#RolandMartinUnfiltered - Jabari Peoples' Autopsy, Gary Mayor on $14B Steel Deal, Saint Augustine’s Alumni Silenced & GymWrap

Starting point is 00:00:00 This is an iHeart Women's Sports and our founding sponsors, Elf Beauty, Capital One, and Novartis. Just open the free iHeart app and search iHeart Women's Sports to listen now. So what happened at Chappaquiddick? Well, it really depends on who you talk to. There are many versions of what happened in 1969

Starting point is 00:00:42 when a young Ted Kennedy drove a car into a pond. And left a woman behind to drown. Chappaquiddick is a story of a tragic death and how the Kennedy machine took control. Every week we go behind the headlines and beyond the drama of America's royal family. Listen to United States of Kennedy on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. I'm Bob Crawford, host of American History Hotline, a different type of podcast. You, the listener, ask the questions. Did George Washington really cut down a cherry tree?

Starting point is 00:01:20 Were JFK and Marilyn Monroe having an affair? And I find the answers. I'm so glad you asked me this question. This is such a ridiculous story. You can listen to American history hotline on the iHeart radio app, Apple podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. I know a lot of cops and they get asked all the time, have you ever had to shoot your gun? Sometimes the answer is yes. But there's a company dedicated to a future where the answer will always be no. This is Absolute Season One, Taser Incorporated. I get right back there and it's bad.

Starting point is 00:01:59 Listen to Absolute Season One, Taser Incorporated on the iHeartRadio app, Apple podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Fox today is Tuesday, July 15th, 2025 coming up on rolling Mark unfiltered streaming live on the Black Star Network. The family of the barry peoples does their own independent autopsy will be joined by the family attorney Ben Crump to discuss those findings in Gary, Indiana, the home to the nation's largest steel mill. The mayor of the predominantly African-American city would join us to talk about how the $14 billion partnership between US Steel and Nippon Steel could impact African-Americans.

Starting point is 00:02:58 Also on today's show, voices of St. Augustine's University say they're being silenced. Their rep, their alumni rep, has been voted upon, but they won't put him on the board. What the hell is going on? Plus tonight's Shop Black Star Network, shopblackstarnetwork.com marketplace, we'll talk to actress Nicole Ari Parker about her product, Jim Rapp. Ooh, and Congresswoman Jasmine Crockett had a couple of things to say about all these

Starting point is 00:03:27 red states complaining about blue states, but she like, that's what the blue state got all the money. And Bill Maher shows his, shows he's an ass again. I'll unpack that and explain to you why it is beyond stupid when you listen to Bill Maher talk It's time to bring the funk on roll with Mark unfiltered on the black star network. Let's go And when it breaks, he's right on time And it's Rollin', best belief he's knowin' Puttin' it down from sports to news to politics With entertainment just for kicks He's Rollin'

Starting point is 00:04:15 It's Uncle Roll-Roll, y'all It's Rollin' Martin, yeah Rollin' with Rollin' now It's rolling Martin, yeah. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Rolling with rolling now. Yeah. He's funky, he's fresh, he's real, the best. You know he's rolling Martin now. Martin. We buried our child Saturday and it's, we buried him Saturday and it's just, it's hard, it's hard to even think about burying your child.

Starting point is 00:05:03 It's hard about ever. You want your child to bury you? You don't want your child to bury your child. No parent. No way. No parent. Only thing we want to do is see the video. We want to see the video. Just show us what happened to our child, please. Show the video. Show the video, please. Guys Show them. Show them. Show them. Guys. Folks, that is the family of Jabari people's young men in Homewood, Alabama, who was shot and killed by police.

Starting point is 00:05:33 They're not releasing the body cam footage. The family is saying they want it to be released. The results of the independent autopsy reveal the 18 year old Jabari people's died from a gunshot wound to the back during the police encounter that took place on June 23rd in Homewood. in all types of reveal. The 18-year-old Jabari people has died from a gunshot wound to the back during a police encounter that took place on June 23rd in Homewood. Again, they have yet to release the body cam footage

Starting point is 00:05:52 claiming that that will impede the investigation. Ben Crump, the family attorney joins us right now. Ben, we've been down this road many, many times. And one of the things that we know is that if this video exonerated the cops, it would have been out a long time ago. Yeah. Yeah, Roland.

Starting point is 00:06:11 That's the hypocrisy of it all. If it was somebody from our neighborhood, from our community who did something inappropriate or did something that was criminal, they would have that blasted all across the evening news. However, when it's a police officer killing one of our children, they change the rules and they say, oh no, we can't release the video because it is an investigation. And it's so hurtful, it's so painful to these black families all across America while they play this game of delay, delay, delay. And can you imagine, Roland Martin, how hard it is to bury a child as Mr. William Peoples was saying, but not to know what happened to him

Starting point is 00:07:00 when you're burying him? I mean, it's beyond insult on top of injury. And again, so they're saying that, we've done this story several times, so they're saying that, oh, because it's an ongoing investigation, we can't release the body cam footage, but that still makes no sense because first of all who's saying that is the district attorney.

Starting point is 00:07:29 Is it the home with police is the Alabama State Police who's actually leading the investigation. It's the Alabama State Police. They call them a Leah Alabama law enforcement agency and they do this continuously and systematically. They did it with E.J. Bradford. They didn't release that video until three years after E.J. was killed in Bessemer, Alabama. And so, we know we're fighting up against a machine here, a very well-arred discriminatory

Starting point is 00:08:02 machine that say when black people get killed by the police, we sweep it under the rug. And so we're not going to let this kid be swept under the rug. I mean, he was the best of us, Roland, the best we had to offer the future. Never been convicted of a crime, never even been arrested. He was a freshman at Alabama A&M, a double major. He was majoring in computer information systems and criminal justice, wanted to be a detective, wanted to go into law enforcement. So how does this bright kid with a bright future end up dead? Based on our preliminary findings—and it's preliminary because we haven't got all the evidence, but our medical examiner,

Starting point is 00:08:50 who is well-credentialed, been a medical examiner for over 25 years, based in Atlanta, Georgia, said that based on her autopsy, physical examination of the body body that he died from a single gunshot wound to his back. Which obviously raises the question, you know, what happened here? Now again, the cops are saying that there was supposedly a gun in the car. Well, the body cam footage should show that. So either it shows it or it doesn't.

Starting point is 00:09:28 Exactly. Exactly, Roland Martin. What is the reason why they are so afraid to show the video? And I think it's what you said earlier, Roland. If it was something on the video that exonerated him, they would have been showed it. But if it's something that implicates him on the video, then they have to try to figure out the narrative. And of course, part of the issue that we have here, you're dealing with Alabama, a red state,

Starting point is 00:10:01 they believe in protecting cops. So it's not like you can look to the attorney general of the governor for some assistance. Not at all. In fact, the attorney general is running for senator. Tommy Tuberville is going to run for governor of Alabama. So they flip flop and everybody assumed that the attorney general was going to run for governor. But then when Tuberville said he wants to leave Washington and be governor of Alabama, then Marshall, Steve Marshall is his name, attorney general, said he's going to run for the United States Senate seat. And they are big Trump supporters, both of them. And so,

Starting point is 00:10:44 Roland, I know you know about Tuberville. So that's what we're dealing with. A Tuberville in Alabama who always protects the status quo and always protects police officers. Now your, your, your, your, your preliminary autopsy, uh, was an autopsy done by the official autopsy medical examiner has that been released no absolutely not pending investigation, which just makes me want to holler when you think of all of them. They do all

Starting point is 00:11:20 this stuff that the taxpayers pay them money to do to have body cam video to have body cam video, to have dash cam video on the cars, to have medical examiners who do autopsies. And then, when we need to know most the evidence of what happened to this young man being shot and killed, they all say, well, we can't release anything until the completion of the investigation. And you know, Roland Martin, because we've done this too many times, they will try to keep that investigation going to next year or well after that, till everybody forget that Jabari peoples existed except his mom and his daddy.

Starting point is 00:12:04 And unfortunately, we're also dealing with a federal department of justice, uh, that wants to grant immunity, uh, to cops. Uh, Donald Trump has made it clear. He wants a hundred percent immunity to cops. So you can't even look to the federal, uh, DOJ for any assistance. It's a shame before God, but I know that together we can get transparency and get to the truth of what happened. And they're going to have to release this video.

Starting point is 00:12:33 We just got to keep standing up together and not let them sweep this young man, Jabari Peoples under the rug, because, like I said,, Roland, he represented the best that we have to offer for the future. I mean, A and B student, his freshman year in Alabama, was looking forward to starting in August his sophomore campaign, and now he's six feet under the ground. And his family has still not been given any answers as to why their law abiding college teenage son is dead. Unfortunately, when we unfortunately talk about the South, we are still dealing with, frankly, lynching of black boys, black young men and getting nothing in terms of justice from law enforcement.

Starting point is 00:13:29 Thank you, Roland, for covering the matter, because we have to do, we have to save ourselves. We know the federal government isn't going to save us, and we know the Civil Rights Department, the Department of Justice has been obliterated. And so, there's nothing to turn to but us. And so, I thank all the activists. I thank the community leaders, the clergy. And I thank you, Roland, and media, black-owned media, who won't let them sweep it under the rug, because Jibari Peters—I'm sorry, Jibari people's life mattered. Well, absolutely. And the reality, Ben, is that you had protesters there after y'all ended y'all news conference today

Starting point is 00:14:27 there of course were protesters in I'm gonna try to pull it up here in a second who were you know taking to the streets and that's the thing folks have been taking to the streets consistently in Homewood, Alabama, demanding, demanding, demanding this video be released. Yeah. We gotta see what's. So what happened at Chappaquiddick? Well, it really depends on who you talk to. There are many versions of what happened in 1969

Starting point is 00:14:57 when a young Ted Kennedy drove a car into a pond. And left a woman behind to drown. There's a famous headline, I think, in the New York Daily News. It's Teddy escapes, Lon drowns. And in a strange way, right, that sort of tells you. The story really became about Ted's political future, Ted's political hopes. Will Ted become president? Chappaquiddick is a story of a tragic death and how the Kennedy machine took control.

Starting point is 00:15:23 And he's not the only Kennedy to survive a scandal. The Kennedys have lived through disgrace, affairs, violence, you name it. So is there a curse? Every week we go behind the headlines and beyond the drama of America's royal family. Listen to United States of Kennedy on the iHeartRadio app, Apple podcast,

Starting point is 00:15:40 or wherever you get your podcasts. podcast or wherever you get your podcasts. American history is full of wise people. Well women said something like no 99.99% of war is diarrhea and 1% is glory. Those founding fathers were gossipy AF and they love to cut each other down. I'm Bob Crawford, host of American history Hotline, the show where you send us your questions about American history and I find the answers, including the nuggets of wisdom our history has to offer. Hamilton pauses and then he says, the greatest man that ever lived was Julius Caesar.

Starting point is 00:16:22 And Jefferson writes in his diary, this proves that Hamilton is for a dictator based on corruption. My favorite line was what Neil Armstrong said, it would have been harder to fake it than to do it. Listen to American history hotline on the iHeartRadio app, Apple podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. or wherever you get your podcasts. Do you remember Vine? It changed the internet forever

Starting point is 00:16:49 and it vanished in its prime. I'm Benedict Townsend and this is Vine, six seconds that changed the world. The untold story of genius, betrayal and the app that died so that TikTok could thrive. From overnight stars to the fall that no one saw coming, we're breaking down what made Vine iconic. Listen to Vine on the iHeartRadio app, Apple podcasts, or wherever you listen to podcasts.

Starting point is 00:17:16 In sitcoms, when someone has a problem, they just blurt it out and move on. Well, I lost my job and my parakeet is missing. How was your day? But the real world is different. Managing life's challenges can be overwhelming. So what do we do? We get support. The Huntsman Mental Health Institute and the Ad Council have mental health resources available

Starting point is 00:17:38 for you at loveyourmindtoday.org. That's loveyourmindtoday.org. See how much further you can go when you take care of your mental health. It's a good care roller. Alabama A&M students are marching and protesting too. And another thing roller, the bullet based on our autopsy, there was no exit wound.

Starting point is 00:17:58 So that meant the bullet was lodged in his body. We don't even know what type of bullet it was because the medical examiner and them have the bullet and the activists. I love the young people. They are, you know, the populace on boots on the ground. They say where them fans at? They're starting to say where that bullet at because we don't even know what kind of bullet it was that killed Jabari peoples. that was that kill Jabari peoples. All right then, Ben Krupp, we certainly appreciate it. Thanks a lot.

Starting point is 00:18:30 Hey, always rolling. Thank you, brother. Appreciate it. Thank you so very much. Let me bring my pen. I'm Dr. Mustafa Santiago Ali, former senior advisor for environmental justice at the EPA. Joining us from DC, Randy Bryan, entrepreneur, author of Never Says 25 Phrases You Should Never Ever Say to Keep Your Job and Friends out of DC, Michael Imhotep, host African History Network Show out of Detroit.

Starting point is 00:18:53 Mustafa, I'll start with you. The thing here is we see this over and over and over again, and the reality is you're not getting justice when you talk about what's happening in the South, whether it's Alabama, Mississippi. So they always say, oh no, can't release the body cam footage, whether it's Alabama, Mississippi. So they always say, oh, no, can't release the body cam footage.

Starting point is 00:19:06 And they hold off on it. But look, we've been down this road before. We know without a doubt that if this actually exonerated the cops, that video would have been out in 24 hours. Oh, yeah. Or it might even been out sooner than that, actually. We've done so many stories on this and, you know, I keep hearing so many folks saying they're sick and tired

Starting point is 00:19:29 of being sick and tired. We know how the game is played. We know, you know, how they delay. We know how they continue to sacrifice us. I was remembering the words of Dr. King one time. He said, we can never be satisfied as long as the black man is the victim of unspeakable horrors of police brutality. Now, lots of times people forget that Dr. King had that other side to him where he understood

Starting point is 00:19:53 the dynamics that were going on. In this country, the United States of America, last year we had 1,100 and I think it was 73 people who were killed by police. So we have a crisis that's going on. Yeah, we have a crisis because we've got too many guns in this country, but we also have a crisis by people who are willing to pull the trigger when there are other ways of handling situations.

Starting point is 00:20:16 And unfortunately, I have not yet found, it may exist. So I wanna just give space for that. You know, in other parts of the country, you know, they have different types of techniques to make sure that the first thing that they do is not pull the trigger. But unfortunately, in the South, we are an endangered species there, to be quite honest with you. And that's the way that we are viewed as inhuman, as something that they can take the life and then deal with the situations afterwards because they

Starting point is 00:20:45 know that there are forms of protection in place for them. So we've got to continue to put the pressure on. The Black Star Network is incredibly important because we tell the stories, we make sure people see the faces, you know, of what's actually going on out there where others, you know, will ignore it or not give it the attention that it deserves. So we just got to make sure that we speak up for the dead because they don't have a voice. Indeed, indeed.

Starting point is 00:21:14 And this is a video here that took place. This was the protest that was taking place after they released those preliminary findings. This year, of course, was happening. You can. kill Jabari and Homewood PD should be held accountable. And so I'm grateful for a mentor for justice. Homewood PD killed Jabari. Randy, I want to go to you. You know, it's what is so sad. It's another family. It is a fraternity slash sorority that no family wants to be a member of. And it just happens over and over and over again. And it's just, it continues.

Starting point is 00:22:15 And what people want, I mean, you hope there is a system, there's a system here that actually is going to bring justice. Unfortunately, we have a system that gives these cops the benefit of the doubt. What it does is it just continues to you know, let them off the hook and again, you got a Donald Trump who wants to give them 100% immunity, he said, so they can do their jobs. So no accountability whatsoever. Again, I'm always rattled when we have these stories,

Starting point is 00:22:59 although we have had, unfortunately, so many, particularly being a mother. And I think we have to be honest about what this is. I mean, these, to me, are modern day lynchings. Police officers are there to serve and protect not just some people, but all people, us included, which it seems as if they have forgotten. And they also have a duty to find any safe

Starting point is 00:23:23 and reasonable method before they use force. That is what they're supposed to do. They are supposed to bring calm to situations. They're supposed to, again, keep us safe, not be our enemy, not where we're worried when a police officer is called. I mean, we have such a strange relationship, the black community with police officers because of things like this. I don't know how you justify shooting a young man

Starting point is 00:23:53 in the back. I do not know how they will claim that there was no other alternative but to kill this young brother. My deepest condolences to his family and friends. And I am happy that they are being loud, continue to be loud. Do not allow Jabari people's death to be in vain. Somebody must pay and be held accountable. Michael.

Starting point is 00:24:21 Michael? Yeah, Roland, you know, this is another tragedy. And I think it's coming at a really terrible time because it's under a Trump administration. As you just said, Donald Trump ran on the platform of giving police 100 percent immunity. Okay? And, you know, my heart goes out to the family on this. And, yeah, if there was something that's sculptural in the video that cleared the police, they would have released that video within 24 hours. The fact that this took place on June 23, and if I heard Attorney Benjamin Crump correctly, he said the autopsy coming from the medical

Starting point is 00:25:07 examiner's office, the results of that have not been released yet either. Am I correct on that? Right, right. That's what he said. That's what he said. Yeah. So, once again, that causes, well, that was almost close to a month ago, and you still don't have the autopsy. So this is what we're looking at under a current Trump administration that just back in May

Starting point is 00:25:32 21st backed out of the consent decrees with the Louisville, Kentucky Police Department behind the killing of Breonna Taylor, backed out of the Minneapolis Police Department consent decree dealing with the killing of George Floyd, things of this nature. Now, one thing I found very interesting in the video from WVTM channel 13, Reverend Dr. Wayne Harris was speaking and he talked about the protests that were coming from this. And one of the things he said was that they were gonna have

Starting point is 00:26:00 economic boycotts and target the business district and things like this to get justice. So I would also be more, I would also be interested in finding out more information about that and how that's progressing as well. Well, we're certainly going to keep covering the story in all the developments. Hold tight one second. I got to go to break.

Starting point is 00:26:22 We come back more on Roland Martin unfiltered on the Black Star Network, including, ooh, things got heated on Capitol Hill. It's Congresswoman Jasmine Crockett went off and laying out laying the wood when it came to you know what all y'all red states keep whining and complaining about blue states. But who do you think gives y'all money? What did she we show you how she broke this thing down that more right here.

Starting point is 00:26:47 Roll and Mark Dunn filtered on the Black Star Network. On a next a balanced life, we talk about how to get in touch with your feelings, emotions, how to find your North Star and how to move your life along. Because oftentimes what we'll do is we'll accept what the world says about us as the truth and how we see ourselves, which that could be completely contrary to what the Word of God says about who you are.

Starting point is 00:27:12 That's on the next of that's happening here right now. It can impact each and every one of us. We're going to break down the topic of this constitutional crisis that is being led by the Trump administration and what you, as ordinary citizens, can do to speak up and speak out to fight back. This is The Other Side of Change, only on the Black Star Network. Hey, what's up? It's Sami Roman. Hey, it's John Murray, the executive producer of the new Sherri Schreiber Talk. change only on the Black Star Network. Texas Democrats in Congress are ripping down Trump's plan to redraw their state's political

Starting point is 00:28:16 map. Next week, the Republican-controlled Texas Legislature will consider a new set of congressional maps during a special session. With the Democrats in Austin currently out of power, Republicans have a super majority. Members of the state's congressional delegation anticipate that the new districts will continue the historic pattern of violating the Federal Voting Rights Act, which dilutes the votes of racial minorities. Now, Trump, he doesn't see this as gerrymandering. He makes it clear he just wants power. Calling him for a complete redrawing of the congressional map ahead of next week? No, no, just a very simple redrawing.

Starting point is 00:28:52 We pick up five seats. But we have a couple of other states where we'll pick up seats also. No, that's what gerrymandering is. And so he wants to redraw, he wants to redraw the seats so they'll be able to have more power. Texas Currentswoman Jasmine Crockett explains that this is the usual racism coming out of the state of Texas. What happened if they gerrymandered? Can you talk on that?

Starting point is 00:29:19 Yeah, so first of all, it hasn't quite been said clearly that Texas has always been found to be intentionally discriminatory. And so I want y'all to understand the makeup of my state. The state is a majority minority state. And what this legislature historically has done is what they plan to do again, is to dilute the voices of people of color in order to make sure that they can get to where they're trying to go. We saw this Department of Justice decided to put out a letter and what did they do?

Starting point is 00:29:54 We only have four seats that are represented by black folk where the vast majority of the people that get to decide who they have represent them are black. They decided to attack three of the four seats that we have in the state. They decided to go after a Latina. They are specifically deciding to splinter the communities of common interest, as well as just blatantly say,

Starting point is 00:30:19 we are going to dilute minority voices. So we know that the courts, every since we've had a Voting Rights Act, have always found this state to be intentionally minority voices. So we know that the courts, ever since we've had a Voting Rights Act, have always found this state to be intentionally discriminatory. That is what they are going to do. So I need people of color to understand that the scheme of the Republicans has consistently been to make sure that they mute our voices so that they can go ahead and have an oversized say in this. So I fully anticipate that's exactly where they're going with this map.

Starting point is 00:30:49 It's the only way to do it. We didn't understand how we got to the map that they gave us last time because that state was grown by 95% people of color. They went out of their way to make sure that we got zero new seats for people of color. So that's exactly what they're going to do this time. Well, this here was a tweet from California governor Gavin Newsom. Uh, when Jake Sherman posted president Donald Trump told Texas Republicans on a call this morning, the GOP will seek to get five new red seats in the mid decade

Starting point is 00:31:24 redistricting effort in Texas. Gavin Newsom said two can play that game. He later posted this tweet here. Let me find it right here. To this to this video, he goes, there are currently nine Republicans in the California congressional delegation. Just thought folks might like to know that fun fact. I mean, here's the whole deal here, Michael. Payback. I'm sorry. If they pull that crap in Texas,

Starting point is 00:31:50 Democrats in Maryland, Illinois, California, New York should do the same. Absolutely. And California. Yeah, they should do the same. And it's gonna to have a devastating impact in California also. I saw Jasmine Crockett talk about this on the weekend on MSNBC as well. I know we talked about it some last week when you had Jasmine Crockett on also,

Starting point is 00:32:19 Roland. So, yeah, this is good old-fashioned white supremist gerrymander. Donald Trump can try to deny it, just like he denied knowing about Project 2025, just like he denied reading Mein Kampf by Adolf Hitler. He can deny it all he wants to. But the proof is in the actions. The proof is in the pudding. And according to reporting from outlets like The New York Times, and we talked about this

Starting point is 00:32:42 last week, you know, Trump called Governor Greg Abbott, asking him to redraw the district lines. And, you know, they're targeting five districts, and they're trying to eliminate people like Jasmine Crockett. So we need to, as African Americans, we need to see these moves being made. They're playing right in front of our face. So this is why we have to turn out our numbers

Starting point is 00:33:04 and vote these people, vote these Republicans out of office and stop them. Stop what they're trying to do to us. Um, the Randy, I, one of the candidates who's running for the 18th congressional race, that's to replace the late Sylvester Turner, who replaced the late, uh, shoot, Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee. This is what he actually posted. He said, blue states must gerrymandered Republicans the same way they're doing us. Blue states must ditch quote, independent redistricting committees for now to force

Starting point is 00:33:36 Republicans into a national gerrymandering ban. They were created with good intentions, but times are different. Fight fire with fire. He's right. I believe in independent, you know, communists doing this. They tried to, the voters in Ohio actually passed that. They passed it. The Republicans said, we're not going to listen to you. It's the same thing in Michigan. So even when the will of the voters, when they do it, Republicans still say,

Starting point is 00:34:08 we don't give a damn because they want power. Democrats had better understand what's going on here. And they better understand that we are at war and we keep trying to play by the rules when the Republicans don't play by the rules and change the rules and do anything to win. And so we need—this is a mud fight.

Starting point is 00:34:30 This is a mud fight. And so we do need to do to them what they're doing to us. It's the only way we have a chance. And we can't continue to say, we're going to do it the proper way or the way that it should be done. We have to fight fire, as he said, with fire. We need to ensure that our voices are being heard, because they're doing everything in their power to ensure that they aren't.

Starting point is 00:34:58 So what happened at Chappaquiddick? Well, it really depends on who you talk to. There are many versions of what happened in 1969 when a young Ted Kennedy drove a car into a pond. And left a woman behind to drown. There's a famous headline, I think, in the New York Daily News. It's, Teddy escapes, blonde drowns. And in a strange way, right, that sort of tells you.

Starting point is 00:35:20 The story really became about Ted's political future, Ted's political hopes. Will Ted become president? Chappaquiddick is a story of a tragic death and how the Kennedy machine took control. And he's not the only Kennedy to survive a scandal. The Kennedys have lived through disgrace, affairs, violence, you name it.

Starting point is 00:35:36 So is there a curse? Every week, we go behind the headlines and beyond the drama of America's royal family. Listen to United States of Kennedy on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. America history is full of wise people. Well, women said something like, no, 99.99% of war is diarrhea and 1% is glory. Those founding fathers were gossipy AF and they love to cut each other down.

Starting point is 00:36:10 I'm Bob Crawford, host of American History Hotline, the show where you send us your questions about American history and I find the answers, including the nuggets of wisdom our history has to offer. Hamilton pauses and then he says, the greatest man that ever lived was Julius Caesar. And Jefferson writes in his diary, this proves that Hamilton is for a dictator based on corruption.

Starting point is 00:36:36 My favorite line was what Neil Armstrong said, it would have been harder to fake it than to do it. Listen to American History Hotline on the iHeartRadio app, Apple podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Do you remember Vine? It changed the internet forever and it vanished in its prime. I'm Benedict Townsend and this is Vine, six seconds that changed the world. The untold story of genius, betrayal, and the app that died so that TikTok could thrive.

Starting point is 00:37:10 From overnight stars to the fall that no one saw coming, we're breaking down what made Vine iconic. Listen to Vine on the iHeartRadio app, Apple podcasts, or wherever you listen to podcasts. Smokey the Bear. Then you know why Smokey tells you when he sees you passing through. Remember please be careful it's the least that you can do. Voice is what you desire, don't play with matches, don't play with fire. After 80 years of learning his wildfire prevention tips, Smokey Bear lives within us all. Learn more at SmokeyBear.com and remember, only you can prevent wildfires.

Starting point is 00:37:50 Brought to you by the USDA Forest Service, your state forester and the Ad Council. You know, the thing that trips me here, I just sit here and look at these decisions and look at how, you know, how Republicans literally just say, we don't care. That was a voter approved initiative in Utah. They're like, we don't care. We just saw the voters in Missouri pass a voter approval. Republicans like, yeah, when it came to sick leave,

Starting point is 00:38:32 they came to that, they're like, yeah, we don't care. And so they don't. And so this is where I have been saying for the longest, Democrats are trying to play a game, Mustafa, that is operating. They're using old rules where the opposition is saying, I'm sorry, what rules we don't care. And then when they don't like it, they'll cry foul.

Starting point is 00:38:56 And then that's what you can say. No, no, we're going to break your backs. We're going to completely go after you. We're not playing nice. Democrats have got to play a ruthless game because they have a ruthless opponent. No, I agree. I mean, here's the reality of the situation, right? So Republicans will punk Democrats until Democrats get tired of it. It's like the kid on the playground who, you know, the bully comes up to you and takes your lunch money

Starting point is 00:39:29 and continues to jack you up every day. And until you decide you're going to fight back, they're going to continue to do it. So, you know, when I see Jasmine and others actually speaking out in a very effective way and really putting and highlighting, you know, not just the injustices that are going on, but you don't have to take it. You know, you have to ask the question, why aren't more people

Starting point is 00:39:49 actually doing that? You know, why don't we actually let people know that when they talk about fiscal responsibility, that as we talked about earlier, you know, it's the blue states that are the ones that are subsidizing the red states. So until you stop allowing someone to just run all over you and do what's necessary and stop operating from an antiquated playbook, you know, that's from 30 or 40 years ago when there used to be some humility, when there used to be some folks who were trying to govern through bipartisan sets of actions, you know, you got to have a 21st century playbook now and you've got to understand who these folks are and what they're with,

Starting point is 00:40:29 the lengths that they're actually willing to go to to not only hold on to power, but also to hold on to wealth and to continue to strip away any opportunity for fairness to be a part of the process. So I'm glad that there are some folks who are starting to stand up. I hope more people do it. I do hope sometime in the future that we get back to actually

Starting point is 00:40:48 governing in a way that makes sense. But until we get there, we got to do what you got to do. And this is from Punchbowl News, Ohio Republicans. This is June, 2025, way how rude was to be in redistricting. And so what does it say? It said that The current GOP drawn map has 10 Republicans and five Democrats Ohio's unusual redistricting laws mandate a redraw ahead of 2026 because the current map passed without bipartisan support in the

Starting point is 00:41:23 2022 cycle the Ohio Supreme Court reigned in the GOP legislature. But, and what do we always say when it comes to when it comes to Supreme Court racists? It says now Republicans control all but one seat on Ohio's top court and the question is whether they'll try to draw a map that could elect 12 or 13 Republicans. The two Democrats on the chopping block, Representative Marcy Kaptur in Northwest Ohio and CBC member Amelia Sykes in the Akron-based 1313th District. And so they're looking to do this, folks, not just in Texas, but Ohio as well.

Starting point is 00:42:07 Remember Democrats only to pick up five seats to control the house right down North Carolina. There was to be a 10 three Republican majority. Then when Democrats control the Supreme Court, it went to seven seven. That's those four seats Republican control. And guess what? Now it's back to 10 three. So that's why they're trying to redraw the lines because they are deathly afraid that they could lose anywhere from 8 to 10 seats next year. Thus giving the House controlled to the Democrats and they don't want to do that.

Starting point is 00:42:36 And so we'll be watching what happens in all these states going to a break. We come back. We're going to talk about the mayor of Gary, Indiana. What is the impact of this 14 billion dollars steel merger? That's happening in the country. We'll discuss that folks Don't forget support us on rolling Martin unfiltered in the black star network join our brain the funk fan club your dog Make it possible

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Starting point is 00:43:18 Zell, Roland at RolandSMartin.com. Roland at RolandMartinUnfiltered.com. We'll be right back. On the next Get Wealthy with me, Deborah Owens, America's wealth coach, black women are starting businesses at the fastest rate than any other segment. However, finding the funding to build them is challenging.

Starting point is 00:43:44 On our next Get Wealthy, we're going to talk with author, Catherine Finney, who wrote the book, Build the Damn Thing. And she's going to be sharing exactly what we need to do to achieve success in spite of the odds. As an entrepreneur of color, it's first building your personal advisory board. I think that's one of the things that's helped me the odds. As an entrepreneur of color, it's first building your personal advisory board. I think that's one of the things that's helped me the most.

Starting point is 00:44:10 The personal advisory board of the people who are in the business of you, you personally and wanna see you succeed. That's right here on Get Wealthy, only on Black Star Network. Hello, we're the Critter Fixers, I'm Dr. Bernard Hodges. And I'm Dr. Terrence Ferguson. And you're tuning in to...

Starting point is 00:44:30 Roland Martin on the 50. Foes, Gary, Indiana, home to the largest steel mill in the nation. The mayor of that city, Eddie Melton, is excited about a new $14 billion partnership between U.S. Steel and Japan's Nippon Steel. The steel is expected to create 70,000 jobs nationwide, significantly impacting this predominantly African American city. Mayor Melton joins us right now.

Starting point is 00:45:02 Mayor, how you doing? I can't hear the mayor folks, he's on mute. All right, there we go, there we go. Doing great, so right now, in terms of jobs in your city, how many jobs does this meal provide right now? Right now we're about 4,000 jobs. And as you know, the downsides of the steel industry, at one point, U.S. Steel had nearly 30,000 jobs in the city of Gary alone. So it has been a tremendous downturn over the last, I would say, 40 to 50 years. And so as a result, what kind of expansion are you expecting to take place with this

Starting point is 00:45:53 deal? Right. Well, to give some context to your listening audience, we know that the City of Gary was founded by the founders of U.S. Steel, Andrew Carnegie, Albert H. Gehry, and so many others that helped build the steel industries around the United States. So that's the reason why the city of Gehry was established. When that occurred, over the next 120 years or more, the growth of this city had took place.

Starting point is 00:46:21 And we know during the movement of the black migration, we have blacks from the south that migrated here to work and look for that American dream, when it terms of jobs and in terms of successful for their family. I would say right after my mentor, Mayor Richard Gordon Hatcher, he passed, There was an opportunity for us to really bring back what he helped to get established in the city, and that's that pride, that's that grit, that determination. So we worked very intently to rebuild that relationship with U.S. Steel. That relationship had been stretched for a number of decades. I was skeptical on this deal,

Starting point is 00:47:05 like many people around the country, to have a Japanese company to purchase an iconic American company. But after further vetting and working with Congressional Black Caucus members like Congresswoman Maxine Waters and Congressman Penny Thompson, they both helped me as we kind of figure out how do we put this, the city of Gary in the best position if this deal were to go through. And so, yeah, I mean, obviously it was a whole lot of back and forth, a lot of back and forth in terms of what's gonna happen next.

Starting point is 00:47:38 And so that was interesting in terms of will the merger get approved. Then there was some kind of special provision that Trump would oversee it, and it was all sort of stuff like that. But, so when you talk about 70,000 jobs nationwide, where will the bulk of those jobs be, or will they be in different parts of the country?

Starting point is 00:48:00 Right, so right now we're looking at around Pennsylvania, we're looking at Indiana and Alabama. So some of those states will definitely see a lion's share of those jobs. Let me go back to your original question. I kind of missed a portion of that. I want to make sure that's answered. In the city of Gary, blast furnace number 14 is one of U.S. Steel's largest steel producing blast furnaces right here in the city of Gary. And that blast furnace will be relined and additional three other blast

Starting point is 00:48:29 furnaces will be refurbished. That means there will be an increase of steel production for many years to come. Every time a blast furnace is relined it gives it another 30 to 40 years of life. So we're talking about another thousand jobs potentially per blast furnace. Right now, I'm in discussions with the US Steel, the current leadership and the leadership in the Pond Steel as they continue to work on their merger, a partnership shall I say,

Starting point is 00:48:56 and figuring out what specific implications will that be on the hiring aspect. So we'll be working with our school corporation as well as our local universities to make sure the workforce development and the training pieces are in place to ensure that local residents have a priority in the placement of those jobs. Questions from the panel. Let's see here. Randy, you first. When we say that we're going to, you going to come back and hopefully get the steel mill industry

Starting point is 00:49:28 back up, because there's been what a huge decline, like 58 percent decline, will they put in place some changes to ensure that the process is more environmentally friendly and also to protect the people who work in these mills? Because I know there's been a lot of health concerns the people who work in these mills, because I know there's been a lot of health concerns about people who had long careers. No, absolutely. For the city of Gary, that has been a tremendous, tremendous concern. Myself, that grew up in this city, grew up with asthma, and so many others that live

Starting point is 00:49:59 in the footprint of the steel production process. Myself and our environmental advocates, we met with NAPON early in these negotiations to ensure that the technology that they use in their Japanese steelmaking process will also be converted over here in the American process. NAPON is ranked number four in the world in terms of steel production. U.S. Steel has dropped to number 24, in the world in terms of steel production, U.S. Steel has dropped to number 24, 24th in the world. However, the steel making process in the United States has been not as clean as the Japanese process.

Starting point is 00:50:33 So the technology and the protections around their intellectual brand in terms of bringing that here is part of that conversation in hopes that it'll be a cleaner process in the steelmaking process. Thank you. Mustafa. Well, Mayor, thank you for answering that question that Randy asked you. You know, that's incredibly important. Part of my family actually worked in the steel mills and in Pittsburgh, you know, years and years and years ago. I'm curious about the role that unions are playing

Starting point is 00:51:06 and how you see them being strengthened. We know that the current administration has not necessarily been friendly to unions. So I'm interested in how you're going to play a role in making sure that we change that dynamic. No, absolutely. Well, I can't speak for the administration, right? I'll speak for myself, The son of a steelworker, someone that has been a part of the steelmaking process my

Starting point is 00:51:30 entire life. My father worked for EJ&E Railroad at the Kirkyard at the steel mill. So it is extremely important that we support our organized labor. The one thing I will say, majority of the frontline workers, the union workers, supported this deal, especially those in Pennsylvania. If you go back and look at some of the commentary in the negotiation process. Now, union leadership, not so much. I think that was more of a political decision on a more national level. But rank and file, that was something important to myself and my team that the union contract will be honored.

Starting point is 00:52:05 We know that they'll be entering into negotiations for the next contract in 2026. We also advocated, myself and other mayors of Pennsylvania, advocated for a signing bonus for these individuals once this deal has been done. And I believe that has already taken place thus far. So I agree. Making sure that organized labor is protected, making sure that there was no plant closures in this process and moving forward, and also ensuring that production doesn't shift from cities like Gary, like Pennsylvania, to non-union states like Arkansas, I believe Arkansas is

Starting point is 00:52:43 one of their non-union states. That was something that was very important to us in the negotiating process. Michael? Governor Melton, I'm sorry, Mayor Melton, I'm predicting something for you. But I was wondering with this potential investment coming, this potential expansion, has there been any talks about contracts with the plants, contracts with the companies, et cetera, especially for African-American-owned businesses? We know that contracts with corporations is one of the ways that we're able to scale our businesses, whether it's janitorial services, transportation, et cetera.

Starting point is 00:53:28 And Benny talks about that. No, absolutely. Actually, the meeting that we had with Congresswoman Maxine Waters and Congressman Benny Thompson was that specific request. And I gave a litany, a long list of things that we thought was a priority for the city of Gary. That was ensuring that local thought was a priority for the city of Gary, that was ensuring that local hiring

Starting point is 00:53:46 was a priority. Out of the 4,000 employees that I mentioned to Roland earlier in this segment, they claim that 10% of those live in Gary. Now, I can't verify that, but in this new process, we're gonna make sure that we can kinda have a checks and balance to ensure that local hiring is a preference in the priority for them. But when it comes down to the subcontractors in the kind of the the ancillary

Starting point is 00:54:12 providers to the steelmaking process, that's something that we are going to be very intentional on working with them to make those introductions, be it if it's in construction, be it if it's in hauling of waste and disposal or things of that nature. That's something that we are definitely prioritizing. All right, thank you. Now, if let me say this- All right, Dan LaMare. Yeah, go ahead, go ahead.

Starting point is 00:54:36 I wanna share this. This being a private deal, one of the things we had to do, I had to inject myself in this process because no one asked me whether I supported this deal or not. I had to create a seat at the table. The city of Gary allowed, well, obviously the state of Indiana, and going back to your previous segment,

Starting point is 00:54:54 I was state senator for two terms, and we've seen gerrymandering at its finest in the state of Indiana. The state of Indiana, 20 years ago, allowed US Steel to self assess their property taxes. We had 120 million budget in the city of Gary. And in a year that budget was cut in half. So that was a divestment in our infrastructure,

Starting point is 00:55:18 in our police, in fire and so many other areas. So we've seen a lot of deterioration in these areas. But I'm happy to say right now we're turning that corner. We have a 50% reduction in our homicide rates. A lot of folks say Gary murder capital. That's no longer that narrative. So I appreciate you all for allowing me to come on to tell that new story of the investment of the 14 billion.

Starting point is 00:55:40 Three billion will be invested specifically in gear. So what happened at Chappaquiddick? Well, it really depends on who you talk to. There are many versions of what happened in 1969 when a young Ted Kennedy drove a car into a pond. And left a woman behind to drown. There's a famous headline, I think, in the New York Daily News. It's, Teddy escapes, blonde drowns.

Starting point is 00:56:05 And in a strange way, right, that sort of tells you. The story really became about Ted's political future, Ted's political hopes. Will Ted become president? Chappaquiddick is a story of a tragic death and how the Kennedy machine took control. And he's not the only Kennedy to survive a scandal. The Kennedys have lived through disgrace, affairs, violence,

Starting point is 00:56:25 you name it. So is there a curse? Every week we go behind the headlines and beyond the drama of America's royal family. Listen to United States of Kennedy on the iHeartRadio app, Apple podcast, or wherever you get your podcasts. American history is full of wise people.

Starting point is 00:56:48 Well women said something like, you know, 99.99% of war is diarrhea and 1% is glory. Those founding fathers were gossipy AF and they loved to cut each other down. I'm Bob Crawford, host of American History Hotline, the show where you send us your questions about American history and I find the answers, including the nuggets of wisdom our history has to offer. Hamilton pauses and then he says, the greatest man that ever lived was Julius Caesar. And Jefferson writes in his diary, this proves that Hamilton is for a dictator based on corruption. My favorite line was what Neil Armstrong said.

Starting point is 00:57:28 It would have been harder to fake it than to do it. Listen to American history hotline on the iHeartRadio app, Apple podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Do you remember Vine? It changed the internet forever and it vanished in its prime. I'm Benedict Townsend and this is Vine, 6 seconds that changed the world. The untold story of genius, betrayal and the app that died so that TikTok could thrive. From overnight stars to the fall that no one saw coming, we're breaking down what made Vine iconic. Listen to Vine on the iHeart Radio app,

Starting point is 00:58:09 Apple podcasts, or wherever you listen to podcasts. Don't let biased algorithms or degree screens or exclusive professional networks or stereotypes. Don't let anything keep you from discovering the half of the workforce who are stars. Workers skilled through alternative routes rather than a bachelor's degree. It's time to tear the paper ceiling

Starting point is 00:58:34 and see the stars beyond it. Find out how you can make stars part of your talent strategy at tearthepaperceiling.org, brought to you by Opportunity at Work and the Ad Council. All right then, well, again, as somebody who's covered city government, I've seen how that looks and a lot of people have no understanding the type of tax breaks and incentives that states, especially Republicans, give these folks. But then they complain about stuff

Starting point is 00:59:00 being funded and a lot of residents don't understand that a lot of companies are not paying their fair share of taxes because they've been given a lot of these tax breaks. Oh, absolutely. Absolutely. But we own it. All right then. All right. Mayor Mulfin, we appreciate it. Thanks a lot. Good luck. Peace. Thank you so much. All right. Thank you very much. All right, folks. I got to go to break. We come back. More we want to talk about on the show including California Governor Gavin Newsom

Starting point is 00:59:29 Get real raw on a podcast when it comes to who? Drives the money in this country and Congresswoman Jasmine Crockett followed up on Capitol Hill Let these folks have it. Oh, we can't wait to show y'all that. Plus, the latest is a drama at St. Augustine's University. Why is it that the faculty, excuse me, why is it the alumni have chosen their own rep, but the board won't seat the person? What the hell is going on? Y'all got something to hide?

Starting point is 00:59:59 Hmm, you're watching Roland Martin Unfiltered on the Black Star Network. Next on The Black Star Network. He was the first African-American and first person of color to win the Nobel Peace Prize. And yet today, he is hardly a household name. We're talking, of course, about Ralph J. Bunch. A new book refers to him as the absolutely indispensable man. His lifelong interest and passion in racial justice, specifically in the form of colonialism.

Starting point is 01:00:44 And he saw his work as an activist and advocate in racial justice, specifically in the form of colonialism. And he saw his work as an activist and advocate for the black community here in the United States as just the other side of the coin of his work trying to roll back European empire in Africa. Author Cal Rastiala will join us to share his incredible story. That's on the next Black Table,

Starting point is 01:01:07 here on the Black Star Network. Hello, I'm Paula J. Parker, shooting proud on the Proud Family. I am Tommy Davidson, I play Oscar on Proud Family, Louder and Prouder. Hi, I'm Jo Marie Payton, voice of Sugar Mama on Disney's Louder and Prouder, Disney+. And I'm with Roland Martin on Unfiltered. So

Starting point is 01:01:56 do All right, am I the only one who's thoroughly enjoying this MAGA meltdown over Jeffrey Epstein? Oh my God. These folks are losing their minds. Donald Trump is like, yo, I need to stop. In fact, he called Charlie Kirk, which it tells you right now, Charlie Kirk is nothing but an imp of Donald Trump. So he called him and was like, yo, I need you to stop talking about this. Okay.

Starting point is 01:02:48 I need you to stop bringing up Jeffrey Epstein, but, uh, Magga's not doing it. And in fact, um, like that, this is what's so hilarious. Okay. This is literally a tweet that Donald Trump, uh, sent out, uh, right here. So, uh, stop talking about FD. But then somebody edited this tweet from two years ago of his own son saying, show us all the empty client list now. Why would anyone protect those scumbags?

Starting point is 01:03:17 Ask yourselves this question daily and the answers become very apparent. This has been hilarious, y'all, as folks have been pulling up old comments. You've got Dan Bongino supposedly threatening to quit if he, if the files were not released. Pam Bondi's like, yo, there's nothing there. So what's the big deal? And Trump was like, it's not going to be released. In fact, I love this mashup right here of MAGA folks losing their minds. This is before Trump was inaugurated when it came to the issue of Epstein. Listen. Please do not let that story go. Who has Jeffrey Epstein's black book? Black book. FBI. But who? That is,

Starting point is 01:04:01 that I mean there's- That's under direct control of the director of the FBI. What the hell are the House Republicans doing? They have the majority. You can't get the list? Put on your big boy pants and let us know who the pedophiles are. Would you declassify the Epstein files? Yeah, yeah, I would. All right.

Starting point is 01:04:21 Yes, I would. I think that less so because, you know, you don't know, you don't want to affect people's lives if it's phony stuff in there because there's a lot of phony stuff with that whole world. But I think I would. This isn't about Epstein or 9-11 or JFK or RFK. It is, but it isn't. It's about a bigger thing. If you're lying about that, you're lying about everything.

Starting point is 01:04:43 Who's on the Epstein tapes, folks? Who's on those tapes? Who's in those black books? Why have they been hiding it? And this is something Donald Trump has talked about. The DOJ may be releasing the list of Jeffrey Epstein's clients. Will that really happen? It's sitting on my desk right now to review.

Starting point is 01:05:02 That's been a directive by President Trump. Everything's going to come out to the public. The public has a right to know. Americans have a right to know. You've urged people to move on. Oh my God, these people have been tripping. In fact, hold up, Hold on. I gotta play this with him. Check this out. Here's Donald Trump being asked about it. Give me one second. I gotta play this one for y'all because this one, this one, this one is too much.

Starting point is 01:05:33 Okay, here we go. All right. Let me get this one queued up, y'all. Okay. I know you've urged people to move on, but I'm curious, why do you think your supporters in particular have been so interested in the Epstein story and so upset about how it's been handled? Why do you think that is? Why they would be so interested? He's dead for a long time. He was never a big factor in terms of life.

Starting point is 01:05:57 I don't understand what the interest or what the fascination is. I really don't. And incredible information has been given. Don't forget, we went through years of the Mueller witch hunt and all of the different things, the Steele dossier, which was all fake. All that information was fake. But I don't understand why the Jeffrey Epstein case would be of interest to anybody. It's pretty boring stuff. It's sordid, but it's boring. And I don't understand why it keeps going. I think those really only have been in the past. And I don't know why it keeps going. I don't know why it keeps going.

Starting point is 01:06:12 I don't know why it keeps going. I don't know why it keeps going. I don't know why it keeps going. I don't know why it keeps going. I don't know why it keeps going. I don't know why it keeps going. I don't know why it keeps going. I don't know why it keeps going.

Starting point is 01:06:20 I don't know why it keeps going. I don't know why it keeps going. I don't know why it keeps going. I don't know why it keeps going. I don't know why it keeps going. I don't know why it keeps going. I don't know why it keeps going. I don't know why it keeps going It's shorted, but it's boring. And I don't understand why it keeps going. I think those really only pretty bad people, including fake news, want to keep something like that going. But credible information, let them give it. Anything that's credible, I would say let them have it. I mean, if it's no big deal, I don't understand why y'all

Starting point is 01:06:47 freaking out by it. In fact, I saw in fact, Mike Johnson, now he's pissed them off, because Mike Johnson's like, yeah, we should go to release this here. And you know what? And then of course, you got Speaker Harkin Jeffries. He's like, you know what I mean? What the hell?

Starting point is 01:07:06 You know what? We might as well just see what they want to do. Here is a Democratic leader, Jeffrey speaking on- Democrats didn't put the Jeffrey Epstein thing into the public domain. This was a conspiracy that Donald Trump, Pam Bondi, and these MAGA extremists have been fanning the flames of for the last several years. And now the chickens are coming home to roost. The American people deserve to know the truth. What, if anything,

Starting point is 01:07:37 is the Trump administration and the Department of Justice hiding? What are you hiding? If you're not hiding anything, prove that to the American people. And if you are trying to hide something, as many of Donald Trump's MAGA supporters apparently believe, then the Congress should actually work hard to try to uncover the truth for the American people. There are only two things that are possible here. Option one, Donald Trump, Pam Bondi, and the MAGA extremists intentionally lied to the American people for

Starting point is 01:08:20 years about the Jeffrey Epstein situation. That's option one. Option two is that, in fact, there's reason for the American people to be concerned as it relates to what information has not been released that could be damaging to the Trump administration and the friends and family of the Trump administration and their billionaire corrupt supporters. And so they're actively engaging in a cover-up. Option one, they lied for years. Option two, they're engaging in a cover-up. At this point,

Starting point is 01:09:07 it seems reasonable that can only be one of the two things. And so it's Congress's responsibility in a bipartisan way to ask the questions and try to get answers on behalf of the American people. I can't hear him. What happened today? The house voted and all the Republicans were like, nah, we ain't about to release these files. Um, I'm getting a kick out of all of this. But what was crazy to me is to literally watch the meltdown.

Starting point is 01:09:54 And he's mad. The White House is there, Mustafa, yo, can we move on? They're trying to get Magna to stop. But guess what? They whipped those folks into a frenzy because they were like, yo, Bill Clinton's on that list. But Donald Trump, his phone number was in Epstein's black book and they got all up to it. So their own side is now eating them. They don't know how to stop it. I fight all of this to be absolutely delightful.

Starting point is 01:10:28 There's a lot of cannibalism going on right now on that side of the equation. People should care. Here's why people should care, because we're talking about sex trafficking and trying to understand who all was a part of that. Everybody, or not everybody, but a whole lot of people cared

Starting point is 01:10:43 when it was talking about Puffy or P. Diddy, you know, in relationship to that. Everybody or not everybody but a whole lot of people cared when it was talking about Puffy or P. Diddy you know in relationship to that so why should we not also care as equally about this type of a situation and let the chips fall where they where they may no matter whom it is that's on that list folks need to know. You need to know to make sure one that they're brought to justice you need to know in case you know one of your kids or somebody else is hanging out around them or near them. So sex trafficking is a very serious thing. And we know how many women and girls end up disappearing or end up getting pulled into that. So, yeah, we need to know. And, yeah, MAGA should care, and everybody else should care, because we should be making sure that we are protecting women and girls in our country.

Starting point is 01:11:30 Well, and just so folks know, I mean, that was a literal vote. This is the tweet right here. Just then, Republicans in the House Rules Committee killed an Epstein measure put forward by Representative Ro Khanna that would have forced the Department of Justice to release the Jeffrey Epstein files. The vote was five to seven with Reverend Ralph Northam being the only Republican committee member to vote in favor of the measure. This here is Democratic member McGovern talking about it and I mean to me he's only making sense. I move the committee making order amendment number 50 to HR 3633 offered by Representative Conner which would require the Attorney General to preserve and

Starting point is 01:12:16 release any records related to Jeffrey Epstein. Madam Chair on February 21st 2025 President Trump's own Attorney General, Pam Bondi, said on Fox News, the Epstein client list was sitting on her desk, quote, right now to review, end quote. Cash Patel, Trump's FBI director, said during his confirmation hearing that he would do everything, everything, if confirmed to make sure the American people knew, quote, the full weight of what happened, end quote. Patel, who now leads the FBI,

Starting point is 01:12:47 said on the Benny Johnson show that the FBI was hiding the Epstein client list. Donald Trump Jr., the president's own son, tweeted out, and I quote, show us all the Epstein client list right now. Why would anyone protect those scumbags? Ask yourselves this question, and then the answer becomes very apparent." And now, forgive me, but suddenly these same people are telling us there's nothing to

Starting point is 01:13:13 see here. Trump is posting that we should all just move on. Well, I want to know what the hell is in these files. And I think we all want to know why Trump is suddenly changing his tune and is so desperate to sweep this under the rug. But you know what? This also gets at his credibility. This is about trust.

Starting point is 01:13:33 Republicans said, trust us, vote for us, and we will release these files. And here we are, they are backtracking. They said they aren't going to cut Medicaid, and they did. They said they wouldn't add to the deficit and debt. They exploded both. They said that they stand with law enforcement. They won't even hang a plaque honoring officers for their heroism on January 6th. They talk about law and order and can't even condemn the president for pardoning the people

Starting point is 01:13:58 who violently attacked the Capitol building. So please forgive me if I don't believe a word of any of it. This isn't about gotcha politics. It's about credibility. So here's the whole thing for me. There's a whole thing for me right here as I look at all of this. I don't get it, Randy. Just release it.

Starting point is 01:14:21 You know, what I wonder is what's bottom for them. I mean, we've always known that, one, Epstein and Trump were friends. We've always known that Trump has—had been found guilty of, you know, abusing women and lying on women. So, do the Republican women— No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no,

Starting point is 01:14:47 no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no Hard deal where he could be out of jail 16 hours a day, and he would just go into jail and sleep overnight. So, but that's what I'm saying. What is their bottom?

Starting point is 01:15:12 All of a sudden, do they have a moral code? Do they care about what this convicted felon has done all of a sudden? What is their bottom? And it's obvious that there's a cover-up going on. They've said, we have the black book, we have his client list, and now all of a sudden, I mean, what is their bottom? And it's obvious that there's a cover-up going on. I mean, they've said, we have the black book, we have his client list, and now all of a sudden it's disappeared suddenly. I mean, to be-

Starting point is 01:15:32 No, they held a news conference holding up binders. They held a news conference holding up Epstein binders. And in fact, I love, okay, okay, now watch this here. Watch this. I want people to see, I love, okay, okay, now watch this here. Watch this. I want people to see. Watch how, this is Bill O'Reilly on News Nation on Leland Vitter Show, Leland Vitter, conservative, on News Nation.

Starting point is 01:15:54 I mean, and even Vitter, you could tell, I mean, about like a lightning bolt hit him because he had the fact check as Bill O'Reilly tried to blame this on Biden Harris. Watch this. The Biden administration had exactly the same thing the Trump administration has on Epstein. Exactly.

Starting point is 01:16:15 Right. Because Epstein was convicted during the Biden administration's. Not one time did Hakeem Jeffrey call for any exposition of what the Biden Justice Department knew. Not once. So this guy's a top phony, okay? He's a political player.

Starting point is 01:16:33 He doesn't care about the truth. So what happened at Chappaquiddick? Well, it really depends on who you talk to. There are many versions of what happened in 1969 when a young Ted Kennedy drove a car into a pond. And left a car into a pond. And left a woman behind to drown. There's a famous headline, I think, in the New York Daily News. It's, Teddy escapes, blonde drowns. And in a strange way, right, that sort of tells you. The story really became

Starting point is 01:16:59 about Ted's political future, Ted's political hopes. Will Ted become president? Chappaquiddick is a story of a tragic death and how the Kennedy machine took control. And he's not the only Kennedy to survive a scandal. The Kennedys have lived through disgrace, affairs, violence, you name it. So is there a curse? Every week we go behind the headlines and beyond the drama of America's royal family. Listen to United States of Kennedy on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. American history is full of wise people. Well, women said something like, you know, 99.99% of war is diarrhea and 1% is glory.

Starting point is 01:17:42 Those founding fathers were gossipy AF, and they loved to cut each other down. I'm Bob Crawford, host of American History Hotline, the show where you send us your questions about American history, and I find the answers, including the nuggets of wisdom our history has to offer. Hamilton pauses, and then he says, the greatest man that ever lived was

Starting point is 01:18:05 Julius Caesar. And Jefferson writes in his diary, this proves that Hamilton is for a dictator based on corruption. My favorite line was what Neil Armstrong said, it would have been harder to fake it than to do it. Listen to American history hotline on the iHeartRadio app, Apple podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Do you remember Vine? It changed the internet forever and it vanished in its prime. I'm Benedict Townsend and this is Vine, 6 seconds that changed the world. The untold story of genius, betrayal, and the app that died so that TikTok could thrive. From overnight stars to the fall that no one saw coming, we're breaking down what

Starting point is 01:18:52 made Vine iconic. Listen to Vine on the iHeartRadio app, Apple podcasts, or wherever you listen to podcasts. In sitcoms, when someone has a problem, they just blurt it out and move on. Well, I lost my job and my parakeet is missing. How was your day? But the real world is different. Managing life's challenges can be overwhelming. So what do we do? We get support. The Huntsman Mental Health Institute and the Ad Council have mental health resources available for you at loveyourmindtoday.org. That's loveyourmindtoday.org. That's loveyourmindtoday.org.

Starting point is 01:19:27 See how much further you can go when you take care of your mental health. Hold on, hold on, Bill, Bill. This is what he asks. Hold on, I just got to, hold on, Bill, hold on. You said Epstein was convicted during the Biden administration. Epstein committed suicide during the Trump administration. Yes, so. How is he convicted? How do you convict a guy who's dead? I believe, okay, under Merrick Garland's Justice Department.

Starting point is 01:19:45 That could be. Am I wrong on that? I don't think so. And then he was incarcerated and then he committed suicide. Okay. The suicide thing is bull. Whether you... Bill, I think this is important.

Starting point is 01:19:59 It's important to me. I think it's important to me. I think it's important to me. I think it's important to me. I think it's important to me. I think it's important to me. I think it's important to me. I think it's important to me. I think it's important to me. I think it's important to me. And then he committed suicide Okay, the suicide thing is bull with you Important no, I think this is important He was arrested in 2019 and he committed suicide in 2019. He died August 10th of 2019

Starting point is 01:20:18 So the Biden administration was not involved in a conviction or a trial of him They were in the of his madam of Elaine Maxwell. And that's a that's a good point of clarification. But he was arrested and indicted under Merrick Garland. No under Trump who had all the information under Epstein was arrested, indicted and committed suicide under Trump in 2019. Trump was president. Merrick Garland was not the attorney general

Starting point is 01:20:49 Okay Um Okay, I'm a dumbass I mean Michael he said there his entire point was blown up cuz you're an idiot Bill O'Reilly. Exactly, and Bill O'Reilly is full of shit too. Let's just put it out there, okay? And people talk about Joe Biden and his memory. I'll take Joe Biden any day over Bill O'Reilly. All right? Yes. August 10, 2019, Jeffrey Epstein

Starting point is 01:21:27 died in federal custody. OK? Donald Trump was president. All right? So all the people who talked about the Biden crime family and represented Joe Comer, and you have these Biden investigations that Republicans are launching, so you don't want to release all of the evidence, all of the files, all the information that was Jeffrey Epstein. I remember when Pam Bondi had the influencers there and podcasters, and they gave them binders. They're holding up binders. I'm wondering, OK, what's in the binders?

Starting point is 01:22:02 OK, they need to bring that up now and grill her. OK, what was in those binders that you gave people? But you know, Roland, I think this comes down to what Michael Steele said a couple of nights ago or maybe last night on MSNBC. He said when Donald Trump used to hang out with Jeffrey Epstein and they were friends, Donald Trump was a Democrat. Now when they thought that, when MAGA, when Republicans thought it was just a bunch of Democrats on the list, on the files or whatever, they wanted it. Now that the former top Democrat is in the White House, now all of a sudden it's a problem.

Starting point is 01:22:44 And I agree with how King Jeffries release all of it. No, tell the truth, cleanse your soul. If you have one left, release all of it. So, and these are people, man, who made money off of these conspiracy theories. Casper Tail on various podcasts, him, Bon Geno, these are people. No, they all got paid.

Starting point is 01:23:02 They made a lot of money pushing this. They all got paid pimping this and lying to MAGA. And now the people who they fed the last two are turning on them. I'm like, hey, like the club banger from the year 2000, my DJ godfather said, let them hoes fight. Let them fight. Let them fight this out.

Starting point is 01:23:24 I'm just going to sit here and enjoy these fools just smacking each other. All right, y'all. Going to break, we come back. We're going to talk about what's happening at St. Augustine's University. More drama with us in Battle University. They lost their accreditation appeal. They got money problems. Why in the hell won't this board of trustees seat a duly elected representative of the alumni?

Starting point is 01:23:51 They got something to hide? We'll talk to that representative next, right here on Roland Martin on Filter on the other side of change. We're digging into the immigration crisis that's happening here right now. It can impact each and every one of us. We're gonna break down the topic of this constitutional crisis that is being led by the Trump administration and with you as ordinary citizens can do

Starting point is 01:24:15 to speak up and speak out to fight back. This is the other side of change only on the Black Star Network. Hey, what's up y'all, I'm Devon Franklin. It is always a pleasure to be in the house. You are watching Roland Martin Unfiltered. Stay right here. All right, y'all. We have been covering the St. Augustine's University, just, this is like

Starting point is 01:24:45 a soap opera, it's a sad soap opera, for quite some time. Just one thing after another, we've been sitting here, you know, we did a town hall down there, they didn't have students on campus, they got financial problems, I mean just over and over and over again, accreditation issues, you name it. And one of the things that makes no sense deals with the seating of the, of the alumni rep. Now, Steve Williams, May 2024, that's a year ago, was elected as a National Alumni Association representative to the St. Augustine Board of Trustees. He was sworn in on June 26th, 2024, but has yet to assume his position. In

Starting point is 01:25:26 October, the board led by chair Brian Bollware voted unanimously not to ratify Williams' role, for which he was elected. They cited his involvement in a lawsuit aimed at removing the board as the reason for their decision. But he was still elected by the alumni. William joins us right now to discuss the petition to get him seated at St. Augustine's universities, alumni trustee. So again, Steve, this is real simple. The alumni chose you, right? Absolutely. Absolutely.

Starting point is 01:26:01 Absolutely. So the alumni, so the alumni you, and they literally have an alumni seat on the board, and Brian Boulware said, nah, nah, nah, Wayne's sitting here. Yeah. And basically, that's what he's been saying the entire time. And to give you a real interesting timeline, I was, like you said, I was elected in May 2024, sworn in June 26th, email was sent to Brian Buh-Weir,

Starting point is 01:26:32 actually sent to the president, Marcus Burgess, which is the proper channel. He in turn sent that email from the national alumni president directly to the entire board on July 7 to be exact. We did not get a response until on my birthday, September the 4th, saying this is the first time he's received it. Then we did not get another response on the 25th of September.

Starting point is 01:27:03 We did not get a response until October 8th. And that's when I was, my name was added to the lawsuit because I started, you know, getting a little upset and I added my name to the lawsuit to sue for my seat because I knew this was more than just a time lag. Right. So, so you added your name to the lawsuit to get your seat and he said, nah, you ain't going to be seated because you added your name to the lawsuit. You added your name to the lawsuit because you weren't seated. Exactly. Exactly. And not only that, they had plenty of time. They knew. Days after I was sworn in by the national alumni, they knew. He even knew when

Starting point is 01:27:48 I was running. He knew it. So basically what it seems like is that what are you afraid of? You know, it's basically, it's pure and simple, right? If I would have been seated, the lawsuit wouldn't have went forward. We lost our initial lawsuit on technicality, which is standing, because nobody had, there was not an official seated board of trustee member on the board. So I wasn't officially seated, so I could not bring a lawsuit forward.

Starting point is 01:28:24 That is the North Carolina statute. Nevertheless, they knew once I was seated, that lawsuit would have proceeded, and all of the malfeasance and things of the nature in our case file would have been shown, open in court. And still to this day can be- Yeah. So what this, yeah. So what this tells me, what this tells me is that, and this is the, what this tells

Starting point is 01:28:50 me is that, that Chairman Brian Bollweyer and the other board members, the last thing they want is somebody new coming on who has access to documents and who can demand transparency? Absolutely. They ran on, and this is funny, Chairman Bullwer ran on transparency and things of that nature, and he's been opposite of everything he's ran on, first and foremost.

Starting point is 01:29:18 He met with us last night, alumni. This is the first time since he's been chairman, he even met with alumni. And that was a terrible meeting last night. I can tell you that alumni were not happy. All the actual board of trustees. So hold on. So the chair. Yes. So, so how, so how many board members, how many board members were on the call last night

Starting point is 01:29:40 meeting with alumni? I think it was about nine, if I'm not seven and nine that were on there. And I don't have my screenshot of these, well, I counted the members, but I think it was about seven of them. So, okay, so they meet with the alumni. So what the hell do they say? Because, I mean, did they give the alumni any reason?

Starting point is 01:30:04 Hey, we want to meet with y'all, oh, by the way, the hell with the person y'all pick to be the alumni rep on the board, we ain't seatin' him. Did they even address that? No, they addressed it in the chat when it was asked by one of the alums, you know, hey, we had a vote and our representative hasn't been seated.

Starting point is 01:30:22 Well, the response was, and the response was from the interim president who answered, who replied to it. Well, the board did not approve the alumni representative. That was his response. First of all, why in the hell is the, first of all, why in the hell is the interim president speaking on anything related to the board? Is he on the board?

Starting point is 01:30:47 Uh, he's an ex-o facto member of the board. Yes Yeah, but but the reality is the board's he's speaking to that board no board chair He's not a part of the press. I'm saying he's not a part of the board. In fact, right he reports to the board Exactly, but the problem is this. He's always at the door back. Go ahead. He's always been, he's always answered for the board. Even when we had the lawsuit,

Starting point is 01:31:14 who do you think was the only person to show up for the board and represent the board? And are in President Burgess. Nobody from the board of trustees showed up. nobody from the Board of Trustees showed up. Wow, that's just crazy to me. So, and here's to me the biggest issue that I see with all of this, is that this board can do whatever they want

Starting point is 01:31:38 because essentially they're self-governed. There's nobody over them. There's nobody they're reporting to. So they can do whatever the hell they want to do Unfortunately, yes, they've taken a 150 140 page actually was a hundred and fifty six page bylaw and they've trimmed it down to 25 pages and to Incasulate themselves from actually being governed now only person, the only entity that has standing and can control them is the North Carolina Attorney General.

Starting point is 01:32:11 Because they're still mandated under the nonprofit. As nonprofit organization, the Attorney General has the right to step in at any point. And so what the hell is he doing? point. So what the hell is he doing? There is a current and ongoing investigation because the day that our court case was announced and when it came across the news, the actual attorney general basically said they're opening up an investigation on it.

Starting point is 01:32:42 Now there have been conversations. I personally have had several conversations with two of the attorneys that are leading the effort from the AG's office. I've had several communications with them. They are not at liberty to tell me the status of the case, but they can see that it's reached a point where our university is basically deteriorated. We have individual, we have cases of vandalism. I mean, there are things, egregious things happening on that campus that, you know, it's

Starting point is 01:33:18 just disheartening to any alumni. And we don't want it to get to a point where our university becomes a blighted area. And then you know what happens to blighted areas, to blighted real estate locations when it becomes a eyesore to the community. So we're just, you know, alumni is all up in arms. Last night's call did not help us out at all. The only thing they did was blame previous administrations. They even blamed the whistleblower for the sacks issues. And,

Starting point is 01:33:51 you know, that was really, they really took a far reach for that, because the whistleblower, she won her case. So obviously you were doing some egregious things. That's why we've been on kind of a sex probation ever since. So it's just, it's just, it's just disheartening. I'm here to serve the alumni. I wanna do my job. And it's kind of like, I just hate it. I really just hate it. And I hate it for alumni.

Starting point is 01:34:25 I hate it for current and future students. And I'm just, we're all just tired of the games because all they're doing is playing games at this point. Well, the sense, look, and all they do is complain, oh my God, all of this bad media tension that we get You know stuff on social. Yeah, but you're inviting yourself. Let's just so just recap Let's see. The school is so run down buildings are so run down. You don't have students on campus You got people who've given money to the school and they can't figure out where the money

Starting point is 01:35:05 has gone. By their own admission, that COVID money just somehow disappeared and no one can see in the track what happened to it when other schools actually were bailed out of their financial problem due to the money they got from COVID. Let's see, you're graduating class, folk didn't know they were gonna graduate. Hmm, am I missing anything? Let's see here, oh, you lose your accreditation appeal. Let's see here, hmm, bad deals at the age you had to step in and shut down when you were gonna literally lease the land to a group out of Florida

Starting point is 01:35:41 that has no history of development whatsoever. and just on and on and on. And then, and wait, hold up. I forgot, you got a board chair who gets slapped with a major lawsuit, loses it by getting loaned some money by another board member. So you've got a dude who's the chair who can't manage his own money, but he's trying to manage the money of a school with financial problems.

Starting point is 01:36:06 Oh, hell no. Not only that, Roland, when he was actually going through this, both of them were active board members. So he had an open case, an open case, but they want to tell me that, oh, you joined a lawsuit and you were suing

Starting point is 01:36:26 the board. Well, sir, you were being sued directly from another board member at the same time. So the hypocrisy is just, it's funny. And to keep from getting upset, because I'm a Bull City boy and I don't like mess. I think for me it's just I have to laugh a lot because to me it just gets to a point where when you know it's a game and you know, you know. So what happened at Chappaquiddick? Well it really depends on who you talk to. There are many versions of what happened in 1969 when a young Ted Kennedy drove a car into a pond.

Starting point is 01:37:06 And left a woman behind to drown. There's a famous headline, I think, in the New York Daily News. It's, Teddy escapes, blonde drowns. And in a strange way, right, that sort of tells you. The story really became about Ted's political future, Ted's political hopes. Will Ted become president? Chappaquiddick is a story of a tragic death and how the Kennedy machine took control.

Starting point is 01:37:46 or wherever you get your podcasts. American history is full of wise people. Well, women said something like, no, 99.99% of war is diarrhea and 1% is glory. Those founding fathers were gossipy AF and they loved to cut each other down. I'm Bob Crawford, host of American History Hotline, the show where you send us your questions about American history and I find the answers, including the nuggets of wisdom our history has to offer.

Starting point is 01:38:22 Hamilton pauses and then he says, the greatest man that ever lived was Julius Caesar. And Jefferson writes in his diary, this proves that Hamilton is for a dictator based on corruption. My favorite line was what Neil Armstrong said, it would have been harder to fake it than to do it. Listen to American history hotline on the iHeartRadio app, Apple podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

Starting point is 01:38:51 Do you remember Vine? It changed the internet forever and it vanished in its prime. I'm Benedict Townsend and this is Vine, Six Seconds That Changed the World. The untold story of genius, betrayal, and the app that died so that TikTok could thrive. From overnight stars to the fall that no one saw coming, we're breaking down what made Vine iconic. Listen to Vine on the iHeartRadio app, Apple podcasts, or wherever you listen to podcasts. bachelor's degree. It's time to tear the paper ceiling and see the stars beyond it. Find out how you can make stars part of your talent strategy at tearthepaperceiling.org brought to you by Opportunity at Work and the Ad Council. They have nothing else, you know, this guy has nothing else to do. Then you know,

Starting point is 01:39:56 you just look at it for what it is. I mean, really and truly, but we laugh, but at the end of the day, the students are the ones being harmed. The faculty members that you were not able to pay are harmed. The faculty members that have to pay all of these medical bills because you didn't, you know, do them right, you didn't pay into their insurance, that's the harm. You didn't pay into their 401K. So they can't even, you know, with all the money they put in retirement, it's gone. Because you never did anything with it,

Starting point is 01:40:29 but you showed it coming out of their check. So I'm like, that's the reason why you're in the media. It has nothing to do with our fight. It's your mismanagement, your malfeasance, and the point that you do not care and you do not have a host. That is the, to me, that is the ultimate disrespect to the legacy first and foremost, and it is a disrespect to every individual that graduated from St. Augustine's University.

Starting point is 01:41:05 And they have this huge financial crisis. They've lost various judgments. And they actually want alumni to keep sending money? That was the- To whom? ... part last night. We had the laugh of that, Rose. I mean, literally, it's a lot of us that just bust out laughing because you're going to ask alumni, this is

Starting point is 01:41:26 your first time as a board that you even met with the entire alumni since he's been chair. The first time, and the first time you see you give us a rundown of 50 million in debt, one that was a lot of that was incurred by this board, mainly some of them, four of them, because you didn't even show up for court. So we had judgments. So a lot of those, when you sit back, it's like you caused a lot of this. But still, and yet you want to ask the alumni to call for up 250 to 350K to pay for the lawyers to put an injunction in place.

Starting point is 01:42:10 I don't see it. Because really, at the end of the day, you're just delaying the inevitable. We've lost our accreditation. But a group of us definitely, I can name it, Fackers Unite, we have decided to move forward. We already have things in place, already reached out and contacted individuals that will help us with getting certifications and things of that nature. We're already, and have already planned for not receiving our accreditation. So eventually we could retain our accreditation. So eventually we could retain our accreditation.

Starting point is 01:42:47 But the more they keep playing with these legal maneuvers, we're going to be even further in the hole. And they're still trying to say to us last night, oh, we're going to lease the land to some developers, but we're still going to have control. Everybody that knows real estate, once you lease a property to a developer, you have no control over that land anymore. So you're really talking to a lot of educated individuals,

Starting point is 01:43:16 but obviously the board of trustees doesn't think so, doesn't think that we're really educated and can see through, excuse my my language see through the BS. I wouldn't give this board a quarter to hold on to. We have it. And and it's basically we we've sat back and said, look, you know, we created a 501 c three to Oakwood Falcon Foundation. Um, that is a trusted source. Um, we've asked alumni and they, and I have given

Starting point is 01:43:52 in, you know, given an abundance to all of the events that we have to take care of, especially when you're talking about when the students were on campus, we were feeding the students directly by filling the food pantry. Additionally, we were providing students with various food cards and things of that nature because they didn't have any cafeteria to go to. So we provided them food cards so they can go get groceries and things of that nature. More importantly, what we were doing is, More importantly, what we were doing is, and what we evolved to, we had to start paying bills. And I'm literally, from security to faculty and staff, to paying for students to go home,

Starting point is 01:44:38 that didn't, when the school decided they wanted to close up, we had to pay for bus tickets. So we did this. And basically, through up, we had to pay for bus tickets. So we did this. Wow. And basically through alumni, we had to keep doing it. We were paying phone bills, mortgages, rent, all of these things. And it just got to a point where really, you really had to sit back and say, you know, is this actually happening on a college university campus?

Starting point is 01:45:08 We're right around the corner from the Governor's Mansion, walks. I mean, we can walk five minutes to the Governor's Mansion. We know everybody, that's been a hot spot. That's a hundred acres in down to basically right around the corner from the Governor's Mansion in Raleigh. We know.

Starting point is 01:45:26 Yep. We know what it's about. An old historic Oakwood Avenue. We've been knowing ever since I was in school and I graduated in the 90s. So we've known that this is prime real estate. But the thing about it is that what has incur occurred now is that you have an individual that basically has kind of aligned himself with those developers, because each deal they tried to bring on, if it wasn't for the AG the first time with this 50-plus-1 mess, then we would have been

Starting point is 01:45:59 in a real hole. I mean, you're talking about giving up $200 million in assets for a $70 million loan. Make that make sense. It didn't make sense. And that's why we were asking Dr. Burgess, why did you even sign this? You have the power. He has the power to say no and not only that he signed the actual gothic ventures loan Who would sign a predatory loan at? 24% interest rate with a 2% pre-payment pillody and your name is the only signature on there nobody from the board of trustees and You're just an interim president. No, I would have never done that.

Starting point is 01:46:46 My son is 15 years old. He would have never done that, period. So I just, I'm just, I mean, as an alumni and as someone that the alumni has chosen to represent them, I go to bed every night with a heavy heart. I do. And it gets to the point sometimes where my wife even tells me I have to take a step back

Starting point is 01:47:14 from certain things because I'm an emotional guy and I'm passionate about this institution because I was an at-risk child. And St. Augustine's gave me the opportunity to get an education. George Puck Williams gave me the opportunity to earn my Tratt Scholarship, which I did, and he normally does not recruit from, you know, this area, but he did for me. you know, this area, but he did it for me. So, you know, I'm indebted to this university for life. I affectionately call St. Augustine's my mom

Starting point is 01:47:51 because I owe her everything. She birthed me to where I am now. So I'm gonna keep fighting and alumni are gonna keep fighting until we remove this board. And really and truly, I just tell everybody, if you want to donate and you want to help us, please send your funds to oakwoodfalconfoundation.com. And if you want to come down and pick up a garbage bag or you feel empowered to do anything for

Starting point is 01:48:20 our campus, please reach out to us because we need all your help. Even if it's just picking up a phone and calling the AG's office, calling the state representatives, calling the local representatives and asking them, what is your stance on what's occurring over there at St. Augustine's? Because this is not right. And for a 157-year year old institution, we should not be in this position to what is occurring right now. And what is occurring right now is right up under our eyes, the theft of a university. Just call it for what it is and take the bandaid off.

Starting point is 01:49:00 That's what's happening. And if nobody has the compassion or the heart for that, then that's on them. But you have 10,000 alumni that are not gonna go silently. We are fighting. We just need those that are in the realm of have the power to change this, to come and help us change this.

Starting point is 01:49:27 The worst part about it, and this is what we've already told to Dr. Burgess several times, we have almost $100 million in pledges from various investors, various donors, community partners that are willing to invest, but they all say the same thing. That board must go. Yep.

Starting point is 01:49:49 So the question that should be asked of any authority, especially to the AG's office, is why haven't they left? What are you hiding? Because eventually what's done in the dark will come to the light. And we have 52 infractions in our case file. So just imagine once this is all opened up, what else we'll see? Because at this point, this is terrible. This is the theft of a university and we're asking those in the right frame of mind that have the power to help us change this to come and change it.

Starting point is 01:50:30 We're literally seeing with our own eyes the destruction of an historic HBCU. We appreciate you joining us. Steve, thank you so very much. And maybe time for us to put some pressure on the attorney general and say, damn it, it's time for you to move. Hey, anything you do well, I appreciate it. So thank you. Thank you. I appreciate it. Thank you so very much. Got to go to break. We'll be right back. Roller Martin unfiltered on the Black Star Network.

Starting point is 01:51:03 Skip wealthy with me, Deborah Owens, America's wealth coach. Black women are starting businesses at the fastest rate than any other segment. However, finding the funding to build them is challenging. On our next Get Wealthy, we're going to talk with author, Katherine Finney, who wrote the book, Build the Damn Thing. And she's going to be sharing exactly what we need to do to achieve success in spite of the odds.

Starting point is 01:51:33 As an entrepreneur of color, it's first, you know, building your personal advisory board. I think that's one of the things that's helped me the most. The personal advisory board of the people who are in the business of you, you personally, and wanna see you succeed. That's right here on Get Wealthy, only on Black Star Network.

Starting point is 01:51:56 This week on the other side of change. We're digging into the immigration crisis that's happening here right now. It can impact each and every one of us. We're gonna break down the topic of this constitutional crisis that is being led by the Trump administration and what you, as ordinary citizens, can do

Starting point is 01:52:11 to speak up and speak out to fight back. This is the other side of change only on the Black Star Network. Hey, it's John Murray, the executive producer of the newest Sherri Schreifer Talk Show. You're watching Roll Martin on Filch. All right, folks. These red state people are pretty interesting because they love complaining and complaining complaining about these blue states and we need to succeed and we're so sick of them

Starting point is 01:53:09 there's been so awful and badly run. Well Congresswoman Jasmine Crockett really related to the day and she her comments really followed those of California Governor Gavin Newsom where he talked about how much money the blue states actually provides to the rest of the country. I'm going to play what he had to say first and then we're going to play what she had to say. But it really is interesting because again, these red state people like Margaret Taylor

Starting point is 01:53:37 Green, we should succeed. I don't know about that because y'all broke as hell. Y'all going to need that blue state money. Here is governor Gavin Newsom talking to this right wing podcast and he kind of actually broke the truth down to him. Listen to this. What separates our game from the game played elsewhere is innovation, entrepreneurialism, more patents, more engineers, more researchers, more noble laureates in my state than any other damn state, more fortune 500 companies in

Starting point is 01:54:04 my state than any other state. Look that up. Because I know people are rolling their eyes and say, no, it's Texas. You're wrong. It's true. I looked it up. And we're by the way, a donor state. We provided $83.1 billion more than we received from the federal government.

Starting point is 01:54:16 Texas took $71.1 billion. I'm not saying that to bash Texas, but you know what? Pretty proud of my goddamn state. I saw that too. But AI, $83.1 billion, we provided more to the federal government than we received the same year that Texas received $71.1 billion, more than they provided to the federal government. So you're a net positive. Net positive. Nine out of 10 of the donor states are Trump states And I don't mean that pejoratively Trump seven of the ten or Republican states

Starting point is 01:54:51 But nine out of the ten dependent states welfare states are our Trump states the donor states disproportionately in the blue states 71% of the country's GDP Comes from blue counties. Mm-hmm These same crack-up counties with all these crazy liberals that can't get out of their own goddamn way and the world's come to an end. It's 71% of the economy, the goddamn country, man. What separates our game from the game played elsewhere? All right, and here he is, Congresswoman Jasmine Crockett on Capitol Hill today.

Starting point is 01:55:18 Thank you so much, Mr. Chairman, and thank you so much to our witnesses for being here. Unfortunately, we are witnessing today yet another political stunt. Plain and simple. Republicans are here drawing a clear line in the sand. They will stop at nothing to advance Donald Trump's agenda and the dangerous blueprint laid out in Project 2025, even if it means targeting the very groups that are working to protect our communities and support our law enforcement agencies. Let's be clear, my colleagues across the aisle have shown little to no interest in working with Democrats on real solutions for the American people.

Starting point is 01:55:57 Instead of addressing pressing civil rights issues constituents actually care about, like wrongful deportations of U.S. citizens, ongoing efforts to undermine voting rights, or the serious flaws in our criminal justice system, this committee is spending its time holding a hearing with a title that sounds like it was ripped from a conspiracy blog. This hearing, how leftist nonprofit networks

Starting point is 01:56:23 exploit federal tax dollars to advance a radical agenda. Really? I mean, when I listened to you, Mr. Chairman, who I do respect, I heard you say things about why is it that we're giving money in other places. And I want to make sure that I answer that question because to put America first, looks like we are going to keep American citizens safe. There is a such thing as soft power. And that is exactly what we were trying to do when we engaged in things such as USAID.

Starting point is 01:56:56 When you start to talk about whether or not Sesame Street or anything else that's on NPR or PBS ends up in other places. This is so that there is not this warped thought process about the Western world or about the United States. We're talking about making sure that we don't end up allowing people to be radicalized against us because they have a terrible vision of us, because they may be in a government that

Starting point is 01:57:26 actually puts out bad, terrible propaganda about us. So for pennies on the dollar, we are able to educate those around the world on who we really are in America and keep Americans safe. Soft power is real power and it minimizes how much money we have to spend. So what happened at Chappaquiddick? Well, it really depends on who you talk to. There are many versions of what happened in 1969 when a young Ted Kennedy drove a car into a pond.

Starting point is 01:57:54 And left a woman behind to drown. There's a famous headline, I think in the New York Daily News, it's, Teddy escapes, blonde drowns. And in a strange way, right, that sort of tells you. The story really became about Ted's political future, Ted's political hopes. Will Ted become president? Chappaquiddick is a story of a tragic death

Starting point is 01:58:14 and how the Kennedy machine took control. And he's not the only Kennedy to survive a scandal. The Kennedys have lived through disgrace, affairs, violence, you name it. So is there a curse? Every week, we go behind the headlines and beyond the drama of America's royal family. The Kennedys have lived through disgrace, affairs, violence, you name it. So is there a curse? Every week, we go behind the headlines and beyond the drama of America's royal family. Listen to United States of Kennedy on the I Heart Radio app, Apple podcast, or wherever you get your podcasts.

Starting point is 01:58:40 American history is full of wise people. Well, women said something like, you know, 99.99% of war is diarrhea and 1% is glory. Those founding fathers were gossipy AF and they love to cut each other down. I'm Bob Crawford, host of American History Hotline, the show where you send us your questions about American history, and I find the answers, including the nuggets of wisdom our history has to offer. Hamilton pauses and then he says, the greatest man that ever lived was Julius Caesar. And Jefferson writes in his diary, this proves that Hamilton is for a dictator based on corruption. My favorite line was what Neil Armstrong said,

Starting point is 01:59:25 it would have been harder to fake it than to do it. Listen to American history hotline on the iHeartRadio app, Apple podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Do you remember Vine? It changed the internet forever and it vanished in its prime. I'm Benedict Townsend and this is Vine, six seconds that changed the world.

Starting point is 01:59:50 The untold story of genius, betrayal, and the app that died so that TikTok could thrive. From overnight stars to the fall that no one saw coming, we're breaking down what made Vine iconic. Listen to Vine on the iHeartRadio app, Apple podcasts, or wherever you listen to podcasts. And here's Heather with the weather. Well, it's beautiful out there, sunny and 75,

Starting point is 02:00:15 almost a little chilly in the shade. Now let's get a read on the inside of your car. It is hot. You've only been parked a short time and it's already 99 degrees in there. Let's not leave children in the back seat while running errands. It only takes a few minutes for their body temperatures to rise. And that could be fatal. Cars get hot fast and can be deadly. Never leave a child in a car. A message from NHTSA and the Ad Council. Say on dropping bombs

Starting point is 02:00:42 in countries at a random time without, say, congressional authority, but I digress. This kind of rhetoric, whether directed at nonprofits, their leaders or elected officials, is not only reckless, it is beneath the dignity of this institution. And sadly, this isn't the first time this has happened. Over the past six months, we've seen hearing after hearing do nothing but attack nonprofits as well as those who are just generally on a mission to serve, protect, and uplift vulnerable communities. In just my own committees, this has got to be the second or third time I've had to sit

Starting point is 02:01:16 through the same tired narrative. If my Republican colleagues are truly concerned about taxpayer dollars being misused for political agendas, I'd encourage them to take a long, hard look in the mirror. But since we're here again, spending more of the American people's money and time on political theater, let's at least stick to the facts. Fact, under the Trump administration,

Starting point is 02:01:37 the Department of Justice stripped hundreds of millions of dollars from the Office of Justice Programs, money that funded essential community safety initiatives like victim services, gang prevention, and reentry support. Fact, Trump and Republicans slash grants to organizations like the National Organization for Victim Assistance, which trains advocates who staff domestic violence shelters, hotlines, and rape crisis centers. Fact, they cut over $10 million in funding to the National Policing Institute, a nonprofit helping rural police departments reduce

Starting point is 02:02:12 violent crime. Fact, this week Republicans are trying to gut PEPFAR, a lifesaving program that partners with nonprofits around the world and has saved more than 26 million lives. And let's not forget many of these cuts were laid out in Project 2025, a radical far-right playbook drafted by hyper-conservative nonprofits for the express purpose of dismantling the very government institutions and systems that serve the public good.

Starting point is 02:02:40 Ironically, we even have one of the authors of Project 2025 here with us today. So let's not pretend this is about nonprofit accountability, because if it were, this committee would also be investigating the Conservative Partnership Institute, which has pushed anti-immigrant, anti-LGBTQ+, and anti-vaccine propaganda and hosted efforts to challenge the 2020 election. Mind you, as we have these organizations that are pushing anti-vaccine propaganda, we know that measles has reached a 30-year high when measles had actually been over and done with. But now that we don't believe in vaccines, now children are our targets, unfortunately, and yes they are dying. The New Century Foundation, a white nationalist organization that somehow maintains its 501c3 status

Starting point is 02:03:29 to launder hate speech through the language of intellectual inquiry. Or they would investigate Turning Point USA, which has been linked to organizers of the January 6th insurrection. But Republicans aren't talking about those groups because this isn't about accountability. It's about silencing organizations that challenge Republican power.

Starting point is 02:03:49 It's about targeting nonprofits that protect the very people this Trump-aligned movement continues to harm. These organizations are defending victims of unlawful actions. They're helping to combat global pandemics. They're supporting police departments when this very committee won't. They're working to build safer, healthier communities while Trump and his allies defund them to hand out tax breaks to billionaires. And maybe that's the real threat here. They're effective. They get people off the streets, out of prison, and into opportunity. They educate people about

Starting point is 02:04:22 injustice and that apparently scares some folks more than any so-called radical agenda. Because the only thing truly radical about these nonprofits is their belief that human beings deserve dignity, opportunity, and equal protection under the law. Values my Republican colleagues seem to have forgotten, along with love thy neighbor. So instead of demonizing the groups trying to do right by our communities maybe we should

Starting point is 02:04:48 be asking how to support them how to ensure taxpayer dollars reach the people who need the most because this hearing should be about public safety not political vendettas until that happens these hearings are doing more harm than good. Thank you Mr. Chairman and I yield back. These broke ass red states want to do that. Michael, take a shot. Yep, in California, it was just named in April 2025, the fourth largest economy in the world at $4.1 trillion. So yeah, these are a lot of broke-ass red states. They should—the broke-ass red states should secede from the union. And Jasmine Crockett is absolutely correct in

Starting point is 02:05:29 hitting these people. And remember, in February 2025, Donald Trump ended the database tracking federal police misconduct also that he proposed in 2020 after George Floyd was killed. Bomb line is, what's that song from Ideal? Get the hell on, get gone, Randy. Hit the road, Jack. I don't know which one, but I know. They some scrubs, we don't want no scrubs. I mean, how are you gonna be talking so much trash and you're the broken states?

Starting point is 02:06:03 The Republicans are the ones who are always talking about cutting social services and getting rid of welfare, whereas they are the states who receive welfare from the Democratic states. It's just incredibly ironic. They're hypocrites. Mustafa? You know, as Representative Crockett said, facts, blue states are the economic engine. Facts, blue states subsidize red states. Facts, red states have the higher poverty rates and they also are more reliant on SNAP

Starting point is 02:06:39 and Medicaid and disability benefits. And of course, they're hit by the climate crisis, so they need federal funds to be able to rebuild when they should have actually put policies in place in the beginning. So, it's very clear, you know, who is the driver of our economy and who is the benefactor of those resources that blue states continue to share because they care about everybody. Indeed, indeed. All right, y'all, time for shopblackstarnetwork.com. Let's get right to it.

Starting point is 02:07:13 Of course, Marketplace. Are you tired of sweat getting in your eyes? Sisters ruining your hair. You know how y'all like, man, I ain't letting nothing mess up my hair. Well, Nicole Ari Parker, she's been selling these headbands that help you stay cooler and sisters all around the country have been saying, yo, this is hot. Of course, the Gym Wrap built with EvapoCool technology, sweat brands and head gear brand,

Starting point is 02:07:41 make sure you stay cool, dry, and focused doing your workouts, co-founded by Nicole Ari Parker and her husband, Boris Kojo. Nicole, what's happening? Hey! Hey! Hehehehe. Boris, what up? What's up, bro?

Starting point is 02:07:56 How you doing, brother? So good to see you. Good to see both of y'all. Boris, was Nicole largely responsible for this? Because I don't know. How are you going to do some hair wraps? You ain't got no hair. Listen, you know what happens when you're married.

Starting point is 02:08:13 You're going to support no matter what, right? But let me tell you, she first created the first prototype by cutting up my shirt and sewing it together. So that's how it all started. I pulled out my shirt from the drawer and there was a big old triangle hole in it. And that's how it all started. But I'm super proud of her because she created this herself.

Starting point is 02:08:37 She has patents. She has so many different products now. She really solved a problem because because at the time, we met with the Surgeon General, Dr. Regina Benjamin, and she told us that especially black women were making a detrimental choice between their hair and their health. So Nicole actually figured out a solution on how to be able to work out and still keep your edges under control, which you know is very important for our sisters.

Starting point is 02:09:11 All right, Nicole, so did you really cut up one of his shirts? And if so, was it one of the, you know, was it, was it one of the, you know, I have a lot of the, the moisture shirts, is that what it was? Exactly. Right. They were trying to clarify if I was the founder or the I was the creator.

Starting point is 02:09:35 Rollin. I was trying to solve my. So you you. So OK, so OK, I need you to take me through this. Were you sitting here going, oh man, this fabric feels kind of good. This might, huh, if this absorbs his sweat on the tennis court, this could absorb my head.

Starting point is 02:09:57 Is that what happened? That's exactly what happened. I cut up a couple of his shirts and I sewed many prototypes because I know we all have different needs I made that he's right I made my triangle. I made why ban and a thin band and I made everything that I would like on any given day, you know because I had 2 small children, my husband was trying to go for a run with me on the

Starting point is 02:10:24 beach and I had just found enough time to get my hair blown out and I had to choose between him, the kids or my hair and I was like, there's gotta be a way I can do it all. And I just made it. And for all the new entrepreneurs out there who have an idea, I would just tell them to start because I did not have a business degree because I did not have a business degree. I did not have any marketing connections.

Starting point is 02:10:48 I just made it and I hit the ground running trying to find a manufacturer and all of the things. And here we are, 12 years later on your show. Bars, did you make her buy you some replacement shirts? Cause listen, I tell my wife, stay the hell out of my closet. I sold so many Roland, so he's got plenty of shirts. I bought him that one. Yeah, she did.

Starting point is 02:11:18 I got to be honest, she did. She worked it out for me. But look, this has really grown into a company that has become a staple in our community. I'm so thankful for all the support that we've gotten over the years. And she has really expanded her product line from the first gym wrap to not just the triangle, but also bandies, the thin ones, the narrow ones, the wide ones. Now hats as well, which I use every single day when I'm on a tennis court. They wick away the moisture as well, the sweat, so the sweat doesn't go in your face.

Starting point is 02:11:56 And really, she's allowed us to not have to choose between our hair and our health. We're able to go work out and take off the gym wrap, blow dry the edges a little bit and go to work. So it's really done a great deal of service to our community, I'm super proud of her. So Nicole, you just said something I thought was important. You, one, you saw a problem, you were like,

Starting point is 02:12:27 man, this bar shirt feel kind of nice. Oh, let me go ahead and do this here. And so after the you cut up the first two shirts, okay, what was next for you just walk people. Because see one of the greatest problems that that I always tell entrepreneurs is don't talk about where you are today. Walk people through how you had to get there because that's where people get stuck. So after you cut the shirts up, then you went and worked out, what was the next thought for you like, okay, where do I go now? I love that question because it was really challenging. You know, just going right to the source, right

Starting point is 02:13:08 to manufacturers and trying to describe to them the level of specific material that I was looking for. And, you know, I'm who has no relationship to hair or sweating or anything. And I had to pitch myself just to get the first step. And then when it was time to create a website and I had great business, I had great business partners. So they handled what they knew how to handle. And it was just, I had to fight for it. I mean, I really had to like dig deep and not give up. And I had wonderful outlets by being an actor like you,

Starting point is 02:13:52 when all that was done, I was able to go on a few talk shows and get it in a little bit. But when it was time to expand and get into a store, I had to wheel my little suitcase up and pitch my product like everybody else not a face cream or bath right. Just like everyone else they didn't care that I was on a TV show.

Starting point is 02:14:19 And you know that's that at and as what what you're describing, again, why it's so important, because that's what a lot of people don't understand. People, it amazes me when people say, man, I would have been an entrepreneur. And I go, do you know what that means? Do you know what it means to,

Starting point is 02:14:40 do you know what it means to, I'm like, I sat a book signing a couple of weeks ago in Detroit and my assistant didn't ship the books ahead of time. No, and then if we did ship them late, it was gonna cost like $400, I was like, well damn, that's, you know, $20 time each book, that like, that's eating the profit.

Starting point is 02:15:00 And so, oh hell yeah, I put a hundred damn books in a suitcase and wheel that son of a bitch into that sucker and pull out myself inside. I mean, again, that's what you have to do. No matter whether you are an actor, whether you're in media, if you're trying to actually do a business, you gonna have to do stuff like that and your ego has to get set aside.

Starting point is 02:15:23 But you do have to have a little bit of self-confidence, though. It's like being humble and bold at the same time. Like, you believe in what you have, and yet you are in the waiting room with everybody else. And it was quite a journey. But it had touched a nerve. I was so blessed that Dr. Benjamin had made those announcements that 90% of the things that we were suffering from as a community were preventable.

Starting point is 02:15:53 You know, and maybe my number's off. I think she said 80. 80% was preventable, strokes, high blood pressure. And most of those things were preventable with watching our food and at least getting some movement in every day. And so I was selling like crazy. And then I had a little bit of money. This is the other thing.

Starting point is 02:16:14 I bought some late night media time on the tennis channel. So that wasn't really my market. But I knew my product was great for outdoor athletes It sold out tennis players volleyball players They loved it boys were wearing it under their football helmets. It was like a whole new world opened up But I took that risk. I had just a little bit to do that and I took the risk so Did did did that idea, did the idea,

Starting point is 02:16:49 bars for that tennis time come from you because you have quite the history on the tennis courts? Well, I don't want to take the credit, Roland, you know how that goes when you're married. But yes, that might have been a conversation that we had before she did that. But look, some of the things that she said is very important. Number one, people just have to try. And they don't have to—they shouldn't be afraid to ask questions, right? Ask 1,000 questions if you want to and if you have to. Also, don't be afraid to make mistakes.

Starting point is 02:17:25 You're going to make some mistakes. I think resiliency is very important. A lot of people give up right before they're about to hit that plateau or that next level. And also, like Nicole said, all the money that she made went right back into the business. Because in order to expand, in order to scale, you're going to have to spend money that you're making to grow the business. It's not that easy, but it is worth it. And I have to really, again, say that she was doing this in the name of service. And I think that is also an aspect that has really helped her grow

Starting point is 02:18:06 because she was providing a real solution to people. And I think it was sort of, the product and the business was anointed. It was a really divine intervention that helped her grow this business because she was doing it in the name of service. that helped her grow this business because she was doing it in the name of service. Well, it certainly serves a need. I'm looking in our group chat and there are people.

Starting point is 02:18:36 So what happened at Chappaquiddick? Well, it really depends on who you talk to. There are many versions of what happened in 1969 when a young Ted Kennedy drove a car into a pond. And left a woman behind to drown. There's a famous headline, I think, in the New York Daily News. It's, Teddy escapes, blonde drowns. And in a strange way, right, that sort of tells you. The story really became about Ted's political future, Ted's political hopes. Will Ted become president? Chappaquiddick is a story of a tragic death and how the Kennedy machine took control.

Starting point is 02:19:23 or wherever you get your podcasts. American history is full of wise people. Well women said something like, you know, 99.99% of war is diarrhea and 1% is glory. Those founding fathers were gossipy AF and they loved to cut each other down. I'm Bob Crawford, host of American History Hotline, the show where you send us your questions about American history, and I find the answers, including the nuggets of wisdom our history has to offer.

Starting point is 02:19:58 Hamilton pauses, and then he says, the greatest man that ever lived was Julius Caesar. And Jefferson writes in his diary, this proves that Hamilton is for a dictator based on corruption. My favorite line was what Neil Armstrong said. It would have been harder to fake it than to do it. Listen to American history hotline on the I Heart Radio app, Apple podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts.

Starting point is 02:20:28 Do you remember Vine? It changed the Internet forever and it vanished in its prime. I'm Benedict Townsend and this is Vine. Six seconds that changed the world. The untold story of genius, betrayal and the app that died so that TikTok could thrive. From overnight stars to the fall that no one saw coming, we're breaking down what made Vine iconic. Listen to Vine on the iHeartRadio app, Apple podcasts, or wherever you listen to podcasts. I always had to be so good

Starting point is 02:21:00 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 tearthepaperceillin.org,

Starting point is 02:21:25 brought to you by Opportunity at Work and the Ad Council. Even if you're just visiting places and it's hot and you're sweating, that's the one thing sisters will say, man, because look, I'm from Houston. So, you know, I know what it means when a sister's like, yo, that humidity, as soon as you hit the door, all that money you spent on getting your hair done. That's why a lot of sisters, I know when the heat comes, they go up, braids time, we ain't dealing with all of that. But of course course this product uh

Starting point is 02:22:07 go ahead i was just saying that's why i make cute styles too just for running your errands see there you go uh cuz you're gonna be out of the heat you're gonna be out of the heat so folks the product is gym wrap again if you go to shop blackstartnetwork.com, you know, since we launched this show September 4th, 2018, we've always had our marketplace segment because we wanted to give an opportunity for black owned businesses, people who have products to be able to share with our audience. Talk to them guys, drop that graph. I need y'all on your end to pull the website up so they can actually see the gym wraps on the website. So again, if y'all go to shopblackstarnetwork.com, we want y'all to let folks know, pass the word again, because there are a number of products that we have on the site.

Starting point is 02:22:59 We feature other people as well. And I'm just go ahead and cut to it myself. So this, if you go to the website, you'll see right here, Jim, you'll see the different products right here. The hat 2.0, Jim rap 2.0, the pony 2.0, full triangle, what's this, bandy 2.0 set, shadow black, white, bandy 2.0 as well. And then of course the visor as well. So those products are on the website as we speak.

Starting point is 02:23:31 It's for men and women. And so yeah, I might have to try one of these, Nicole, cause I play golf and listen, when you're, I walk in the heat, you're sweating. You should definitely try the hats. The hats, I wore them every single day. It's the best, you're sweating. You should definitely try the hats. The hats, I've worn them every single day. It's the best hat you'll ever try. It's soft and it hats.

Starting point is 02:23:50 Which one, the hat 2.0? The hat, yeah, the hat. Not the pony, the pony has a little hole in the back for the ponytails, I'm not sure if you're, you're here for the ponytails. Yeah, no, I don't have that issue. You know, no, ain't no ponytail here, that ain't gonna happen.

Starting point is 02:24:04 So it'll be the hat. And again, I mean, because I have, it's like one of my alpha hats, and man, the way that things make, like when I'm sweating, when I'm over a putt, it's look like a waterfall just coming straight down. So yeah, I'll have to try the hat. All right, all right, the hat 2.0.

Starting point is 02:24:25 And listen, I test drive everything. So I'll let folk know. And so y'all go to shopblackstarnetwork.com. Check out this quickly from our panel. Questions? You got any? Randy, you first. I've had a gym wrap for 10 years, easily.

Starting point is 02:24:43 It works. It works. It works. My hair is usually short. And you really did. I mean, you solved a major problem. Black women would not work out because of our hair. We would completely get our hair done on Friday. So I was like, I can't work out Saturday, Sunday, Monday,

Starting point is 02:25:00 because I want to be cute. Maybe you do Tuesday, Wednesday, because you're going to get your hair done again. Like, our health was very much determined by our hair. And so my best friend called me and said, have you tried so-and-so? And I did. And it truly works. Roland, you don't even have to test drive.

Starting point is 02:25:19 I can honestly tell you that it works for real. And so thank you very much. Thank you. Thank you for that. And so thank you very much. Thank you. Thank you for that. And I made them, Roland. Mustafa. I'm sorry. I'm sorry.

Starting point is 02:25:31 Go ahead. Go ahead. You know, because I know that some of us have short styles and some of us have braids, but we lay our baby hair down and all the things. So that's why I have a bandie for people who like a one band. But I also made ties so people can tie them as tight or loose as they want and be more flexible so I thought of all of the things that I go through myself and included them in the line. Well Mustafa he's got braids

Starting point is 02:26:01 so he always rocking the LL Cool J Kangos. He made the try one of your hats. Mustafa, go ahead. Yeah, well, thanks for that. No, I don't have braids. I have locks. But yeah, so Nicole. Lock, braids, locks.

Starting point is 02:26:15 There's a difference. Anyway. Braids, locks, you got long hair. I got long hair, yeah. You can take one of my. Thank you for loving black folks. Thank you for loving black folk. Thank you for loving black folks. My question was, again, I do, I have a lot of hair.

Starting point is 02:26:31 So I was just curious, like for the hats, do they come in one size or are there other sizes? Or do they stretch? They're adjustable. It depends. If you've got a lot of locks and a lot of bulk, I would still put your hair, pull it in your own comfortable ponytail holder

Starting point is 02:26:51 and then use this just for the sweat in the front. So it stops dripping down if you're really working out. Thank you. Oh, I see guys in the gym. All right, Michael, he. Okay, Michael, he got no lock. So he got that problem. Michael, go ahead.

Starting point is 02:27:12 No, I have any locks, but I do well. I do well. LL Cool J can go though. Nicole and Boris. This is fantastic. My question is dealing with your distribution in addition to the tennis channel taking out ads on the tennis channel Are you in brick and mortar stores? Do you go to expos and sale? What's your distribution like and also loved you all in soul food?

Starting point is 02:27:33 You are one of my favorite tv couples and real life couples also Great question. Um, so We've gone through various distribution outlets from brick and mortars in all the big box stores. What we have found is that we are doing really, really well direct to consumers, so online. Obviously, our margins are much better. And we have a revolutionary conversion rate of two and a half times the norm, which is, again, due to the loyalty and the support that we've been enjoying from our community. So, thank you again so much for that. So, it just

Starting point is 02:28:13 depends. Every once in a while, we hit our stride in the brick and mortars. And then we go online again. So right now it's about 70, 30 online. Because for those of you who don't know, when you're dealing with big retailers, there's a lot that goes with it. We're talking about inventory, we're talking about warehousing. That's additional costs that you have to incur. And then also you have to support your stuff on the shelves by way of marketing and advertising

Starting point is 02:28:50 spend. So those big box retailers ask you to shell out additional money to promote the product in the stores. They don't promote the stuff. You have to promote the stuff. You have to promote the stuff. Sometimes when you, like my wife, when you have a great following and enjoy great loyalty amongst our consumers, it's better to go the online only route because the margins are better and you also can get to expand your product line really quickly from one day to

Starting point is 02:29:23 the next. Whereas when you're in a big box store, you always have to wait six months till the next cycle until you can introduce a new product. So they're not as flexible as you wanna be. So sometimes, e-commerce works much better. Right, all right, thank you. Gotcha, gotcha, gotcha. And I'm sitting here, and you know, gotcha, gotcha. And I'm sitting here and you know, some people they can't just stop

Starting point is 02:29:48 being what they used to be. So Candy Carter, of course, whose company set all this up is texting me, ask about new season of Sex in the City reboot. And just like like that she used to be a producer with Oprah's show so she can't stop producing so I guess she figured she wanted to produce me but gone right ahead tell me about the season two of the Sex in the City reboot. We're in season three right now I think we have episode seven aired last week and eight out of 12. So she's got about four or five more weeks. Okay, and just like that, what is that? And just like that, yes, it's the reboot of Sex and the City.

Starting point is 02:30:40 It's called and just like that. It's- That's what it's called. Got it, got it. it's called. Got it. Got it. Yes, yes. So, I'm having a ball- All right, Boris, what you got? What you-

Starting point is 02:30:51 Go ahead. Go ahead. You shot what? I was just saying that I shot it- I shot this season through October, and now it's on the air, and it's all- it's very exciting. These- the fans are from 20 years ago. Okay, and uh, and Barz, uh, Candice texting me, uh, saying, uh, ask Barz what does he have, uh, coming up that people can watch and support? Well, we just finished, uh, season eight of Station 19, and it's a series wrap. So,

Starting point is 02:31:21 uh, we finished the show. I spent eight years on that show. It was a great run. We're in 120 different countries worldwide. So now I'm actually doing a bunch of things in Africa. We're creating content in and for Africa and continuing full circle, which you were invited to many times. At some point, you got to come with us, Roland.

Starting point is 02:31:51 We did Ghana. Now we're expanding in different regions on the continent for people to reconnect with the ancestry and to counteract old stereotypical narratives about the continent and show people what Africa is really about. He also is— When I get invited! When I get invited, let me check. Let me—I'm going to look for the email.

Starting point is 02:32:09 Yeah, you better check. All right, first of all, where you going next? I'm going to look up the emails. You better check. He's on— Yeah, look up the email. I believe it's—uh-huh. Behind the scenes, what?

Starting point is 02:32:22 Directing and producing. He's got a lot of stuff in the oven. So he'll circle back with you. All right, so here's the deal. Yeah, let me know, maybe I'll even go to the spam folder because I was in Ghana in 2019. I was in Liberia in 2022. I was in Ethiopia last year.

Starting point is 02:32:41 So yeah, let me know where y'all going next, because I got people hit me in Nigeria and somebody invited me to Tanzania today. So you know, let a brother know but uh, yeah, remember the email is rolling at rolling s martin.com somebody male drop that s. Okay, okay, I'll check but I think I got the right one. Drop that S. Okay, okay, I'll check, but I think I got the right one. All right then, folks, Jim rap.

Starting point is 02:33:09 Go to shopblackstartnetwork.com. Y'all can get it, men and women, absolutely. Let's support Nicole and Boris, support our black-owned products. And when you buy on shopblackstartnetwork.com, you're also supporting this network because we also get a cut as well. And so this is all about supporting the black owned business ecosystem.

Starting point is 02:33:34 And that's why it is so important. So Nicole, Barr is always great to see y'all. I'm sure we'll run into each other in an airport again soon. That's right, as usual. Thanks, again soon. That's right as usual. Thanks for appreciate you rolling. I'll make sure you get some cats. All right well I walk 18 holes so I'll definitely be wearing

Starting point is 02:33:56 on the golf course. I appreciate it. Thanks a lot. Thank you. Bye. All right folks that is it for us today. I know we went over the time, but it's always good to go over time. Let me thank Mustafa. Let me thank Randy.

Starting point is 02:34:10 Let me thank Michael being our panel today. Thank you so very much. Folks, don't forget, support the work that we do. Again, ain't nobody else doing what we do. I'm telling you right now, there's nobody in Black-owned media. You don't have a show like this on any black targeted black on cable network,

Starting point is 02:34:26 no other digital property. We're the only ones doing this because we think it's important to center African Americans to tell our story, to share our story and to cover these issues. You don't see MSNBC, CNN, Fox News, ABC, NBC, CBS covering the case of that young man shot and killed in Homewood, Alabama. Oh, if it blows up into something, they'll cover it. But we've been covering it since it first happened. That's the kind of stuff that matters. Uh, uterine fibroids.

Starting point is 02:34:53 We're going to be talking about that tomorrow on the show. We're going to be dealing with the whole issue of the Trump folks removing medical debt as a way for you to, of when you filing bank property, we're going to discuss that on the show as well. I didn't get to calling out Bill Maher for his ridiculous comments about Trump being a racist, but he's a man of the times. But also Rich Dennis, of course,

Starting point is 02:35:16 the chair of the company that owns Essence went on the Breakfast Club. And I got a few thoughts about all of the talk around Essence Fest. Yeah, I got a lot thoughts about all of the talk around SNS Fest. Yeah, I got a lot I want to say about that. So that's why y'all must tune into the show and support what we do. Again, our goal is to get 20,000 of our fans contributing on average 50 bucks each a year. That will raise a million dollars.

Starting point is 02:35:38 That offsets our expenses. Right now, I'm literally, just so y'all understand, right now I am literally at home. I am at I'm not I'm not anywhere else. I'm at home. Y'all think if y'all think I'm lying do understand right here. Boom. Oh, that's it right there. Where can I take it off? We're gonna take it off. All right. Is that it right there? There you go. Yeah, I'm at the I'm at the crib. That's right. That's the green screen going on right here Because we right now we have a $70,000 lighting installation happening In my studio. We have a $40,000. We're finishing a $40,000 IT installation in our facility to upgrade our IT So folks that's a hundred a hundred and ten thousand dollars. That's real money And so it's all a matter of being able to increase Our capacity to change what we're doing. So that's what's going on as we speak. So I'm actually from the home studio

Starting point is 02:36:44 And so if y'all saw this lights, I got the switcher right here, my iPad. And so all those things are happening because we want to upgrade the studio. We're looking at adding new shows. And this is really about increasing the product for all of you and making it better. Cause we believe that black folks deserve to have high quality news and information and not just my show multiple shows and so that's why your support is critically important y'all have been amazing since we launched I put me purposely don't chart a subscription fee I'm not trying

Starting point is 02:37:14 to hit you up on patreon trying to well we go on paper this pay for that and so that's why we make it a donation base so when you support the show and you give you the various ways you are supporting all of this. I told you, our cost $195,000 a month. It funds staff and look, just for us, the high speed, we don't have a high speed internet, we got a fiber. Yo, that's $2,500 a month. We are not paying $89.99 a month.

Starting point is 02:37:41 So that stuff is real and so it all matters. And so if you want to support us please via cash app here's the QR code QR code right here. Cash app got rid of our accounts they changed their rules and so you have to use the Stripe QR code you see it right here. This is the Stripe QR code for cash app. Check some money orders make them payable to Roland Martin unfiltered. Like you got to give it about 45 days because folks between when you mailing it and just have an open each envelope, then of course sign the back, the mobile deposit, some checks and money orders don't go throughout to actually send them to the bank. And so it's a process there. Make checks and money orders payable to Roland Martin unfiltered

Starting point is 02:38:18 P.O. Box 57196 Washington D.C. 20037. That's 0196.6 PayPal's are Martin unfiltered Venmo are in unfiltered jail Roland at Roland S Martin dot com. Roll that Roland Martin unfiltered dot com. Download the Black Stud Network app, Apple phone, Android phone, Apple TV, Android TV, Roku,

Starting point is 02:38:36 Amazon Fire TV, Xbox one, Samsung Smart TV. Of course, get my book, Why Fear How the Browning of America is making white folks lose their minds available at bookstores nationwide. Get the audio version I read on Audible. As I said, get the various black products that we

Starting point is 02:38:51 feature on ShopBlackStarNetwork.com. You've got Leafy, which is the black toilet paper company. You've got, of course, Jim Raps. You've got Coffee. You've got other products that we feature. It's all there as well. ShopBlackStarNetwork.com. If you want to get your rolling mark, unfiltered merchandise. All right, so come back to me. If y'all want to get this shirt right here, and we've also changed vendors. We were using one company. If y'all want to get this shirt, don't blame me. I voted for the black woman. Absolutely. You can get it. Pull the graphic up. So again, go to shopblackstartnetwork.com. You can get this t-shirt, you get the other t-shirts that we have, pull the graphic up.

Starting point is 02:39:26 You can get the other t-shirts that we have. That's right, we tried to tell you, FAFO, Project 2025. Of course, MAGA chose between woke or broke. They chose broke, that was an Anthony Scaramucci quote. Of course, our regular show shirt. And if you get any of our shirts, y'all send an email, post it on social, tag me, and I'll show it to you

Starting point is 02:39:45 on the show as well, so to give y'all a shout out. And of course, don't forget Fanbase. Download the app Fanbase. If you wanna invest, go to startengine.com forward slash fanbase for more information. Y'all, that's it. I'll see y'all tomorrow right here. Roland Martin unfiltered on the Black Star Network,

Starting point is 02:40:02 time for Truth Talk. Holla! Join iHeartRadio and Sarah Spain in celebrating the one year anniversary here rolling Mark on filter on the black star network time for true talk. United by Passion. Podcasts that amplify the voices of women in sports. Thank you for supporting iHeart Women's Sports and our founding sponsors, Elf Beauty, Capital One, and Novartis. Just open the free iHeart app and search iHeart Women's Sports to listen now. So what happened at Chappaquiddick?

Starting point is 02:40:38 Well, it really depends on who you talk to. There are many versions of what happened in 1969 when a young Ted Kennedy drove a car into a pond. And left a woman behind to drown. Chappaquiddick is a story of a tragic death and how the Kennedy machine took control. Every week we go behind the headlines and beyond the drama of America's royal family. Listen to United States of Kennedy on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

Starting point is 02:41:09 I'm Bob Crawford, host of American History Hotline, a different type of podcast. You, the listener, ask the questions. Did George Washington really cut down on a cherry tree? Were JFK and Marilyn Monroe having an affair? And I find the answers. I'm so glad you asked me this question. This is such a ridiculous story. You can listen to American History Hotline on the iHeartRadio app, Apple podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. I know a lot of cops. And they get asked all the time, have you ever had to shoot your gun?

Starting point is 02:41:44 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 One, Taser Incorporated. I get right back there and it's bad. Listen to Absolute Season One, Taser Incorporated on the iHeartart Radio app, Apple podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. This is an iHeart Podcast.

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