black voters turn out in record numbers. Former Transportation Secretary Dr. Sean Wilson could very well get into the runoff. Of course, if he gets into the runoff, then that election will be held in November. Folks are going to turn out. One of the things here that still just drives me crazy, Rebecca, when we look at this, is that when we look at the states, and it's Louisiana, frankly, Texas, and Florida, you know, on and on and on, people have this assumption that because they're southern states,

African Americans got no shot because they're red states. But the reality is this here. If we get our numbers, and I keep saying this, if we get our numbers up 65, 70, 75 percent of eligible African-Americans, we can sweep elections. So literally the power is actually in our hands. You're absolutely right. I is actually in our hands. You're absolutely right. I'm actually in Houston tonight. And when I even look at the population of Houston and when I think about the statewide elections in Texas, if more people in Harris County turned out to vote, then it would flip and literally change the political landscape in Texas. And what we see in Louisiana is no different. While I did notice that the numbers landscape in Texas. And what we see in Louisiana is no different. Well, I did notice that the numbers come in so far is that overall the voter turnout numbers in Louisiana for this primary is down, like white folks, I think it's down 12 percent and black

folks is down 9 percent. One thing that I will say, the state of Louisiana has not done itself any favors by with how they do their October primary. It's not a set Saturday. It's not always the second Saturday of the month. Sometimes it's the third Saturday. Sometimes it's one of the last Saturdays in October. So even that inconsistency with how the local and gubernatorial primary is set up, is set up in a way that actually depresses the amount of folks who turn out to vote. But the thing that I keep focusing on, Larry, you hear Rebecca say, white voters down 12, black down 9.

If they go down 12 and we remain flat or go up, we can actually win. We ain't got any down when they're down. Yeah, and that's a key. And it's obviously a lot of complex reasons why, you know, we see the numbers. You talked about Louisiana, some other states. And I want to go back just a couple of years ago. We talked about Florida and obviously the governor and both U.S.

senators are Republicans. You know, it's considered now a red state instead of a purple state. But a reminder, Andrew Gillum almost won the election governorship a few years, just a few years ago. So when we talk about your point about, you know, some of these, you know, red states, and if we, you know, we're able to increase percentage-wise the number of Black voters, it will make a tremendous difference. And, you know, we talk about states like Alabama, Mississippi, Florida, and there are significant numbers of Black people in those states. And so we have an opportunity here. But as I said, it's a complex issue.

We've got to make sure that we address the issue of, you know, Democratic Party at the federal and state level supporting, you know, Black candidates, particularly Black women. But we also have to highlight in terms of some of the missing, a lot of the misinformation that permeates throughout the country and has also impacted the black community. But we have a tremendous opportunity to elect black folks at the state and federal level in the local elections, which you talk about all the time, which is, once again, we have to get folks out to vote.

Scott, people keep talking about, oh, we need to get the right people in. Can't get in if folks don't vote. I give up. I give up on black people voting. And you can criticize me all you want. Our futures could have changed America if we would just get out and vote. Here's a question for you, Roland,

and here's a book for you, your next book, right? Why we won't vote. Top three reasons why black Americans just won't vote. The simple process could change their lives and change their communities and their state and the country. And they just won't do it. Sixty to seventy percent of us, that's easy, just won't do it. What's your top three reasons for why black people won't vote? I think that

without a doubt, if... Number one. I think number one is if that has not been your way of life and you've seen it growing up, you likely are going to then grow up and say, I don't see that big deal.

When I see people, and Rebecca, I think you speak to, when you see people who their parents made this a priority, matter of fact, at the National Civil Rights Museum in Memphis, there's a placard there, there's a quote from a young black girl, and it says, all I want for my 18th birthday is a voter registration card. So that was a...

So when something was denied from us, there was a fervor to actually get it. And I think, frankly, some people, they've accepted the laziness of it, and they are just, you know what, hey, I don't see this making a difference, so therefore I can sit it out. But they will complain, though.

You got two more answers. No offense, it's your But they will complain, though. You got two more answers. No offense. It's your show. But a couple more. Rebecca, you give one. Larry, you give one. Sure. I would say anytime ballot access is determined by political parties, there becomes a political interest in who gets to access the ballot and what actually lands on the ballot. And I think if political parties weren't so intricate in the actual balloting process, I think we would see more people actually turning out to vote. Because once again, it's not always in either party's or even some of the third party's best interest to actually get that 80, 90 percent, 95 percent turnout. Larry? So, yeah, Roland, the point I want to make into what Scott says, I think

Black folks suffer from political exhaustion also. Listen, you know, we talk about all these issues relating, you know, states taking steps to infringe on the rights of Black folks. And obviously, a little work the DOJ has been doing the last couple of years among some of the civil rights organizations, Legal Defense Fund, et cetera. But let's remember, you know, what Jim Crow ended in 1965 and since then, particularly what happened in 2013 in the Supreme Court, Scott knows that Republicans have consistently

since, you know, we go back pre-Jim Crow to make sure that Black folks, A, are not even seen as U.S. citizens. That's first of all. And then second of all, have spent billions of dollars to make sure that we can't vote that literacy text literacy test grandfather clauses. We have in order to context this conversation, we have to talk about the historical efforts to wear black folks down. And I think that I use the term political exhaustion, Scott.

And I think that black folks are just really tired in terms of constantly trying to fight for basic rights as U.S. citizens. Yeah. You know, I think, I won't tell you all three of you all are wrong, because I would never do that, although I tell Roland he was wrong. I think it's voter disillusionment. And maybe you captured that. Just completely disillusioned. Middle class, black underclass, poor folks, and some wealthy black people just completely disillusioned with the political discourse and whether it's really going to make a difference in their day-to-day life. They just don't believe it. And if you didn't grow up voting, I'll be honest with you, it's easy to get disillusioned. I hope your book, Roland, also covers how we fix this problem, because I got to tell you, in 2043, we're going to be the majority of Americans, at least people of color will be. And if we don't vote, it won't make a damn bit of difference whether we're a country of color or not, because voter suppression and black and brown disillusionment

voters, you know, are going to keep us oppressed for an additional at least 20 years or more. Just my best thoughts on it. Well, first of all, I'm trying to understand why you're trying to get me to write a book when you can write it. All right, y'all. You're a better writer than me. Well, as alphas are typically better than most things in capitals.

All right, y'all. Carly Russell. You cannot give him a compliment. Well, I'm working on a book. So if I'm working on a book as busy as I am, you can work on a book, too. You're absolutely right about that. Scott, Scott, Scott, Scott, listen. You know, I'm a pretty good writer and also alpha man.

I write with you. Don't worry about it. All right. Sounds good. As usually, alpha got to carry a kappa. All right, y'all. Carly Russell, Carly Russell, y'all, found guilty. What I don't understand is why the hell was she pleading not guilty?

Because your ass was guilty. And so she pled not guilty. The judge found her guilty, recommended one year in jail, $17,874 in restitution. He also recommended two fines of $831 each. That was no jury trial there as well. Scott, you're a lawyer. I'm sorry.

Dude, can you explain why are her attorneys appealing? Well, what was her it depends on what her defense was. She's free to plead not guilty. She was found guilty of faking her own abduction. And then reporting, making a false police report. Right, so she pled not guilty. The judge found her guilty. Not her attorneys are appealing. She's got a right to do that. And they put the government to their proof. I actually thought they were going to plead

not guilty by reason of insanity, even though it's a misdemeanor case and put on some type of mental illness piece that would have gotten her less than a year, even if she did get found guilty. They didn't do any of that. So, you know, a lot of times clients will drive the defense. They always drive the defense, whether they can win or not. It's not the lawyer saying, okay, you need to plead guilty or not guilty. So here's what the attorney said. Her legal team disagrees with jail time for a class A misdemeanor, especially when it's her first offense. Quote, if you can find where someone was put in jail for that, bring the file to me and I'll look at it.

Generally, they're not put in jail. Restitution, we don't disagree with that, but to lock her up and put her in jail, we disagree with. But, look, here's the thing that I say all the time to people. All the time to people, all the time. Rebecca, when you choose to do something and you're now going into the legal system, you don't get to, this ain't Burger King,

you can't have it your way. At the end of the day, judges can sentence you, they got wide discretion. She pissed a lot of people off with this abduction, and that's the deal here. And so, I mean, I get it. Yeah, you got a right to appeal.

It's a little hard what you think. What's your appeal? I ain't do it? Well, no. You put the government to their proof. You don't have to. it, doesn't have to say anything. And so for whatever reason, you can try that bench trial. It only took a couple hours, and you put the government to their proof. What's the government going to prove beyond

a reasonable doubt? Even though that's probably the weakest approach, that's what they did. I will say this, as a first offense, if this case wasn't a press case, she would have been found guilty or she would have pled out, got a plea agreement, paid the fine, paid restitution, and kept it moving because it was a press case and embarrassed Alabama officials. Now, all eyes are on her

and she was found guilty. Did she get sentenced yet? I don't know. They asked for a year, but she shouldn't go to jail for a first. Right. I mean, it was. I mean, Rebecca, listen, it was look, it was very public. There were a lot of people who were saying they had never searched for a black woman.

People went down there looking for her. All of a sudden, resources will pull. So bottom line is her fake abduction caused a lot of consternation for a lot of people in Alabama and elsewhere. Yeah, absolutely. Look, let's not blame this on mental health. I'm going to look directly in the camera. I don't know

if Carly's watching, but I think many other young ladies, if he don't want you, let him go. You don't have to get out here and embarrass yourself, embarrass your family, embarrass your community. You don't have to get out here and embarrass yourself, embarrass your family, embarrass your community. You don't have to do any of those things. You could just let him go and then move on to

the next one. Hold up. Was it about him? Oh, wait, wait, wait. No, no. Was it about him? Because he was riding with her through the whole abduction and then when the truth came out, he was like, what the hell? He was like, I don't know her. the whole abduction. Then when the truth came out, he was like, what the hell?

He was like, I don't know her. I don't know who she is. Look, I mean, there was many reports online that was suggesting that part of what happened was there was an issue between her and her boyfriend. But none of that was confirmed though. Right.

That's why I'm saying that was information. No, no, no, no, no. Hold on, hold on, hold on. That's what people were talking about. Information and reports, I always look at what's the source. And so I don't know what the source was on that. So a bunch of folk talking is one thing. Credible information is another. Absolutely. And none of this was confirmed.

But it's also why I don't want to lean in and say oh well maybe this is a mental health issue i agree we don't know that either i agree i agree here's the deal no no no hold on scott scott calm down no scott no she didn't scott no she didn't larry some folk no scott scott i know a of cops, and they get asked all the time, have you ever had to shoot your gun? Sometimes the answer is yes. But there's a company dedicated to a future where the answer will always be no. Across the country, cops call this taser the revolution.

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

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

and episodes 4, 5, and 6 on June 4th. Add free at Lava for Good Plus on Apple Podcasts. I'm Clayton English. I'm Greg Glod. And this is season 2 of the War on Drugs podcast. Yes, sir. We are back. In a big way. In a very big way. Real people, real perspectives.

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

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

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

Set up goals. Don't worry about a setback. Just save up and stack up to reach them. Let's put ourselves in the right position. Pre-game to greater things. Start building your retirement plan at this is pre-tirement.org brought to you by aarp and the ad council scott calm your ass down it's crazy some folk do some dumb shit larry some folk do some dumb shit

yeah that's that's keeping it 100 in this conversation. So, listen, this is an unfortunate situation all the way around. Look, listen, we talk about black folks, particularly black women, going missing. You know, we have black and missing. You've had them all rolling. Look, disproportionately, when black folks disappear, no one pays attention. And that's why what California did with the new Ebony Alert is so important. Because disproportionately, once again, we go missing, particularly black women.

No one pays attention. No one cares. This story blew up, got national attention. Black folks are all over social media. You said black folks are willing to travel to help look for this sister. And then we come to find out it's a hoax. So listen, often when people do crazy things, they tie to mental health. Listen, and we often know people who have mental illness, you would never even know about it. So let's be clear about that. The bottom line is she made a really bad decision

and it will haunt her for the rest of her life. Regardless what you do, you can always Google her name and this story will always come up. She did damage to herself. And just let me remind some people, it was a white woman in California. Go to my iPad.

Her name was Sherry Papini. Guess what? She faked her abduction, and she was sitting there laid up with her boyfriend hundreds of miles away while folks were looking for her, and they were looking for her for a long time. Guess what? Sent her ass to prison for 18 months. So

I know folk might say, oh man, it's a black woman. No, the white woman went to jail for faking her abduction. And so that's what happens. All right, y'all. I gotta go to break. We come back. I want to talk about Vice President Kamala Harris. A consistent

thing that they've been attacking her with for three years. Two new articles out saying the same damn thing. I got to deal with this, y'all. We come back on Roland Martin on the filter on the Black Star Network. Coming up next on The Frequency, right here on the Black Star Network,

Shanita Hubbard. We're talking about the ride or die chick. We're breaking it down. The stereotype of the strong black woman. Some of us are operating with it as if it's a badge of honor. Like you even hear black women like aspiring to be this ride or die chick. Aspiring to be this strong black woman at their own expense. Next on The Frequency, right here on the Black Star Network.

On the next Get Wealthy with me, Deborah Owens, America's Wealth Coach, you're going to learn about the silver tsunami, which means that a million people are turning 65 every day, and they're going to need some kind of care. You're going to meet two sisters whose situation with their own family led them to start a business in this industry, and now they're showing others.

This is our passion, our mission, our purpose, our ministry. That's right here on Get Wealthy, only on Blackstar Network. All change is not growth. Right. But thoughtful change is real good fertilizer. And that's what has been so beneficial to us.

But you also were not afraid of the kid. Well, and I'm a black woman in business. Come on, I don't care how I dress up. I don't care who I'm speaking with. I don't care what part of the world I am in. I still am a black woman in business, come on. I don't care how I dress up. I don't care who I'm speaking with. I don't care what part of the world I am in. I still am a black woman in business. Being afraid of the pivot, being fearful of change is not what got me here.

Respectful of change, respectful of pivot. Yeah, fearful, no, Uh-uh. No. Hey, what's up, y'all? I'm Devon Franklin. It is always a pleasure to be in the house. You are watching Roland Martin Unfiltered. Stay right here. Să ne urmăm. Martin! All right, folks, welcome back to Roland Martin Unfiltered on the Black Star Network. For the last three years, we have seen story after story after story on Vice President Kamala Harris. We have seen stories, folks talking about, oh, how she's unprepared, how she's not ready, how she's, I mean, just you name it.

All of these different stories. Staff overhaul, tension, and, oh, people leaving, and, oh, she's not up to the task, and what does she really believe in, and really what she's thinking. I mean, we can go down the ladder. So this week, two more stories were done. Go to my iPad. This is in the New York Times.

This brother, the New York Times, the story's called In Search of Kamala Harris. After nearly three years, the vice president is still struggling to make the case for herself and feels she shouldn't have to. The author, as you see here, is a Steve W. Herndon. He's a brother with the New York Times. And so that's his story on her. And so then there's another story that was done on her. This time is this one here is in the Atlantic. Go to my iPad. It's called the Kamala Harris

problem. And so in this particular article here, again, it lays out again in terms of what the problem is. And so when you read, even in this story right here, it lays out all of these different stories right here in the paragraph. But after nearly three years in office, the symbolic fact of Harris's position has proved more resonant than anything she's actually done with it. From almost the beginning, Harris's vice presidency has unfolded in a series of brutal headlines, exasperation and dysfunction. Inside Kamala Harris's frustrating start as vice

president, a Kamala Harris staff exodus reignites questions about her leadership style. New book says Biden called Harris a work in progress. Kamala Harris is trying to define her vice presidency. Even her allies are tired of waiting. And it goes on and on and on and on. There have been story after story after story after story. Let me explain something to y'all. How many stories did y'all see on Mike Pence as vice president to Donald Trump? I'll wait. How many stories did y'all see about Joe Biden when he was Obama's vice president?

I'll wait. How many stories did you see about Dick Cheney and George W. Bush? How many stories did you actually see Al Gore as the vice president to Bill Clinton? George H.W. Bush to the vice president of Ronald Reagan. Hey, Walter Mondale, the vice president to Jimmy Carter. We got Spiro T. Agnew, the vice president to Nixon. You saw more stories on him when he resigned and then later was found guilty of corruption. So bottom line, y'all, hell, when LBJ was vice president to Kennedy, it's not like you saw a bunch of stories there.

So what am I trying to get to? Don't nobody give a damn about the vice president. Everybody knows the role of the vice president of the United States. What do they say? It's to attend funerals and to cut ribbons. The focus is on the president. I'll give you a perfect example. When Biden came out the other day to talk about what's happening with Israel,

who was he standing with? Blinking the Secretary of State, Kamala Harris, Vice President. The reality is we have seen more of Vice President Kamala Harris. We've heard her speak more, be involved in more things publicly than we ever have any other vice president. And so when you read these stories, I mean, I just sit here than we ever have any other vice president. And so when you read these stories, I mean, I just sit here and I just go,

what the hell are y'all talking about? And so right here in this story about Herndon, oh, how Harris, this is the opening. All the conditions seem right for a chance to reset the narrative. Go to my iPad. Really? The Munich Security Conference in February. Y'all, wasn't nobody paying attention to that damn conference.

Wasn't nobody. In this country, we focus on the president. And then you go through here, you talk about, oh, how well. You know, she didn't really get applause. It was polite applause. Then they go through here and they talked about her being a rising star with an inside track to be the next Democratic presidential nominee. No, she wasn't. Vice President Kamala Harris, excuse me, Vice President Kamala Harris as senator had no inside track to be the next nominee.

She had to run like everybody else. And then her story talks about a disappointing 2020 campaign. And it was. It was. They made some blunders in the campaign. But then when you go through this article here, they go back to Munich, and then they go on about, oh, how Biden and Harris

should be doing a lot better, and the polling numbers, and all different things along those lines. And I love this here. In interviews with more than 75 people in the vice president's orbit, there's little agreement about Harris at all, except an acknowledgment that she is a public perception problem, a self-fulfilling spiral of bad press and bad polls,

compounded by the realities of racism and sexism. Duh. Duh. Duh. So you go through the article, and you see more stuff. You see the attacks on her by Nikki Haley. And then you see the more attacks. And then you see all of these stories, the case for Biden dropped Kamala Harris, all this sort of nonsense.

And then, of course, when you have fellow Democrats who, in the case of seeing Elizabeth Warren, who did not want to speak affirmatively about Harris being the nominee, and then how she called twice to apologize, Harris wouldn't take her phone calls. When Nancy Pelosi went on and didn't really want to answer the question, when some other candidates did not want to answer the question, we can go on and on and on. These things laid out. And so they interviewed some African Americans in this story.

And then you go on here. And so I love this one here. I called top Democratic pollsters to gauge whether a Harris-led party kept them up at night. I talked with members of Biden's vice presidential selection committee to ask the question I've always wanted to know the answer to. Was Kamala Harris really chosen as a running mate because she had the right identity

at the right time, the highest profile diversity hire in America? Here's why. And there's a bullshit-ass question from this brother. I'ma roll y'all back to 2008. Do y'all remember the black man with a funny-sounding name? Do y'all remember what they said in 2008?

Obama, he can't pick a woman. America, ooh, America not ready for a black man and a white woman. A black man and a woman to be the president and the vice president? Ooh, no. America ain't ready for that. So what if they say, you know what? If Obama gonna win, he gonna have to pick an old white man. And he need an old white man to go talk to the white people

in the Rust Belt states. So he need a white man to go talk to the people in Pennsylvania and Michigan and Wisconsin and Minnesota and Iowa and Illinois and Ohio. He gonna need a white man to go talk to the folk in the South. Am I the only person who remembers that am i the only oh obama he ain't got no experience on the national stage so who guess what he gonna have to pick a white man with some significant foreign policy experience hmm joe biden sits on

a senate foreign relations committee with Obama. You know what? That's a great pick. Ooh, we got an old white guy who's from Scranton, Pennsylvania, who's got foreign policy experience. And then the old white guy can make all the white folk comfortable with the black guy with the funny name being president. Now, y'all notice, don't nobody ever call Biden a diversity pick. I hope y'all understanding what I'm breaking down here. Nobody calls Biden a diversity pick, even though that's exactly what Biden was. Y'all notice that any time it's somebody black or Latino, it's, ooh, are you a diversity pick? But did nobody ask the question about picking the white old man as the vice president

about being a diversity pick? Let me continue. And so you see the article here. In nearly three years in office, Harris has stood dutifully by Biden's side. But in terms of her own political profile, she has remained a vacuum of negative space, a vessel for supporters and detractors to feel as they choose, not least because she refuses to do so herself. Uh-huh. And then she's quoted in here. she refuses to do so herself. Uh-huh. And then she's quoted in here. And then they talk about how she's like, look, I ain't trying to

find my stuff. And then when someone asked what does Vice President Kamala Harris bring to the ticket, what is that clear answer? I asked. Her team made clear it would be my final question. Were you in this room of 2,000 people, she asked. I nodded. Did you see them cheering and standing? Yes, that's what I say. She stood up

and walked out of the room. You further go into this story, and you hear them talking about when she ran for president and when she got attacked by Tulsi Gabbard for her criminal justice program and when she was the vice president and all of that. And let me be perfectly clear, that was her biggest mistake. And I told her and her people that when she was running. I literally said publicly and privately, y'all know I ain't got a problem saying stuff publicly. I said, then Senator Kamala Harris needs to define her law enforcement career because we were running in a period where people had a different view of somebody who had been in law enforcement. It took her campaign six months to release her criminal justice profile. She was being attacked early on because she was a prosecutor.

That was one of the biggest because she was a prosecutor. That was one of the biggest mistakes that her campaign made. One of the other big mistakes that her campaign made was that when she became United States Senator, she did not lock down black people. Follow me what I'm saying. I said then, God rest his soul, to Tyrone Gale, who was one of her press people, I said, Tyrone, y'all running around doing all this white media. She should be locking down black media. I said, look, she going to run for president in 2020. Guess what?

I said, Cory Booker going to be running for president as well. Cory Booker and Kamala Harris, both of them did not do what I said they should have been doing. They should have been on black radio every three months talking about what was going on. Obama wasn't doing a lot of interviews with black radio. I had to call them out for him to do his first interview 18 months after he had been elected. Sure did. Got the emails to prove it.

So that was a mistake. She didn't do my TV One show until she was United States Senator for nine months. I had to cuss out Tyrone when she was on some other MSNBC show. I said, damn that, bro, what you doing? Here's why I'm saying that. You got to shore up your black base. So although she was an African-American woman, although she was United States Senator, a bunch of black folks had never heard of Kamala Harris. So had she actually done more black radio, done black media, she would have shored up her base,

then would have had that base because they would have been hearing from her on a regular basis. I literally had Michael Steele, the chairman, the Michael Steele, the chair of the Republican National Committee, accepted more of my invitations to come on my Tom Jordan morning show segment than Kamala Harris and Cory Booker did combined. That was a mistake. But let me tell y'all, here's the deal, though. When she drops out, I dare say between her dropping out and getting the nomination, and she did this show combined more than she did my TV One show, and this one when she was in the campaign.

Why? Because she wanted to be the nominee. And you know who I credit for that? Sabrina Singh, who was one of her press people because she understood. I was communicating with her a lot because she understood where she needed to be. So when you read all of these stories, you just need to understand what is going on here. All of these stories about how, what she's not doing and what she should be doing and how she needs to be defining herself and how she needs to be more involved. In this story here, they have in this story here, they talk about how,

you know, it was Gwen Ifill who name-checked her on appearance on David Letterman, and they talked about how they call her the female Barack Obama. See, that's part of the problem right there. Kamala Harris was never the female Barack Obama. Different circumstances. In fact, when you read the article right here, the writer talks about what she did and what she didn't do, how she didn't have much of a legislative background, and how she did not have a history of passing a whole bunch of bills and things along those lines. And so, when you're reading this article, he lays it in here. And, of course, I had to start laughing when I was reading the article. I really did have to start laughing because they talked about how all the different things

that Obama did when he was in the legislature. But, y'all, let's be real. I was there. Obama wasn't doing those things. It was Senate President Emil Jones. Senate President Emil Jones told a lot of people, take your name off the bills, put Obama's name on the bills. That's why Rebecca Cruther is laughing right now because she know I ain't lying. And so because Obama went to Emil Jones and said, Emil, you can make the next

United States Senator. Do y'all know why? Because Senate President Emil Jones in Illinois, he wasn't getting no respect. Do you know who was getting respect in Illinois? Governor, excuse me, Mayor Daley, Governor Rob Ligovic, as well as Mike Madigan, who was Speaker of the House. So Emil Jones,

African-American Senate President, was getting no respect from the white folks in Illinois. So, Obama saw the opening, went to him, appealed to his ego, and Emil was like, you're right. We're going to make him the next United States Senator. That's why Obama got all those bills passed in a year and a half. It wasn't because he was some brilliant legislator. Because Emil Jones knew he needed a record to run on just so y'all understand what happens when you have context when writing these stories so i'm sitting here reading these stories

and again uh the same writer this brother he talks with um a particular he so he's asking her all of these different questions and wants her to be speaking on the record. He talks to a fundraiser saying how all these other people are reaching out to him and how they are raising money and how they are doing all of these different things. But Kamala Harris is not doing any of those things. Let me explain something to y'all. Anybody knows politics. Kamala Harris can't do that because she's the vice president if kamala harris was sitting here assembly her own coterie of donors folk be

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Brought to you by AdoptUSKids, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, and the Ad Council. When you were the Vice President of the United States, do you know what your job is? Yes, Mr. President. Where do you want me to go? Yes, Mr. President. I'll do that. Yes, Mr. President. I'll give that speech.

Do you know who did that? Joe Biden. when he was President Obama's vice president. He was number two. Everybody knows you ain't running the show when you're the number two. You have to defer to the leader. That's why you're there. So all of these stories demanding that Vice President Kamala Harris create her own team and she should be out there fundraising, she literally can't. And I'm going to go ahead and say it. There are some people on Team Biden who needs to keep her in place. Let me be real clear.

Folk are threatened because she's 59 years old. Oh, I'm going to go ahead and say what other people cannot say. There's no doubt in my mind that there are some people in the orbit of Joe Biden who played a role in a lot of those stories being put out. In fact, in one of these articles, there's a staffer of the vice presidents who criticized the amount of time that she spends on her hair and her clothes. She a woman. She a black woman. Okay? It ain't like in one of the articles.

She gets to just jump up, take a shower, throw some clothes on, walk out the door. Hello? That's called self-sabotage inside your own team. So I need y'all to understand something. I need y'all, when y'all reading these stories, you got to be asking yourself the question, why do I keep seeing all these same stories?

What is actually going on here? Yes, I know Joe Biden is old. I know he's, and people are like, whoa, could she be the next in line? Guess what? Ain't nobody asking about the number three in line. Oh, by the way, who's the number three to the presidency? The Speaker of the House?

Hell, we ain't even got one right now. I'm saying all of this because you need to understand motive. What you need to understand is there are forces at play in the Democratic Party who do not want Vice President Kamala Harris to be the potential nominee come 2028, win or lose in 2024. Oh, I'm telling you right now, there are donors, there are activists, there are consultants who are sitting here going, we got our eyes on some other people. Whitmer in Michigan, the governor of Pennsylvania, Pete Buttigieg, who's transportation secretary, Gavin Newsom in San Francisco, excuse me, in California.

It's a whole bunch of folks who got their eyes on the White House, and they see Kamala Harris as an impediment to their guy or their gal being the next star of the Democratic Party. So I need y'all to understand when you see these stories. So here to me is a mistake that the Harris people are actually making. What has happened is if you keep seeing these stories and the headline ends up being, and I'm going to go back to it, this is the New York Times headline, It's in search of Kamala Harris.

They've already decided what the story is. So you're giving all these people access to you, and it's the same story. The other story that came from the Atlantic, again, this is the headline, the Kamala Harris problem. Look at the photo right there. Do you know what you don't see in these stories? You don't see them talking about the work that she's doing when it comes to black maternal health. You don't see them in these stories talking about how she's proactively engaging black men and others,

which is a problem for the Democratic Party. What you don't see is them writing in all of these stories the actual work that she's doing because what you see the narrative is she's never at work. She's never at work. She's never at work. She's never at work even though there are the photos there are all kind of video available including this week when she was sitting

next to Vice President, next to President Biden in the situation room as they were looking at what was happening in Israel. You're not going to see them talking about that. You're not going to see them talking about those different things because that doesn't help the narrative of the folks who are being set. See, this right here, that's what VPs do. They stand back and they support the president.

So for you to understand, so what then happens? Every time one of these stories is written, all of a sudden, the public perception, if I go back to one of the stories, what is she going to do to change the public perception? Well, you're the one writing the story. So if your story is establishing that she is a problem, if your story is establishing that, oh, she can't figure out who she is,

then guess what? It's a problem. Let me take y'all back to Obama and Joe Biden. Let me be real clear. When Obama was running for, when he was running for the United States, for the state Senate, Obama supported gay marriage. But then when he chose to run for the United States Senate, he knew he couldn't be in support

of gay marriage because he knew that wasn't a winning strategy then. So guess what? He stood before the debates and talked about how he believed marriage was between a man and a woman. Obama never believed that. He never did. But he knew he had to say it in order to run. On the same stage, Hillary said it.

She didn't believe it. On the same stage, Joe Biden said it. He didn't believe it. But they knew they had to say it because the polling data was clear where the voters were. So what happened in the term? Obama still wouldn't support same-sex marriage. But it was Joe Biden who went on to meet the press.

Obama was pissed because he felt that Biden got in front of his skis. Biden actually was the one who spoke out publicly in favor of same-sex marriage, which then forced Obama to go do an interview with Robin Roberts and affirm his support of it. And guess what happened? The polling had already changed. So it was now safe to support same-sex marriage because it wasn't a political liability. These are facts. I remember going on

CNN and they were like, Obama has evolved. I was like, no he didn't. Obama evolved, evolved, and he evolved back. I'm just stating fact, y'all. Obama literally signed a questionnaire for an LGBT group when he was running for state senator saying that he affirmed same-sex marriage He later changed his position. These are facts. So I'm not sitting here. Oh my god rolling you out in Obama

No, that's actually what happened. I'm just simply not living in La La Land and being delusional about what actually happened So why am I saying all of that if you read all of these articles And if you see how they are asking Well what's Kamala Harris position on this Position on that She can't say it Because she cannot be in opposition To the president So when you're the vice president

You actually can't give your own opinion You can't Define yourself Because when you're the Vice President of the United States you are defined by the President. You can be steadfast in disagreement with the President but you've got to support him. You know who knows that? Joe Biden. He was trying to give Obama

advice when it came to the Memory Disabilities Act and also the issue of birth control. Remember the nuns and that sort of whatnot? Biden knew where the Catholic folks were going to stand because he's Catholic. Obama had a different position. He gave us advice, but once the president made his decision, he had to go with it.

That's what Kamala Harris is. So the problem is all of these stories are trying to get Kamala Harris to say or do something that who she is until she's no longer playing second fiddle to Biden. Now, if Biden and Harris wins in 2024, then by the second year, she then gets to get more freedom. Why? Because she has to position herself for her own campaign in 2028. Biden knows that and so he's going to have to go ahead

and do your thing but because she still is going to be head of the Senate and she has to still make decisions, she still has to be marching in lockstep with the president. So when y'all see all of these stories attacking her, you need to understand there's a motive behind it. And here's the last point, which arguably I think is the most important point.

America is a sexist country. America, including women in America, have a problem with a woman being president. And so the constant attacks on Vice President Kamala Harris is the fact that she's also a woman. Yes, we've had a female Speaker of the House, but this is the first female vice president. We ain't never had a female president. Israel has had a female leader. Pakistan had a female president. Israel has had a female leader. Pakistan had a female leader. Germany has had a female leader.

India has had a female leader. The Philippines has had a female leader. Liberia has had a female leader. The United States has never had one. And so a lot of these questions, is she ready? Can she do the job? Is she up to the task? The reality is it's also a function of her gender.

And so you need to understand when you read these stories, you have to understand framing. When I see a story, I understand what I'm saying right here. This is the Atlantic story. Few people seem to think she's ready to be president. Why? Shall I take y'all back to Hillary Clinton and people saying that no woman or no person has ever been that ready to be president. And there were still people saying she can't. Oh, let me remind y'all. How many of y'all remember?

I'm sure Scott, Rebecca and Larry remembers Joe Biden. Oh, my God. Joe Biden could never be president. He's a buffoon. He's a gaffe machine. He makes too many mistakes. He says crazy stuff. He plagiarizes. Do y'all remember all of those things that were said about Joe Biden when he was vice president? They said, Joe, just move. Go on out and just move on out and just retire and go do a think tank and make you some money.

You'll never be president. Y'all, Joe Biden been trying to be president of the United States since he was 30 years old. And guess what he is right now? He's the president. He was always going to run for a second term. So here's what I think the Harris people should do. The Harris people should stop trying to impress national media, national white media. Look, you ain't going to get a fair shake.

What they should be doing is spending their time talking to columnists at major newspapers, giving them some face time that they never actually get. I guarantee you the kind of columns are going to be a lot different than what you're seeing in these stories. Stop giving these reporters, you know, four or five, six interviews because you see what's actually going to be here. Also, force them to actually look at the policies that you're doing. Force them to actually cover it. If you actually read both of these stories, you're not going to actually see anything in them talking about the very policy things she has been involved in. Because that's not what the goal is. But most importantly,

they should have the vice president blanketing black media. This summer was a great thing that they actually did. You know what they did this summer? She was speaking at all different conferences. She spoke to the Deltas. She spoke to, I think to the AKAs and the AKAs too.

AKAs next year. Spoke to the Deltas. She was speaking to different groups. They should have had her at the National Association of Black Journalists, which was in Birmingham, talking about the Alabama redistricting case. She should have had her also at the Alpha Convention talking to brothers and the Kappa Convention in Tampa because they got a black male problem. They missed the boat on that one.

They should say if there's a national black convention, the vice president is going to be at every single one of them, speaking at every single one of them. She should be at the national black NBA convention. She should be at the National Medical Association, the National Bar Association. Every single one. Because guess what? You have to frame yourself. They are trying to hope that doing these big national

stories will reframe who she is. Y'all, that ain't happening. It's the wrong strategy. Rebecca, your thoughts. Look, I think you summed it up well. When we started to see

these reports coming out, especially in a lot of the Washington, D.C. area papers, we knew it was coming from inside the House. We knew that it was friendly fire. We knew it was folks on the Democratic side who were jockeying for a position after Biden is no longer the president. You know, some of this is kitchen table talks. I'll just keep it out, do the non-kitchen table talk. I mean, there were certain people's fingerprints that we saw all over it. There's people on the, you know, before my current job, there are people who I've worked with on the Democratic side for many years, decades. And I recognize when they're pushing certain things in

the press. And that's what I recognized when I saw some of those initial stories about her. They wanted her to be the angry Black bitch so bad. And that's not who Kamala is. That isn't who she is as vice president. And so because she isn't the angry Black bitch, now they have to figure out other ways to disqualify her. And especially when we see this reoccurring cadence about Joe Biden's age, it's not about Joe Biden, but it is a soft whistle for people to understand, hey, if he's too old, if he's too frail, if he isn't mentally aware, that that means that Kamala is the one who's really pushing all of the buttons over at the White House. That's what that ageism story with Biden is all about.

It was never about him or his age, but it was more of do we really want Kamala Harris as the next leader of the Democratic Party? Larry. Larry? So I think there are a couple of things that, you know, based on the points that you made is that Vice President Harris is dealing with is generally society. They don't want black women to be great. And you talk about the intersection of racism, sexism, which it is. Also, you look at her resume, it's impeccable. You know, attorney general in the state of California, only the second Black woman ever elected to the U.S. Senate after Carol Moseley Braun, and the first woman and the first Black woman to ever be VP. Her credentials speak for themselves. But once again, in our society, as you highlighted, and we talk about this, she shattered the glass ceiling in many respects.

And so she's the second most powerful person in the world. And there are a lot of people, and not just people outside of our community, some folks in our community, they just can't handle that. This whole story about, particularly the last couple of days, about her hair and her clothes and things like that, this is frivolous. We're dealing with making sure we're maintaining our democracy and supporting Americans to make sure they have food on the table. And so if she wasn't properly prepared and came out, we already know how that story would go. So we have to focus on the issues that are important. Once again, she is more qualified than the majority of members in the House and Senate who have been there for years. Her credentials speak for ourselves. It is unfortunate. But once

again, Roland, I agree with you in terms of she needs to go to Black media. She needs to continue to talk to Black organizations and entities to talk about things the Biden administration has done in terms of policy, the infrastructure bill, how DOJ has taken on a civil rights division, has taken on a lot of these corrections officers and police departments. She needs to highlight these issues. And also, once again, it's part of our lived experience. So when we see her, we see ourselves. Scott, before I go on that point that Larry just said, absolutely, one of the greatest mistakes of the Biden-Harris administration had they have not been trumpeting

the amazing work of the Civil Rights Division and holding cops accountable and holding jailers and wardens accountable and the prosecution of hate crimes. That's what they should be touting. But Scott, I'm going to read this piece of this Atlantic story. and Wharton's accountable and the prosecution of hate crimes. That's what they should be touting. But Scott, I'm going to read this piece of this Atlantic story. To me, again, this is just the dumb bullshit that you see in these stories. In the first year of his presidency, Biden did little to present Harris as essential to the administration.

Neither did the Democratic Party more broadly. Indeed, there was a sense that Harris might be a liability more than anything else. Less than two weeks into office, Harris appeared on a West Virginia news station to pitch the Biden administration's coronavirus stimulus package, which Joe Manchin, the state's conservative Democratic senator, was not yet sold on. In an interview on the same station the next day, Manchin said he was shocked that Harris had given him no notice of the appearance. I couldn't believe it. That's not the way of working together. Later that year, as my colleague Franklin Ford has reported, Biden invited Manchin to the Oval Office to discuss the stimulus package.

Harris was there initially, but after pleasantries was sent on her way, Biden had once said that Harris would be the last voice in the room during important conversations, not this time. First, Scott, here's why this paragraph is completely bullshit. If anybody goes back to the first year, when you saw Biden speak, he often had her speak first, then he spoke. That was one. Two, she doesn't do that interview unless it was cleared with the White House communications office. Her communications staff ain't out there just freelancing on their own. Three, this was Joe Manchin being a pissant, as if you've got to get my permission to do interviews in my state. That's bullshit.

And so, four, when Manchin met with him, Biden served in the Senate all those years. She wasn't even there that long. And so Biden meeting with Manchin by himself is no shock because he has a relationship with her. So when you see the whole deal here, but after pleasantries, she was sent on her way right there. That line right there alone cast it as, oh, she was discarded. Oh, she'd be the last person in the room. Everybody knows what the phrase the last person in the room. Everybody knows what the phrase, the last person in the room means. When I'm making decisions, I'm factoring your advice and counsel in. It doesn't mean she's going to be sitting in on every conversation of the president.

That did not happen with Cheney and Bush, did not happen with Bush and Reagan, Gore and Clinton, Biden, Obama, Mondale Carter. So what are all of these national media doing? They are creating a Kamala Harris standard that is completely different from every other vice president in modern history. Yeah, you know, and Manchin, that was his white privilege.

How dare this black woman come to my jurisdiction, whether she's vice president or not, without telling me? Really? I got to get your permission to come to your jurisdiction, whether we want West Virginia or not? Secondly, you know, Rowan, your breakdown was excellent, and I agree with it. I offer one friendly supplement. This shit is hard. It's hard being number two when you've been number one, defining yourself as the first, in many instances, prosecutor, AG, Senate. Even as a senator, you're defining yourself. Her cross-examination of witnesses was masterful, right? And now she's number two, and her agenda and definition is Joe Biden's,

as you said, not hers. It's hard to operate in that space, whoever you are, with no prior experience or definition of this space, which is why the former Speaker for California, one of the reasons was Willie Brown said before she accepted this nomination, you should go B.A.G., define yourself. You won't be under the White House scrutiny or thumb, and you can build your own constituencies. Well, she went for vice president. God bless her. Right. But this is hard stuff. And the backdrop of racism and sexism and all the other points that you raise make it even harder. Right. She is not herself very often when she's talking. When she was a senator or AG AG, you saw the real Kamala Harris, smart, funny, brilliant, independent, fighting. As number two, she's carrying Biden's baggage and speaking

for Biden and like Biden and has these contours around her. You don't see the real her, because as you say, her agenda is Biden's agenda. It's not hers. And she's doing the best she can and doing a hell of a job, quite frankly, despite all those challenges you mentioned, including the infighting and Biden's people doing her in. That's what I think. The one time you actually have heard Vice President Biden. I know a lot of cops, and they get asked all the time. Have you ever had to shoot your gun?

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

This is Absolute Season 1, Taser Incorporated. I get right back there and it's bad. 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. 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. a very big way. Real people, real perspectives. This is kind of star-studded a little bit, man. We got

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

quote-unquote drug thing is. Benny the Butcher. Brent Smith from Shinedown. We got B-Real from Cypress Hill. NHL enforcer Riley Cote. Marine Corvette. MMA fighter Liz Karamush. What we're doing now isn't working,

and we need to change things. Stories matter, and it brings a face to them. It makes it real. It really does. It makes it real. Listen to new episodes of the War on Drugs podcast season two on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. And to hear episodes one week early and ad free with exclusive content, subscribe to Lava for Good Plus on Apple Podcasts. We asked parents who adopted teens to share their journey.

We just kind of knew from the beginning that we were family. They showcased a sense of love that I never had before. I mean, he's not only my parent, he's like my best friend. At the end of the day, it's all been worth it. I wouldn't change a thing about our lives. Learn about adopting a teen from foster care. Visit AdoptUSKids.org to learn more. Brought to you by AdoptUSKids, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, and the Ad Council. President Kamala Harris, without the vetting of

the White House, folks, if y'all find it, let me know, when she spoke extemporaneously at the Buffalo funeral She was she wasn't supposed to speak Reverend Al Sharpton said She's not scheduled to speak but I did the vice president Covey makes remarks if y'all listen to that speech Let me know if y'all find it if you listen to that speech You will hear vice President Kamala Harris. It wasn't written. It wasn't vetted by the White House.

It wasn't even checked. When you hear it, you say, and I said to her folk, that's the best I've heard of her since she's been Vice President to that point. But let me know if y'all find this. I got to read this because I need y'all to understand, again,

when certain comments are stated what they meant. This is the Atlantic article. For now, Senate Democrats are not fighting for time with Harris when she's on the Hill. Quote, you'd be hard pressed to find a Democratic office that actually engages with her or her team on a regular basis. One Democratic senator's chief of staff told me, Traditionally, this person said, Officials from the executive branch who visit the Capitol are cornered by lawmakers hoping to get their priorities before the president,

but few people are scrambling to make alliances with Harris, not because of any dislike, as this person and other congressional officials told me, but simply because of uncertainty about the nature of her role. In her case, the chief of staff said, it's kind of like, hey, good to see you, and that's kind of the end of it. Now, let me explain to some of y'all right now what is this other bullshit.

Senator Harry Reid, do y'all remember when they were negotiating a funding bill? Vice President Biden cut a deal with Mitch McConnell. Harry Reid said, keep that son of a bitch out of the room. They refused to talk to Biden because Reid felt that Biden gave too many concessions to McConnell. So this whole notion that, oh, no, that's how it works. The reality is this here. There's a coterie of people who are around Biden. They say the power is with us. Hell, Jamie Harrison is the head of the DNC and he can't move like he needs to move.

And we've seen stories how he's been frustrated. Y'all notice a common theme here? Black DNC chair frustrated. What's up with the vice president? What's her role? The reality is the role of Vice President Kamala Harris is the role of every other vice president. That person is the number two. Everybody on Capitol Hill knows the power is in the Oval Office at 1600 Pennsylvania. That's what everybody knows.

So people need to understand what's going on here and how this thing is. We played these speeches. We've shown these different things. If you want to actually hear Vice President Kamala Harris in her own voice, not stilted, not unsure, not I need to sound like what the White House want me to sound like, this is her in Buffalo when 10 black people were gunned down by a racist. Good afternoon, church. To the Whitfield family, the father of the Whitfield family, Mr. Whitfield. The pain that this family is feeling right now,

and the nine other families here in Buffalo, I cannot even begin to express our collective pain as a nation for what you are feeling in such an extreme way. To not only lose someone that you love, but through an act of extreme violence and hate. And I do believe that our nation right now is experiencing an epidemic of hate. And as we know and scripture teaches us, when we talk about strength, the strength of personality, the strength of spirit, the strength of faith, I think we all know that a true measure of strength is not based on who you beat down, it's based on who you lift up. Who you lift up. And it means then also in that strength, understanding we will not allow small people to create fear in our communities.

That we will not be afraid to stand up for what is right, to speak truth even when it may be difficult to hear and speak. There's a through line. What happened here in Buffalo, in Texas, in Atlanta, in Orlando? What happened at the synagogues? And so this is a moment that requires all good people, all God-loving people, to stand up and say, we will not stand for this. Enough is enough. We will come together based on what we all know we have in common, and we will not let those people who are motivated by hate separate us or make us feel fear. So I'm here to say that we are all in this

together. No one should ever be made to fight alone. We are stronger than those who would try to hurt us think that we are. We are strong. We are strong in our faith. We are strong in our belief about what is right and our determination to act to ensure that we protect all those who deserve to be protected, that we see all those who deserve to be seen, that we hear the voices of the people, and that we rise up in solidarity to speak out against this and to speak to our better angels. Thank you. I'm not, now, I'm not going to play the speech that she gave at Tyree Nichols' funeral, but that was a written speech that she gave at Ty Tyree Nichols funeral, but that was a written speech that she gave at the Tyree Nichols funeral.

It's not totally different than that one. The point I'm making is this here. Part of the deal is, you have to let go of the reins. So, Jean O'Malley Dixon, Anita Dunn, the other folks around there, if y'all want to stop seeing these stories,

maybe what y'all got to do is allow Kamala to be Kamala. Understand that the strategy that you have, the communication strategy that you have, don't make any sense whatsoever. And Scott said it, and I'm telling y'all, it's the dumbest thing in the world that the Biden-Harris Department of Justice has been killing it in police misconduct, patterns and practices, hate crimes of victories, putting cops and wardens in jail. And y'all ain't saying nothing plain to her strengths. Oh, by the way, you might get more black support as well

because folks will then see that despite the George Floyd Justice Act not becoming law, you have an active Department of Justice that's actually putting the work in. Let's see what transpires. Larry, Rebecca, Scott, appreciate y'all being on today's show. Always a pleasure. Thank you so very much. Folks, I'm going to do the Uncle Red tribute tomorrow because I added some other stories that took up more time in the first half of the show. And so we'll do that tomorrow.

So we'll pay tribute to him. We got a great tribute, including one of the interviews that we did when we were down in Tulsa for the 100th anniversary of the race massacre in Tulsa as well. Thank you so very much, folks. Be sure to support us in what we do. Download the Black Star Network app,

Apple phone, Android phone, Apple TV, Android TV, Roku, Amazon Fire TV, Xbox One, Samsung Smart TV. Also, join our Bring the Funk fan club. See your check and money orders at PO Box 57196, Washington, D.C., 20037-0196. Cash app, dollar sign RM Unfiltered, PayPal RMartin Unfiltered, Venmo's RM Unfiltered, Zelle, Roland at RolandSMartin.com, Roland at RolandMartinUnfiltered.com. And be sure to get a copy of my book, White Fear, How the Browning of America is Making White Folks Lose Their Minds,

available at bookstores nationwide. Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Books a Million, Target. Download the audio version on Audible. Folks, I'll see y'all tomorrow right here on Roland Martin Unfiltered on the Black Star Network. Halt! sometimes as dads i think we're too hard on ourselves we get down on ourselves on not being able to you know we're the providers but we. We get down on ourselves on not being able to, you know, we're the providers. But we also have to learn to take care of ourselves.

A wrap-away, you got to pray for yourself as well as for everybody else. But never forget yourself. Self-love made me a better dad because I realized my worth. Never stop being a dad. That's dedication. Find out more at fatherhood.gov. Brought to you by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the Ad Council. I know a lot of cops.

They get asked all the time, have you ever had to shoot your gun? Sometimes the answer is yes. But there's a company dedicated to a future where the answer will always be no. This is Absolute Season 1. Taser Incorporated. I get right back there and it's bad. Listen to Absolute Season 1,

Taser Incorporated on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. I'm Clayton English. I'm Greg Glott. And this is Season 2 of the War on Drugs podcast.

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

It really does. It makes it real. Listen to new episodes of the War on Drugs podcast Season 2 on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. This is an iHeart Podcast.