#RolandMartinUnfiltered - Justice Breyer to retire, what Black woman will Biden pick?

Episode Date: January 27, 2022

1.26.2022 #RolandMartinUnfiltered: Justice Breyer to retire, what Black woman will Biden pick?Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer says it's time for him to retire. Now President Biden can nominate his replacement. Will Biden keep his promise to fill this vacant seat with a black woman? Who will it be? Tonight, we have an expert panel to look at all of the possibilities, including if the Republicans will block anyone Biden selects.A federal tells the state of Alabama to go back to the congressional drawing board and come up with new voting maps. We'll talk to one of the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund attorneys responsible for that victory.Plus, there's an effort to include more African doctors, scientists, and researchers in finding global cures for diseases. We'll talk to a former U.S. Congressman who has teamed up with an African doctor about this inclusive initiative.And in our Tech Talk segment sponsored by Verizon, we'll talk to the creator of the TruSo app that will create a space that's both community-focused and empowering.#RolandMartinUnfiltered partners:Verizon | Verizon 5G Ultra Wideband, now available in 50+ cities, is the fastest 5G in the world.* That means that downloads that used to take minutes now take seconds. 👉🏾 https://bit.ly/3zSXx0NNissan | Check out the ALL NEW 2022 Nissan Frontier! As Efficient As It Is Powerful! 👉🏾 https://bit.ly/3FqR7bPSupport #RolandMartinUnfiltered and #BlackStarNetwork via the Cash App ☛ https://cash.app/$rmunfiltered or via PayPal ☛ https://www.paypal.me/rmartinunfilteredDownload the #BlackStarNetwork app on iOS, AppleTV, Android, Android TV, Roku, FireTV, SamsungTV and XBox 👉🏾 http://www.blackstarnetwork.com#RolandMartinUnfiltered and the #BlackStarNetwork are news reporting platforms covered under Copyright Disclaimer Under Section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976, allowance is made for "fair use" for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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You dig? Today is Wednesday, January 26, 2022. Coming up on Roland Martin on Filter Streaming, live on the Black Star Network, Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer says it's time for him to retire, paving the way for President Joe Biden to nominate a black woman to the Supreme Court as he promised during the campaign.

We'll break it down with our legal scholars, brothers and sisters, on what this means and who potentially are the leading folks. A federal judge tells the state of Alabama, federal panel actually tells the state of Alabama to go back to the Congressional Drawing Board because they actually were limiting the impact of black voters.

We'll talk with the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund of attorneys who were responsible for that victory. Plus, there's an effort to include more African doctors, scientists, and researchers in finding global cures for diseases. We'll talk to former congressman Shaka Fata, who has teamed up with an African doctor about this inclusive initiative.

In our Tech Talk segment sponsored by Verizon, we'll talk to the creator of the Truso app with an African doctor about this inclusive initiative. In our Tech Talk segment sponsored by Verizon, we'll talk to the creator of the Truso app that will create a space that's both community focused and empowering. Folks, it is time to bring the funk. I'm Roland Martin, unfiltered, on the Black Star Network. Let's go. Whatever it is, he's got the scoop, the fact, the find. And when it breaks, he's right on time.

And it's rolling. Best belief he's knowing. Putting it down from sports to news to politics. With entertainment just for kicks. He's rolling. Yeah, yeah. It's Uncle Roro, y'all. Yeah, yeah.

It's Rolling Martin. Yeah, yeah. It's Roland Martin. Yeah, yeah. Rolling with Roland now. Yeah, yeah. He's funky, he's fresh, he's real the best. You know he's Roland Martin now. Martin. The senior most Supreme Court justice says he is stepping down. Stephen Breyer, who's 83 years old, plans to retire at the end of this term or until the Senate has confirmed his replacement. Breyer was appointed to the bench by President Bill Clinton 27 years ago.

His retirement allows President Joe Biden to appoint a new justice. Keep in mind, what did Biden say during the campaign? He was going to name a black woman to the position. This came up in today's White House briefing. This is what Presidential Spokes Press Secretary Jen Psaki had to say. Sorry, folks, I thought we had the sound bite there. So we'll talk about this. We'll play that for you in a little bit.

We're going to talk about this with our panel, L.A. Minnesota Justice Correspondent for the Nation, Damon Hewitt, who's the President, Executive Director, Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights Under Law. We also, of course, have Candace Kelly, a legal analyst. And we'll also be joined by Attorney Monique Presley,

who's also a crisis manager. Damon, I want to start with you. I know you have to go. You've got a heart out there. This is obviously so before we even get to obviously the impact of a historic appointment of a black woman. Talk about Breyer's 27 years on the bench and what that meant to the court. Well, Breyer has been a lion, a dean of that bench, certainly the so-called liberal wing, even though he's been among the more moderate of them. His voice and his vote has been critical from his eloquent lectures, diatribes and interrogation from the bench

and his questions to counsel to his reputation for fair-mindedness. Because one thing no one could ever say about Justice Breyer is that he was trying to engineer a specific outcome. He was always fair, and he was usually, in my view, on the right side of justice and racial justice at that. So he will certainly be missed. That said, it is time to make room for new voices that embrace what I believe is a more progressive and expansive notion of what the law is and what it can be for black people. Obviously, a lot of people were highly critical of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg for not stepping down when President Barack Obama was there. She passes away when Donald Trump is president, paving the way for Amy Coney Barrett, allowing for conservatives to expand their majority on the Supreme Court. And there was lots of pressure on Breyer to step down while Democrats controlled the U.S. Senate. Without question. And I think for him, this is a legacy play.

In my view, I didn't speak to him specifically about this, of course, but this is a legacy play. He knew he had options. He knew he had a choice. And he saw not only the hit to the legacy that happened with Justice Ginsburg when she sadly passed away while on the bench, but he also didn't want to go out like that himself. And I think he saw the real politic here and also just, frankly, just did the right thing. It would be quite selfish to stay on the bench thinking that, as some people say, why should I deprive you of myself? In his view, he wants to see something more and better for the long term. Again, fair and balanced as the jurors, but also understanding that there is a takeover at play on this court. It's already in full swing. And I'm sure that's also exhausting and grating for him as the dean of the liberal way.

Obviously, Damian, when we talk about when we talk about again, when we look at judicial writings, you talk about this takeover, 6-3 conservative majority. Look, Republicans want to control this court over the next 50 years. That's what all the fight for the Supreme Court has been about. And so Democrats and liberals have not been as focused on the courts. Have you seen a change with the federal judicial nominees with Biden? Will they now understand you can't act like the courts don't matter? I think this administration does understand it. And I think it's not just rhetorical. I think we've seen significant action, the highest rate of a number of confirmations for any president in the modern era, perhaps ever. I can tell you firsthand, a number of former colleagues and people I've supervised even who

are brilliant attorneys are now being nominated and appointed and confirmed to the bench. And so these are people from the civil rights community. These are people who have done government service at state and federal level. These are people who have defended people's life and liberty in criminal and juvenile court proceedings. These are people who understand all of America. And this administration is delivering in that respect, I have to say. All right, Damon, who at Laws Committee for Civil Rights Under the Law, we truly appreciate it. Thanks a lot. I appreciate you. All right, then. I want to pull in our legal panel here, Ellie, Mr. Candace as well. Candace, I want to go to you.

Again, black women, critical, critical, critical, critical voters out there. 115 Supreme Court justices in history. 108 have been white men. Four, then, of course, you have two African-American men. You've got four white women, one Latina. So all the people who are yelling, oh my God, choose the best person. Sorry, I'm not trying to hear anything you got to say.

You know, listen, when we have a black woman that comes to the table, it's going to change the conversation. And this is something that, as you said, Joe Biden promised. And so we're going to look for that to happen. I also think that it served a great purpose for a justice bride to step down at this time. I think when we look at it politically, he's always talked, especially in the past couple of years, about how his role as a justice was not a political role.

But we all know that being a justice is definitely a political role. This is why we have justices accept certain cases, and they don't accept certain cases. Thousands come to the Supreme Court, yet they want to talk about affirmative action now for some reason. And that's been settled law of the land for years. Justice Breyer, I think it was a question of timing. He knows that a black woman, it's time for that to happen, and that he, by him sitting on there, it would have hogged the position and wouldn't have made sense. Remember, as you said, there was a campaign to get him off the bench. There was a car that was going around the Supreme Court that said, Justice Breyer, please retire.

Justice Breyer, please retire. I think that he didn't want to make it look political, which is why at this time, on his own accord, where it wasn't in the media so much, he decided it's time for me to retire. But I think he's always known. I think he's always known, based upon what happened with Ruth Bader Ginsburg, that it was time so that we could get another person like him, or even to be more progressive, to be in that seat. So he did the right thing. It was just in his own time. Emily, Mr. Anybody who's actually saying that, oh, my goodness, oh, these aren't political decisions, they're absolutely crazy. First of all, the president picks them.

Two, the Senate confirms them. Supreme Court nominations, they are political decisions. And they have been made more political by Republicans, quite frankly. One of the reasons why Breyer had to, not an option, had to retire before the midterms is because Mitch McConnell has essentially promised that if his party takes back control of the Senate, he will not confirm a Supreme Court nominee by President Joe Biden. We know McConnell's not bluffing because that's exactly what he did to the first black president, Barack Obama, when he refused to confirm Merrick Garland,

despite him being nominated by the president. So McConnell doesn't play. McConnell has made the Supreme Court a political institution more than any other single American has. And the Democrats simply need to catch up, just wake up to the game. Breyer's retirement was simply not an option. He could not have risked taking it past the midterm, having Republicans take back the Senate, and then at 83 years old, almost 84, basically not being able to retire for the next two years, potentially the next six years. We played that game before and we lost. So this is a no-brainer. He had to leave. And I just want to say one more thing in terms of this question of qualifications, all right?

Aside from the fact that, as you pointed out, there only been five women on the Supreme Court in its entire history. I think it's time to find some qualified women to fill these roles. There is no argument that of the people that Biden could pick that one of that that if he's he limits himself to black woman, he will find somebody who is as qualified as every single white man on that bench. Taking, for instance, Kandaji Brown Jackson, who's probably the leader in the clubhouse. We're talking about a woman with a Harvard College degree, a Harvard Law degree, who has been the head of the U.S. Sentencing Commission, who was on the D.C. Circuit sitting in Merrick Garland's seat, who was a finalist for the appointment that went to Merrick Garland's seat, who was a finalist for the appointment that went to Merrick Garland.

There isn't a more qualified person for this job than Brown Jackson that you are going to find. And she is just one of a number of strikingly qualified, immaculately educated Black women who could take this job. But I do also want us not to fall for the trap, Monique, of qualified. Because here's the piece. When any of these white folks are nominated, the words qualified aren't brought up. Only the qualifier qualified is used

whenever it involves people who look like us. Uh, and so, that's the game being played. I also don't want to hear qualified is because they went to an Ivy League school. I remember when President Bush had nominated a woman who had gone to SMU law school and all these Republicans. Harriet Myers. Harriet Myers. All the Republicans who always talk about, oh, elitist, they blasted him. How dare you pick her? She went to SMU Law School. And then, of course, one of the federal judges, name is being thrown around, that Congressman Clyburn has been pushing hard. Her hearing is next week. She went to the University of South Carolina. We have got to get

people in this city out of this mindset that, oh, if you didn't go to Harvard, Yale, Princeton, Cornell, Brown, or one of the Ivy League schools, whether undergrad or law school, you somehow can't serve on a Supreme Court. There are only two law schools, until Amy Coney Barrett was confirmed, there were only two law schools represented on the Supreme Court, Harvard and Yale. Now, Coney Barrett comes from Notre Dame, which is also a pretty good school. The judge you're talking about is J. Michelle Childs. If she is the pick, she would be the first person on the Supreme Court, the only person on the Supreme Court who went to a state school. Look, talking about professional diversity and

educational diversity is part of talking about diversity. And one of the things that Biden has done a great job of, actually, with his lower court appointments, has been picking people who come from a diverse educational background and a diverse professional background. So I absolutely agree with you that qualifications does not just mean go to specific law schools and have a specific job at a specific corporate law firm. And I'm saying that there are tons of women, of women of color, of black women specifically, who fit every bill that you want to ascribe to them. And I'll add this. It's unlikely, I don't know this for certain, but it's unlikely anybody Biden nominates is going to be credibly

accused of trying to rape somebody in high school. I'm just saying, unlikely that anybody that Biden nominates will be credibly accused of perjuring themselves before Congress at a prior confirmation hearing. So when we talk about qualifications, I think we also should talk about moral qualifications, which as far as I can see, everybody who's going to be on Biden's shortlist has in spades. Monique? Yeah, I certainly agree that Ivy League qualifications for lawyers is not the only thing that matters, and perhaps it should not matter as much. Of course, I know Ellie was just talking about the current Supreme Court and what's represented, but obviously the first black man to be on the Supreme Court went to Howard University School of Law. So we did definitely start representing the court with the best there is in terms of law school education. But I don't want it to be held against.

I take it you finished from Howard Law School. You take it right. Okay, got it. I don't want to hold it against, though, these Black women for having Ivy League education either. No matter how you slice qualified, these women, we don't know that this is really the list or not, but the women who they say are on the list, no matter how you dissect it, they are experienced. They are brilliant. They are qualified. They are well-educated. They are all of those things. So if it happens to be the case that the first Black woman to be on the Supreme Court is also Ivy League educated, that's grand. It's not just in D.C. circles that that matters. It's still important around the world. And I want people

around the world to know that we have those qualifications as well. And I'm proud of my sisters who matriculated through those halls and through other places as well. So my bottom line on this, which is what I tweeted earlier today, is that out of all of those women who are on there, all of those qualified, brilliant women, if I have to put my full weight behind one, I'm going to put it behind the one that gets nominated. How about that?

The one the president picks is the one I'm going to put my full force behind. Would I like it to be a civil rights lawyer the way that Thurgood was, the way that No, these women are badasses, every single one of them and whomever it is will surely be better than the Gorsuch's, the, the, the, um, ACBs of the world. These, these last picks that have happened pretty much except for, uh, the two that Barack Obama still has on the court and the one that President Clinton put on the court. Other than that, we're there. They're far surpassing all of them. Dr. Pamela Hill, assistant professor of social work at University of Texas at Arlington.

Look, I'm down for all of them. The point that I'm making, though, is we get trapped in these boxes, especially in the nation's capital, where they're very dismissive of folks who did not come through the same sort of schools. And so then it becomes, oh, those are the only credentials that matter. And so I want President Biden to look at a wide range of people, a wide range of sisters from different backgrounds, because that is important

when you talk about serving on the highest court in the land. Yes, absolutely, absolutely. I totally agree. And, you know, we have to remember that black women are rising in ways that we haven't seen in a very long time. We are seeing sisters who are making an impact at all levels, the local, the state, the national. We are seeing these black women who are making an impact at all levels, the local, the state, the national. We are seeing these Black women who are attorneys, who are becoming judges,

who are making an impact and making decisions. And I think, you know, there's a fear. Of course there's a fear. So we want to be qualified. And who makes the decision of what's qualified? I agree that whoever Biden picks, a Black woman, we should all be behind her. We should all be supportive and we should all make sure that that we do what we can do at the local level as well.

Brown Lewis, she is the dean of the North Carolina Central University Law School. She joins us right now. Glad to have you here. Just your thoughts on Justice Stephen Breyer. He's supposedly he is going to actually officially announce his retirement tomorrow. He has already said to the White House, apparently he talked to President Biden last week, let him know that he was going to retire and says that he will stay on the court until his replacement has been nominated and confirmed. I think it's a great decision. I think that in the past, the Democrat nominees have stayed on a bit too long. And then you have a situation where the Republican president has to choose the predecessor. So I think to have this

planned succession is a good thing. And so I was quite excited at the possibility of getting a black woman on the Supreme Court. You mentioned that. You mentioned that planned secession, Candace, when Justice Anthony Kennedy stepped down, he coordinated all of that and basically made it clear to Trump's folks, I'm going to step down, but you've got to put on my chosen person, Kavanaugh. You know, one of the things that Justice Breyer, what would do him good is to do the exact same thing and put his, listen, if he's not going to be a Supreme Court justice anymore, he can go ahead and be political all he wants because he's the person who knows what's good for the court. I also think that, you know, when we talk about those people who are qualified, we already

know that the people who are already on the federal bench, one of the potential candidates is on the heads-up in the California Supreme Court, we already know that they're immaculate. We already know that they, listen, they wouldn't be there if they didn't have an immaculate background. Because they're black, they have to be immaculate. That's another level of expectation that we're often held to. Well, they got to be perfect. But like you said, there are more perfect people out there. They just don't look the same way and have the same qualifications of others that are out there. Not only does Biden have to expand his search in terms of a Black woman, but as you said, the types of people and

the types of backgrounds that we bring to the table. Because times have changed. You know, the issues that we're dealing with, abortion rights, gun rights, so many rights that we are dealing with, affirmative action, all of these things that Black women specifically in this world in 2022 would have special experience and bring to the table. Justice Breyer, it would do him right to play in the world of politics at this point and say who his recommendation would be. Why not now? He's not going to be a justice anymore. So politics wouldn't have to be a part of it because that's what he's been fighting over the past few years. Ellie, I want to show this tweet right here that my goodness, when you see it, jumps out at you.

This was from a professor at Princeton. He said, Breyer's replacement will be the sixth Democratic nominee since 1968 compared to 21 Republican nominees. Of the prior 26 nominees, four Dems and 16 Republicans were confirmed. Of course, Bork was the one who wasn't confirmed. If people want to understand why we consistently had a conservative Supreme Court, that right there tells you it. And it's because conservatives are willing to fight in the weeds for this. Conservatives are willing to go to the mattresses for this at every point. You simply do not see conservative justices willfully retiring under Democratic administrations.

That happens now and again on the Democratic side. You see them timing their retirements, kind of with an understanding of their own mortality. It's been slower on the Democratic side for an uptake on that. And when you get to the Senate level, you see Republican senators and therefore Republican politicians fight to the last for their people. And you don't always see that the same fire and passion from Democrats. Look, the things that we're saying in terms of, you know, whoever it is, let's unite. We do not say this idly because we know what's going to happen. All right. No matter who Biden picks, we know what the Mike Lees and Josh Hawleys are going to try to do to their resumes. We know that Senator Marsha Blackburn will call Biden's nominee a criminal.

She literally just called a black judge that that Biden nominated a criminal with a rap sheet because he had a couple of moving violations, a couple of speeding tickets from literally 10 or 15 years ago. So we know that the Republican smear machine will do everything they can to smear whoever Biden picks. And unfortunately, we know that too many liberals, too many white liberals will start to play the game that they play not just with black women, but literally with any woman. They'll start to play the game of, oh, you know what? I would have supported this other woman, but not this woman, right? Oh, if he had nominated Oprah, I would have supported her. But instead, he nominated Childe. Like, whatever they're going to say, we know it's coming. And so it is important for us to be united and to defend these women, whoever the woman is,

when she is picked, because we know that they will be attacked ruthlessly by the other side. Monique, again. Can I say, I agree 100% before you ask me a question? Yep, you got it. David Nair responded to that tweet we just showed you with this tweet. Since that time, Democrats have won

more votes in 62 percent of presidential elections, but will have filled just 20 percent of Supreme Court seats. Well, and, you know, and so now we're on the popular vote. Now we're on the difference between electoral college and what it means to have the popular vote. And when we've elected presidents, we've also had popular vote and we've watched the past two Republican presidents not have it. We see what it looks like to have a Senate that is not representative of the numerical votes of the people, right? Because we saw it last week, we had 48 Democrats representing something like 40 million plus more people in the United States Senate than the 50 on the Republican side. So the numbers, because of the manner in which the constitutional system is set up,

having the numbers in and of itself, raw numbers, is not enough. And that is what has happened on the court as well. And Roland, you said that they're hoping to control the court for 50 years. Look, I think they're going to control the court for 50 years. And we knew these stakes. I agree with everything that Ellie just said. And on your show, we've been screaming for probably, you know, since News 1 nowadays, so six, seven years, we've been saying, but the courts, but the courts, but the courts, because the Republicans have been fighting the fights that matter for a long-term strategy of deteriorating civil rights and of increasing their own power and increasing their own economic footing. So the oldest person on the court right now is the one who's about to retire. That's Justice Breyer. I believe he's 83.

The next one, Clarence Thomas, is 73 years old, and Alito's 71, and everybody else after that is in their 60s, 50s, and 40s. Well, Thomas is 73. I think Alito is 70. Yes. And Roberts is 65. 71. Right.

So that's what I'm saying. And 73 is not old. And 71 is younger. You know what I'm saying? Right. So we're looking at at least a strong stretch of 10 plus years. Right. Maybe more.

And the minute there's another Republican president, then, you know, a healthy Thomas, a healthy Alito can retire. So this is where we are. So I agree with Ellie. People better not be out here saying I want this one and I want that one and this black woman, but not that black woman. Enough. Don't do it. Don't do it now. Don't do it later. That's why he has his list. That's more black women. You know that. Then. Right. Right. First of all, he's picked 24 black judges this year. Eight of them women in his first year. The thing here, the thing here.

Again, what we talk about on the show all the time is that elections matter. Dr. Hill, when you look at the time is that elections matter, Dr. Hill. And when you look at the elections, the elections are very simple. And that is you replace Breyer, conservatives still hold a 6-3 lead. Let's say Thomas retires. Okay, even if Democrats are still in the White House, it's now 5-4. And so now you get to Alito, who's 71. So to that particular point, you know, controlling the courts, you're talking about, yes, another, you know, 10, 15, potentially 20 years where you

will have that. That's if, again, if Democrats still control the White House. Republican wins in 2024. Oh, they're going to, Republicans win, let me be real clear. If a Republican wins in 2024, oh, they're going to, Republicans win, let me be real clear, if a Republican wins in 2024, Thomas and potentially Alito will retire to allow them to appoint a conservative judge who's anywhere from 45 to 50 years old. Yes, yes. And, you know, I mean, this is something that we should not be surprised about. They have been planning and they want to make sure that they stay in control and stay in control for a long time. And we just have to, you know, again, we have to make sure that we support whoever is nominated and that we again, you know, keep our voices high and pay attention to what's going on and get as many black people, black women specifically, in any position to make these decisions.

It's critical for us. And I know, Ellie, this tweet I'm about to show is going to drive you absolutely out of your mind. I think you've already commented on that. This is what Senator Dianne Feinstein, the former chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, said. She doesn't see a rush to confirm a Breyer replacement. With six months until Justice Breyer departs the court,

the Senate Judiciary Committee will have ample time to hold hearings on President Biden's nominee. Let's keep in mind, it was one month. Amy Coney Barrett was nominated on September 26th to fill the seat of the late Ruth Bader Ginsburg. She was confirmed one month later, nine days before the election. This whole talk about, oh, we got time. No, Senator Feinstein, you don't. You're 84. Lee Hay also is older as well. Democrats got a 50-50 right now. Okay? Anything happens to one Democratic

United States Senator, oh, all this goes up in the air. I saw another report where it says Democrats have made it clear. No, no, no, no, no. We're going to get this done in a month. And my whole deal is she should be confirmed and sworn in no later than April 1st.

Well, he said he's going to serve his term. He's going to finish his term, he said. He can finish his term, but you can still confirm her. Go ahead, Ellie. It is insane how there are some Democrats who still want to play by the old rules that Mitch McConnell has lit on fire. Like when we talk about this generational Republican control of the Supreme Courts, yes, that's true if you don't expand the courts, which we absolutely should, because we can't take 50 years of Republicans controlling the courts. I don't just mean that from a racial justice perspective or a social justice perspective. I mean, the planet cannot

take another 50 years of Republicans controlling the court and stopping any meaningful legislation against climate change. So Democrats have to really get with the program. I know that Chuck Schumer has said that we will do this quickly. I would expect Biden's schedule to give the State of the Union on March 1. I expect that he will have this person announced by then, might even use the State of the Union to announce her, and that we will have the hearings over the spring. And as you say, Breyer said he's going to finish out the term. But the day that term is over, this next person is going to be ready to step in, pre-confirmed, and ready to step in to his shoes.

This is just some, it has to happen this way, because the reality is, and again, this is not of the Democrats doing. These are the rules as given to us by Mitch McConnell. I mean, it's as simple as that. McConnell has proven it, and then expand the court to claw back the ill-gotten gains that he's already banked. First of all, y'all too nice. Candace, damn announcing by March 1st. I ain't waiting that long, okay? It's January 26th. You know they've already been sitting here vetting folks.

Now announce that sucker doing Black History Month and then get them confirmations. If he going to speak to Congress on March 1st, talk that damn confirmation hearing on March 2nd. That's a Wednesday. Get this sucker done by April 1st. Boom. She can raise her. She can raise her hand. She confirmed y'all. Y'all waiting too damn long. Yeah, I think it's too long to roll. And, you know, people are talking behind the scenes now to figure out how do we make this go a little quicker? If Justice Breyer said that he was going to finish out his term, so be it. He can change his mind. And I think that it is best that he changes his mind to get a new person in there.

So people understand that the Democrats are playing and that they're not playing before midterms. I think that one thing that is important to remember is that the rules that McConnell set down in order to get Amy Coney Barrett in, these are the rules that at least the Democrats get to play by in terms of making sure that their nomination, nominee is confirmed. So in terms of, you know, he got rid of the filibuster rule when it comes to Supreme Court justices, well, that will play in the Democrats' favor now. Anything that played in the favor of Amy Coney Barrett will now play in the favor of the nominee that President Biden makes. So with that in mind, the quicker the better. Why would we wait? As you said, so much could happen when we wait. With this 50-50 split

Senate, Kamala being the deciding vote, one person can make all the difference in terms of just upsetting the balance. Why not do it now and get it out of the way? Tick-tock. There's a calendar that we need to beat here. Dean Lewis is back. Dean Lewis, glad to have you. So, again, what we're dealing with here, and I make this point all the time, and people sit here and they, oh man.

And I love these people who say, Roland, why are you always trying to push folks, push us vote Democrat? No, I'm looking at policy. And when I look at policy, Republicans have made it perfectly clear the kind of judges they want. They have, the Federalist society was created. It was created to utilize the, quote, elite institutions to bring in hard right people to serve as clerks, to graduate, to then put on the bench. And so when you see Kavanaugh, when you see Gorsuch, when you see Amy Coney Barrett, when you see all of them, this is a system that they put in place to do this very same thing, because they are still pissed off

with Brown vs. Board of Education. They're one and two. They're pissed off with what took place during the Civil Rights Movement. And so people out here who keep saying, man, this stuff don't matter, these are individuals who outlast multiple presidents. Folk got to understand why it matters when you vote how the Supreme Court comes into play.

Exactly. And they impact every aspect of your life. Supreme Court is the most powerful body in the country because they make decisions that impact education, impact health issues, what you do with your body. And like you say, they're supposed to be not political, but they are political and have lifetime appointments. That's a lot of power to give to nine people

who do not look like society. They don't reflect the diversity at any level in society. Look, it is what we're dealing with here. It really is monumental, monumental. Dr. Hill, how in your estimation, how must this be conveyed to the average voter, what Dean Lewis, what she just said, in terms of getting people to understand that you may not think these nine folks in those black robes don't impact your life, but there is nothing in your life that they don't make decisions on. I think it's a lack of understanding how government works. Some people miss that when they took that government class in college about how the system works and not understanding that these people make decisions that affect our lives.

And if they're going to be there for 50 years, they will also affect our children and our grandchildren's lives. So we have to educate us on what it means when someone is appointed to the Supreme Court, because those are decisions. When is it the high court? My goodness.

We just we have to be better educated. And I think those of us who know have to make sure that we teach teach others. But we got to start with educating Congress. I mean, the like I'll I'll I'll make fun of people who don't understand the courts, but we got to start making fun of the people who don't understand the courts that are elected to Congress, who don't understand how the courts work, who often don't understand how their legislation can be vetoed by a John Roberts or a Sam Alito. Quite frankly, the Democratic Party as an institution has never respected the awesome power of the Supreme Court

in the way that Republicans do. And so the Republican politician is the person who is the vanguard, who is out there explaining to the Republican base, look, the courts are important because anything that the Republican base voter wants, the Republican politician ties to the Supreme Court. Hey, you don't like it when gay people have rights? You got to give me the Supreme Court. Hey, you don't like it when Black people seem to have money? Well, you got to give me the Supreme Court. They say that to their voters, whereas Democratic politicians do not make that one-to-one connection to our base voters of what the Supreme Court does and can do, because frankly, too many of them don't understand it themselves.

We want to think that all we got to do is elect a president and everything's going to be fine. And it doesn't work that way. And so you have to start with educating like actual Congress and then have the Congress people be the ones on the front lines educating the rest of the people about how important this institution is.

Well, actually, that was one of the things in 2016, Monique, that I was doing. I was sitting there going, look, I don't give a damn how you feel about Hillary Clinton. I'm telling you who she's going to appoint, which is why. He tried to tell them. Which is why. Which is why.

And look, I'll tell y'all right now, there's a reason, you know, I don't get no Christmas cards and get no invites to nothing Obama does. Because I was hardcore in 2016 when Alito passed away about Obama needing to appoint a black woman. I personally felt, and look, Hillary Clinton could have always lost to Donald Trump. I personally felt that had Obama nominated a black woman instead of Merrick Garland, knowing full well the Republicans were never going to even give that person a hearing,

that it would have set up this amazing contrast, this historic appointment of a black woman being blocked by a bunch of largely old white men who were Republicans. Folks would have been pissed off for nine months, would have been on fire. No, he appoints Merrick Garland. And I'm sorry, in the history of the United States Supreme Court, there have been 115 justices, 108 white men. Wasn't nobody about to go out and fight for another white dude? And so they weren't. I mean, you know, we've disagreed as many times as we can possibly disagree on that. I was just on live the other night talking about what an incredible disrespect it was to not just the presidency of Barack Obama, but to the voters who put in the hands of the president the responsibility for selecting the person who is nominated to the Supreme Court.

And then we, the people who actually vote and say we want a president who's going to be able to make that decision, then don't want to back the decision if it's not the person that we want and we're not willing to go all out. We should have been going to the mattresses over that nominee in that disrespect of our vote in our democracy, no matter who the nominee was. And if we had to be tickled with color, tickled with race, tickled with emotion, shame on us. It wasn't gonna happen either way, though. I'm persuaded that because of when the opening came and Mitch McConnell's decision-making,

it wasn't gonna happen either way, but all of the rage that we should have had, we should have had no matter who the first Black president of the United States said he wanted to be his choice. Here's the deal, though. I'm going to bring Ellie in candidacy, Dr. Hillian, but here's the deal, okay? I get all of that.

I also understand hardcore basic politics. I also understand framing. I understand imagery. And the bottom line is this here. It would have been hell for Republicans to justify completely ignoring a black woman for nine months, which is why, Ellie, when Obama, excuse me, when Biden was running,

that was the reason why he said, my first Supreme Court pick is going to be a black woman. That was a political, that was a political calculation. You got it. You can't live in this world of, oh, no, it's not politics. Pick the Supreme Court justice. It is. Ellie, Candace, Dr. Hill, go. Hey, both of y'all being too nice because I would have nominated whoever I had and just had him show up at the Supreme Court and have Roberts arrest him. Like, just show up to work.

That's who I was. Number one. Number two, look, let's remember, Kentucky Brown Jackson, finalist for that Merrick Garland appointment. So to bring it kind of back full circle, if she gets it now, there would be some poetic sweet justice in that she was in the room at the end for that appointment. Hopefully she gets it this time.

And if not, again, there is a deep bench of great people that Biden can choose. She was in the room at the time. But again, we know who he picked. I'm just simply saying. But Candace, Biden made a political calculation when he said during the campaign, I am going to pick a black woman. The reason I was saying that for Obama, because I said, look, he appoints a black woman. When I had Hillary Clinton on time during the morning show and asked her the question, she had to say, yeah, if that person doesn't get confirmed, I'm going to reappoint them. So you pretty much locked it in. That's right. Listen, as much as we've talked about the Democrats not planning, Joe Biden planned that. Like you said, he knew exactly what he was doing to get the attention of black women who know how to get

out there and vote and do exactly what we need to do for the democratic process. At this point, I'm thinking, why not look at Kamala? Why don't we look at Vice President Kamala Harris to get out the message about the importance of the Supreme Court? She's a Black woman, right? So she's the one who could probably convey a strong message about what it means to have someone in that seat and what it means literally for generations to come. So, you know, I think that being said, I think she's the one to do the job. That's my final word on that.

Dr. Hill, literally, while all these folks, like, you know, all these other people out here, everybody got, like, that little trash, little childhood on Fox and the rest of these people running around here talking about, oh, you shouldn't be picking, you shouldn't be basing things on race and gender. I'm like,

that's what y'all white folks been doing for forever. So don't all of a sudden act like when we have a conversation, like, you ain't done that. You know, we gotta stop being scared. We don't need to go to church with that. We gotta stop being scared. We gotta

be purposeful, and we have to use our voices. I keep saying this because it's so important. You know, young people are paying attention. And so they need to know how to speak up, when to speak up. They need to understand how the system works and then how it has to work for us. But we see other folks doing that, you know, and I will tell my colleagues, you know, that we have to

understand that white people have been doing stuff, and it's been oh, it's okay, but when black folk do it, well, you're a criminal, you haven't been doing this, you're out of line. No, no, no, we have to begin to speak up, not be scared, and, you know, support each other, and do it without apologizing.

Well, I just think, again, I think what happens is for a lot of people, Dean Lewis, they get caught up in this whole thing of, you know, oh, you know, let me go through this whole piece. No, this right here is literally my response to any of these people who are whining and complaining about Biden potentially picking a black woman. Exactly. A control room. I'm trying to wake up. Thank you. Let's go.

Show it. Yep. That's it right there. It's the Chris Tucker wave from Friday. Whatever. I ain't even, I ain't even, I ain't even this with this here. Hold on. No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no,

Dean Lewis, go. Yeah, I agree wholeheartedly. And one thing that people fail to realize in this whole situation, less than 5% of lawyers are black. So you're talking about somebody who is in a small class of elite class to be on the Supreme Court is almost, you know, like getting a grain of salt on a beach. So I think that we have to be unapologetically supportive of a black woman on the Supreme Court. Everybody else is unapologetically. I mean, the Republicans are very clear about who they want on the court.

And they do it without shame. And they don't have to apologize. And I agree, we need to stop being scared and just say it is what it is. Elliot, now you've got to do another network. Your final comment. I just couldn't be more excited for the deepness of the bench.

And again, I say this all the time because it really is amazing to me. The quality of legal decisions, the legal writing that we have from the potential shortlist candidates is amazing. Leandra Kruger, just one of the more eloquent advocates you'll ever meet. Judge Childs has this amazing personal story of really lifting other people up. One judge we haven't talked about, Judge Jackson Akume. She is a former federal defender, a former federal public defender, which is a kind of experience that we usually don't get on the Supreme Court. Whoever Biden picks, it's going to be a great choice. And of course, Ellie just tweeted this,

which I think is hilarious. I think you just tweeted this. Ellie tweeted, y'all, watching Senator Tim Scott vote against the first black woman Supreme Court nominee is going to be something else, doubly so when Lindsey Graham votes for her. 100. Yes. Yes. Watch that happen. Watch that happen. Lindsey Graham voted for Contagi Brown Jackson for the district court. Tim Scott did not. Watch it happen again. All right. I got to go. Ellie, I appreciate it. Thanks a lot, Monique. Go ahead. No, agree 100%. And I hadn't seen that tweet from him, but it is so 100% on target. And you know, I a number of times now have had the misfortune to be in the room with both of them in conversations. And I have never been so wrong about the way I pegged anything in terms of who I thought would be genuine and who wasn't,

who I thought would have an understanding, not just of the law, because Lindsay obviously is a former lawyer turned senator, but also an understanding of process and why things are important and who didn't, and someone who actually backs up what they say with action. And so, you know, I'm not by any stretch of the imagination in the Lindsey Graham fan club, but just as Ellie mentioned, when these votes matter, he still keeps sticking them over here, understanding the importance of civil rights, of some unfettered process where police misconduct is concerned. And when it doesn't go right, they blame everything on Tim Scott, and he's perfectly willing to be that person.

So we are, just like what we had to watch the mess last week with his speech on the floor, with Tim Scott's speech on the floor, we're about to see more of the same. We're about to see that say no to his own mama. And also what we're looking at, Candace, again, we're going to be seeing some of these stories, but one of the women that apparently is on the short list, she's out of South Carolina,

she actually has her confirmation hearing next week for a higher position in the federal judiciary. And you know what? This is great. I think because all eyes will be on her so that we can get a sense of who she is, get a little precursor, an introduction about the type of woman that we are going to see in this process. And as you said, it's good for her to have that leg up, especially if she doesn't have that Ivy League background, which we're so used to. But I just want to say one thing. We were talking before about people getting to know the process. I think during this time, during COVID, people are really more aware of the judicial process and what the court system means. Because when it comes to masks, when it comes to having, you know, a rent abatement stop,

when it comes to things that have to do with COVID, all eyes have been on the Supreme Court for the past couple of years during COVID. And I do think at least with that, people are paying more attention. And like you said, people will be paying attention next week, especially after now that Stephen Breyer has made this announcement. And Dr. Hill, if you are Senator Joe Manchin and Senator Kristen Sinema, or you a Democrat, you better tread real lightly when it comes to who this sister that gets picked. Right. You know, I think they just, you know, I don't know what's wrong with them,

but they are doing a big disservice to the people that they claim to serve. And so it would be interesting to watch to see how they proceed on this as well. Definitely. Well, I'll tell you what, Dean Lewis, there's no doubt that whoever President Biden picks, the black legal

community is going to be out in full force, making it clear to any United States senator to stand with this pick. And I dare say, black folks put pressure. I don't care if your senators are Republicans. Put pressure on them as well. Definitely.

The black women deans, we have the all-time number of black women deans. We have 27. And we will be doing a joint statement. We will be putting pressure on everybody to make sure that they support this nominee. And I'll tell you one person who is going to be in the hot seat. He is from your state, Senator Richard Burr, because he's retiring and you've got that open seat. You've got the former Supreme Court justice of North Carolina, Sherry Beasley, who was running to get the Democratic nomination.

And so if you are Senator Richard Burr, and you're the Republicans who are trying to replace him, how they come down could also have an impact on black voter turnout in North Carolina in the fall. And this is how I'm connecting the dots. Because if you're in Wisconsin, Senator Ron Johnson plans to run for re-election. This is going to be, again, one of those issues

that Mandela Barnes, who is the lieutenant governor, who's trying to get the Democrat nomination, is going to be an issue. Pennsylvania, same thing. Pat Toomey is stepping down. How is Senator Marco Rubio going to vote running against Congresswoman Val Demings in Florida? How will Portman vote, who's retiring in Ohio, will impact that Senate race as well? Then, of course, how will Rand Paul vote, who's running against Charles Booker? So again, I'm laying out how the Supreme Court,

this pick, could have implications on those U.S. Senate races in the fall, which will further determine who controls the Senate after the midterms. Look out for all of that. Dean Lewis, North Carolina Central. I rocked y'all's shirt yesterday. I should have worn a shirt today, but I had your sweater on yesterday.

I certainly appreciate you joining us. Thanks a bunch. Look forward to y'all's shirt yesterday. I should have worn a shirt today, but I had your sweater on yesterday. I certainly appreciate you joining us. Thanks a bunch. Look forward to having you back. Very good. Thanks for having me. All right. Ellie, Mr. of course, for the nation. Ellie had to slip away as well. All right, y'all. We ain't done with legal stuff. After this break, we're going to talk about

a huge decision out of Alabama that said, oh, y'all want to screw black voters? Federal judges said, nope, ain't going to happen. We'll talk with the lawyers from the NAACP Legal Defense Fund about that critical victory. Of course, it's not over, but we will talk about it. You're watching Roland Martin Unfiltered right here on the Black Star Network. Norske Kulturskapet Don't you think it's time to get wealthy? I'm Deborah Owens, America's Wealth Coach, and my new show on the Black Star Network focuses on the things your financial advisor or bank isn't telling you. So watch Get Wealthy on the Black Star Network.

We're all impacted by the culture, whether we know it or not. From politics to music and entertainment, it's a huge part of our lives. And we're going to talk about it every day, right here on The Culture with me, Faraji Muhammad, only on the Black Star Network. -♪ -♪ -♪ Hello, everyone. It's Kiara Sheard. I'm going to be a little bit more aggressive. I'm going to be a little bit more aggressive. I'm going to be a little bit more aggressive. I'm going to be a little bit more aggressive.

Hello, everyone. It's Kiara Sheard. Hey, I'm Taj. I'm Coco. And I'm Lele. And we're SWB. What's up, y'all? It's Ryan Destiny.

And you're watching Roland Martin Unfiltered. All right, folks. Nashim Toney has been missing for more than a week from Norfolk, folks. Nashim Toney has been missing for more than a week from Norfolk, Virginia. The 13-year-old is 5 feet 7 inches tall, weighs 150 pounds, with black hair and brown eyes. When Nashim disappeared, he was wearing army green pants, a red hoodie pullover, a blue zip-up hoodie, white and black high-top shoes. Anyone with information on Nashim, please call the Norfolk Police Department at 75 white and black high-top shoes. Anyone with information on the sheen, please call the Norfolk Police Department at 757-664-7000, 757-664-7000. Now, we've been telling you on this show how Republicans have been using gerrymandering in order to further

their control of the United States House. I've said it a lot, that they could literally, literally take control of the United States House before a single vote is cast based upon gerrymandering. But one of the ways they have been doing that is essentially packing African Americans into one district. Give an example. In South Carolina, Congressman Jim Clyburn's district is plus 17 African-American. In South Carolina, they actually redid his district. It's now plus 34. Why does that matter? The other 17, they took it out of another district to actually make it more in favor

of a Republican versus the Democrats. Well, Alabama, same drama there. Federal judges blocked Alabama from using newly drawn congressional districts in upcoming elections. Folks, the three judge panel concluded the state should have two districts, two majority black districts, or two districts with a sizable portion of the black electorate. Do you know what I mean? Now, to talk about this decision is a counsel for the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Catherine Sadassivan, hopefully I pronounced that correct, who litigated this case. Catherine, glad to have you here. And this is the thing that we try to use this show as Civics 101 to get people to understand all these different games that are being played.

And talk about what they did there in Alabama, because somebody may say, well, hey, what's the big deal? That guarantees an African-American from Alabama, but it lessens the power of black voters to impact two districts, two seats, not one. Thanks, Roland. Thanks so much for having us. So as I'm sure you know, this is a huge win for all Alabamians, for all people whose cause is justice and those who remain, despite the political climate, committed to bipartisanship. This was, of course, Alabama's first redistricting process without the protections, the full protections of the Voting Rights Act, Section 5. And as a result, the legislature did not take its obligations under the Voting Rights Act particularly seriously. In a one-week special session. Culminating on November 4th, the legislature passed a congressional redistricting map that, as you mentioned, packed Black voters across the Black Belt in Congressional Districts 1, 2, cracked Black voters across Congressional Districts 1, 2, and 3, and then packed Black voters into Congressional District 7. This decision, however, will require the Alabama legislature,

which has until February 11th, to draw a new map that complies with the Voting Rights Act, Section 2, and ensures that there is a black voting age population majority in at least two U.S. congressional districts. So right now, Congresswoman Terri Sewell is the only African-American in the least two U.S. congressional districts. So right now, Congresswoman Terry Sewell is the only African-American in the Alabama congressional delegation. And so with this ruling, does that mean that potentially, depending upon who runs, there could be two African-Americans from Alabama in Congress? That's exactly right, Roland. And it's important to say from the outset that Alabama, since Reconstruction, has only ever elected a Black member of Congress from that single congressional district from which Terry

Sewell currently represents. And it was only after litigation under the Voting Rights Act that that district was created as a majority Black district to ensure that, despite the racially polarized nature of Alabama's politics and voting accordingly, that black candidates could win an election to congressional office. So, yes, now, as a result of the court's decision, which, of course, the state of Alabama is appealing, wasting tons of taxpayer money, despite the fact that this is a bipartisan decision, although it is a federal court. And, of course, one would hope that it would be not partisan. These were two, a three-judge panel of two recently appointed

Trump appointees and a Reagan appointee who took the time, seven days of trial, to really listen to the case that the plaintiffs in Milligan and our wonderful partners across Alabama, alongside the Legal Defense Fund, put together in a seven-day hearing in January. And luckily, the court was able to hear the evidence, review the mountains of evidence and the experts that we put on and came to the result that this was the quintessential case of a Section 2 vote dilution violation of the Voting Rights Act Act and that it wasn't even a close case. I'm sure my panel is ready for some questions, especially my two lawyers. Candace Kelly, I'll start with you.

Well, I'm just wondering how you feel about the fact that there were two Trump appointees that were on this case that decided that this violated the Voting Rights Act? What does that say for the future when we think about a Trump appointee and any Republican appointee? Even they recognize that this was a violation of the Voting Rights Act. You know, I think that's a great question. It's something that we will continue to harken back to as we continue to push forward in the courts. Of course, LDF is committed to continuing to fight black voter suppression and all methods of injustice in the courts, despite the kind of turn of the federal judiciary recently. And I think this case, we put together an extremely compelling case. You know, I don't think, I don't emphasize the hundreds of pages of briefing that we put in, the numerous experts and expert testimony that the court

considered. And of course, this is not something that we can continue or that Black voters or the Black voting public should be continued to force, be forced to undertake in order to get some measure of justice. So, you know, it is a huge and important win. It is a recognition on the part of, you know, even some partisan members of the judiciary. And, you know, I don't mean to suggest these judges were partisan, but it is, you know, a bipartisan decision that reflects kind of the overall strength of the case and the nonpartisan nature of the cause that we put forward. That being said, it was a tremendous effort, and the black voting public cannot continue to shoulder the costs of bringing this kind of litigation and the time and resources necessary to bring it. It's why it's critical that we have federal legislation that ensures that this kind of protection is available on the front end as opposed to kind of on the back end through litigation. Monique? Yeah, absolutely. I was thinking about when the

VRA was gutted and when the court said, that court, which of course is not this one, said that there's a remedy that it can be fixed in the legislature where it belongs, that the law can be crafted and tailored such that the concerns that they raised can be addressed. Are you concerned, though, with the court as it's composed now, that even when you win in lower courts that all it takes is some money and some willpower for people to keep appealing to the Supreme Court and that now we will end up with a Supreme Court that is unfavorable no matter how obvious and plain the racism or the discriminatory effect or intent is in these cases? That is another fantastic question, and you all are probably, you know, as well positioned or better to answer these questions than I am. But, you know, I think that the Supreme Court's

authority is greatly undermined when it engages in judicial activism. The Supreme Court's democracy jurisprudence, in particular, has, I think, undermined confidence of the American public in the court's impartiality. And the court in particular in the voting rights sphere with its decisions in Shelby County versus Holder gutting the protections of Section 5 in states like Alabama and the court's recent decision in Brnovich v. Democratic National Committee weakening Section 2's protection of black communities in vote denial cases, not vote dilution cases. But I think Milliken, this case that we're talking about exemplifies how racial discrimination

in voting creates unique blockages in the ordinary majoritarian political process that the federal courts are actually uniquely positioned to address. And I think for public confidence in the impartiality of the Supreme Court itself, it's really critical that the court takes this opportunity to consider the merits, because there will be an appeal to the Supreme Court and that it declines to engage in the judicial activism it has in the past to not continue to prevent Black voters from engaging in the American political process. Dr. Hill. Yes, we need you in Texas because we are having issues where, you know, yeah. But what do you think that the outcome will be if this will affect other states?

So what will the impact of this case be in similar lawsuits that I'm sure y'all are undertaking in other states? You know, we are continuing to fight to ensure this decision and the court's remedy continues. So our, you know, kind of first, at least my first cause of action is to ensure that this decision stays and that to the extent possible we do everything that we can to not allow the Supreme Court to use this opportunity to engage in judicial activism to gut protections designed to protect black voters. But more broadly, we are considering how this should be an example in other states. I think we have seen the kind of arguments that certain state legislatures put forward to justify packing and cracking Black voters and to claim that compliance with the Voting Rights Act in creating majority Black districts is actual racial gerrymandering, which it is not. And so I think we are better prepared to deal with what is to come. I think we have good case law, good facts, good people in our team.

And, you know, the LDF, the Legal Defense Fund, is in this fight, and we are ready to continue to carry it forward, both myself and my many wonderful colleagues. All right, Catherine, we appreciate it. Thank you so very much. And as I always used to tell Kristen Clark, which ran the Lawyers Committee, always you gotta let people know how they can support the work of the LDF. Absolutely, thank you so much for having me.

I really appreciate it. To support us, I think, just keep following us, keep donating to black owned businesses and, you know, contacting your senators and asking for them to really stop blocking voting rights progress. Catherine, you've got to give your website to donate. I'm trying to help you. I have you the same thing to Christian. All that you said is fine. But you've got to get an LDF website and say, hit that donate button. That's right, Mike. I have much

less experience than Ms. Clark. So, NAACPLDF.org. We look forward to seeing your donation and hearing from you soon. Thank you so much. Every time you do TV, hit that donate, Catherine. I appreciate it. Thanks a lot. Yes, sir. Thank you. Thank you very much.

And yes, I'm about to send Damon Hewitt a text message because he didn't do the same damn thing earlier. I'm telling y'all, I'm trying to let them know how you do this thing. All right, y'all. I got to go to a break. We come back. Man, wait till I show y'all. This idiot who

DeSantis picked to be the Surgeon General of Florida. Oh, my God, how stupid this man is. Wait until you see this answer when it came to vaccines. We'll also talk about this important project with former Congress in dealing with the issue of brains and working with Africans as well. So it's a great project they're working on. I'm going to unveil it to you. So I've got lots to discuss, folks.

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CREDITS. CREDITS. CREDITS. CREDITS. CREDITS. CREDITS. I'm sorry. ТРЕВОЖНАЯ МУЗЫКА I'm Deborah Owens, America's Wealth Coach, and my new show, Get Wealthy, focuses on the things that your financial advisor and bank isn't telling you, but you absolutely need to know. So watch Get Wealthy on the Blackstar Network. We're all impacted by the culture, whether we know it or not. From politics to music and entertainment, it's a huge part of our lives. And we're going to talk about it every day right here on The Culture with me, Faraji Muhammad, only on the Blackstar Network. Alright folks, if y'all want to deal with, if y'all want to see Stuck on Stupid, Florida Democrats, y'all, just got tired of it. They walked out of a contentious confirmation hearing

for Dr. Joseph Ladapo, who was nominated by Governor Ron DeSantis to be the Florida Surgeon General. an intense confirmation hearing for Dr. Joseph Ladapo, who was nominated by Governor Ron DeSantis to be the Florida Surgeon General. Democrats' frustrations rapidly grew as Ladapo forced lengthy circular responses where he wouldn't directly answer the questions about his background and the state's response to the pandemic.

Five times, State Senator Lauren Book asked Ladapo if vaccines worked against the coronavirus. He just refused to say. What's this stupidity? I believe that vaccines in fighting against a pandemic like COVID-19 are effective. I recognize. Thank you for your question, Senator. So, again, I would say that the question is a scientific one, and it's one that is informed by data on, you know, on specific outcomes and specific therapies. So that's the scientific question.

Mr. Chair, just a couple more follow-ups. Just a yes or no. Do vaccines work in fighting against COVID-19? Yes or no? You're recognized. Senator, as a scientist, I am compelled to answer the scientific question, and I'd be happy to answer any specific scientific question that you have related to vaccines and COVID-19.

Scientifically, do vaccines, does the, do the vaccines work against preventing COVID-19? Yes or no? Recognized. Okay. Oh, thank you again, Senator. So, you know, yes or no questions are not that, that easy to find in science.

So I understand. I think I have better clarity about your question at this point. the Pfizer product and the product that was developed by Moderna have been shown to have relatively high effectiveness for the prevention of hospitalization. After the walkout, the Senate Health Policy Committee voted without its Democratic members to recommend that Joseph LaDop will be confirmed as Florida Surgeon General. I mean, how stupid can we be, Monique? I mean, this Republicans don't care, but this, oh, it's a scientific question. So I'm going to give you a scientific answer. No. Yes or no.

No. Yes or no. No. I mean, I kept giggling because that all the things that we try not to say about black folks when it's hand bone, hand bone. That's that's what that was. And I don't believe at all that it had to do with stupidity. I think it had to do with the fact that he knew that he was in there to get that job because the Republicans who were willing to give it to him would not at all permit him to say what is true of course vaccines work he could have qualified his answer but he was so on pins and needles so you know just throat chakra all all tied up um unable to have an ounce of to show an ounce of training or intelligence or even sign. I mean, she handed him his Heim parts because he had to stand there and be absurd in order to get through and vote. They told him, just don't answer it. Don't say anything good about vaccines. Don't say anything good about boosters. Don't say anything good about any way that anything is improving.

And so he was left looking like a certified fool. And he's likely not one. He's not one. No, no, no. No, he's not one. Look, he has promoted unproven treatments. He opposes

vaccine requirements. He opposes mask mandates. And Candace, we're talking about somebody who, I'm looking here, is the son of a microbiologist. There we go. Okay. Where'd he go to school? Where'd he go to school?

Wait a minute, wait a minute. Oh, oh. Got his degree in chemistry from Wake Forest. Duke got his MD from Harvard Medical School. His PhD from Harvard Graduate School. Has been in internal medicine. Worked at UCLA. And so this is somebody who was just, from Harvard Graduate School, has been in internal medicine, worked at UCLA.

And so this is somebody who was just, essentially, he's an anti-vaxxer. And so versus having the guts to say, I don't believe in these vaccines. He on the grift. He just sat here, and that's why DeSantis picked him. And to your point earlier, that's why just because somebody has an Ivy League degree

doesn't mean that they're the person for the job. And, you know, all I heard was him just saying words in a row. They just didn't even make sense. We don't have to be a public speaker necessarily to hold office, but you do have to make sense. You do have to, you know, put some meat on that bone in order for people to understand what you are saying.

Here, he was evading the question to a point, like was spoken, that it was just absurd. He stood up there and just didn't answer the question, which is the whole point of this process. And then there's some other things that matter with him. I'm not sure if we were going to talk about this whole idea of him lying, potentially being at the UCLA and treating COVID patients. And when people said, you know, who worked alongside him or didn't work alongside him said he wasn't treating COVID patients at that time. I'm not sure what he was saying, but it just didn't sound like the truth. And based upon a lot of stories that I've heard about him and his background, he doesn't seem to be a real truth teller. And we

know that because he doesn't believe that vaccinations are the right thing to do. I just, Dr. Hill, to sit there and listen to him. I'm sorry, Dr. Hill's not there. But I just, I don't know what to do. I'm sitting here going, I don't have confidence in your ass being a surgeon general of Florida. I mean, trust me, if I'm listening to that answer, I don't want his ass talking to me at all. That's just me. Alright, y'all.

But again, of course, Republicans, they support him. Folks, in the nation's capital, hundreds of high school students participated in a walkout to protest for safer learning conditions in schools. Organizers of the walkout to protest for safer learning conditions in schools. Organizers of the walkout students for safe learning are

asking the school district to provide necessities to ensure a safe learning environment. The list of demands include weekly testing for 100% of students and staff, accurate COVID data reporting, safer meals, time, spaces, provide KN95 and N95 masks, transition to virtual learning amid the latest surge in COVID protocols and HVAC ventilation systems, weekly deep cleaning,

virtual learning options for all families. The protest is the latest in the wave of walkouts by students in the cities across the nation, including Chicago, Denver, as well as Oakland. All right, folks, Wyoming County has a new sheriff who's not tolerating racism or discrimination of any kind. The first black sheriff in the state, Aaron Applehans, fired a white deputy for tormenting

and harassing a black deputy for years. The black deputy ultimately quit. Patrol Sergeant Christian Hanley tormented Corporal Jamin Johnson with racial slurs and harassment while serving as Albany County deputies from 2011-2014. Hanley also used derogatory comments towards black people. When he became Johnson's supervisor, he wrote him up for several misconduct infractions. Johnson is now suing Hanley. He now is out of a job.

And in Missouri, St. Louis County is making history with its first black police chief in a 66-year history. St. Louis County Board of Police Commissioner has appointed Kenneth Gregory, who has been the interim chief for six months, as a new leader. The 70-year-old is the department's 10th chief and first person of color to lead the St. Louis region's second largest police agency. He has worked in the department for over 40 years and has led

several departments. We also know, of course, that that particular department has been rife with racism, actually, the whole St. Louis region. So there you go. All right, folks, former Congressman Shaka Fattah of Philadelphia is leading the push for the research of African brains in October. He called for the African Brain Research Fund during the Global Neuroscience Conference. To do that, he's joined forces with an African professor. He's, first of all, former Congressman Fattah, again, as I said, founder and CEO of Fattah Neuroscience,

joins us now from Philadelphia, and Professor Ahuono, I hope I pronounced it right, founder of the Bryan Wellness Initiative. He is from New York. Glad to have you both. Shaka, I'll start with you. Where does this interest in this project come from? Well, first of all, Roland, it's a pleasure to be here, and I'm glad that you're building this network so that people who need to get information can get it and hopefully act intelligently

on it. I've been working in the field of brain science and brain health for more than a decade, and we've been focused on this question. And I spoke to the Society for Neuroscience in Africa and said that we needed to empower African scientists who are focused on brain science, brain health issues. Now, worldwide, we got a billion and a half people with a brain disease or disorder. In Africa, which is where the modern human brain emerged, we've had a dearth of investment in the resources to do, to really provide support for researchers on the continent to participate in trying to find, you know, cures and treatments and approaches, whether it's related to epilepsy or dementia, bipolar disease, schizophrenia, you run through the gambit. Africa is a place where I am confident we can make some progress.

And the leading African neuroscientist at the time running the society, Dr. Ahmadi, who's with us this evening, we've joined in a partnership so that over the next five years we're going to be working to bring resources and bring relationships between the U.S. Brain Initiative, which I launched, which is now a $2 billion effort here in the United States with another $4 billion in the pipeline, looking at mapping the human brain and trying to find the appropriate therapies for some of the challenges that we face, that we can marry up the U.S. effort, the efforts in the European Union and others, and really provide resources to a group of scientists who I think are closer to getting some answers because they're at the scene where the human brain emerged.

They're in the environment where the brain was developed. And whether it's in the plant life or in the animal life or in the therapeutics that may have been passed down by generations on the continent, there's something for us to learn. Dr. Ahmadi, Professor Ahmadi, there's somebody who's saying, okay, I don't really know how this impacts me. How so? How does this product impact an everyday person who's watching and listening?

Okay. Thank you, Ronald. What has actually happened is having run the Society of Neuroscientists, Society of the Neuroscientists of Africa for the past four years, I've had the opportunity to identify the areas and the gaps we have in assessing resources and assessing equipments that are needed critically for research that should be conducted on the African continent. We've seen colleagues move up to the north to try to engage research and partner with laboratories. But I think we're at a point where we should be having these laboratories,

we should be having these researches done on the continent. And that is where the Brain Wellness Initiative comes in. And I just consider that somebody like Chaka was in a good position from what is done in the U.S. and even in Europe and other areas to help us change this situation that we have on the continent. Questions for the panel. Candice, I'll start with you. So I'm wondering, in terms of Africa specifically and the brain research versus another continent, what would be the differences in terms of Africa specifically and why there? Well, all science comes out of a person's actual life experiences. So if you were in a situation where in your family

some particular tea or some kind of derivative of a plant was used to treat a particular type of ailment, that may lead to a pharmaceutical derivative that can be utilized for like illnesses or challenges. So in the Africa context, you have greater genetic diversity than anywhere else on the earth. That is, every other human being has 99% of their DNA is the exact same as any other person. On the continent, there's a 5% differential because that's where the human race began.

And so you have this greater diversity. A lot of the brain-related illnesses are genetic in nature. So the idea is there's 140,000 plants that need to be studied. Of the four drugs now approved, these are minor treatments, but I don't say minor. Of the four treatments authorized for Alzheimer's, two are from plants,

and both of them are from the continent. So there's reason to believe that having to do with the evolutionary conversions that would have took place in the biology at the time, that there are other answers there for us to find. Monique? Is there a way that we can ensure that still the inhabitants, the citizens of the continent and their resources aren't pillaged as they have been in times past where when things like this, the necessary work that you're doing takes hold and people figure it out. But then it seems like the people who deserve to receive

the first in line treatment don't get it. Is there a protection for that? Well, the key here is, and this is going to be African directed and African controlled research. That is the whole premise is that we don't want to have academic colonialism where, you know, someone at UCLA or someone at the University of Penn wants something studied

and they get somebody in Africa to study it. No, the idea here is to empower African neuroscientists to examine the hypothesis and theories that they have. And I want Dr. Ahmadi to address this also, because I think he'll be able to make a more even concise point on it. Yes, I think what has happened over the years is the ethical aspects in terms of

recognizing the sources, especially of some of these plants and the ideas behind that. We've come to the point where that has been protected. We've come to the point where any investigation that has to take place has to recognize the researchers who are on ground in the country. And most of the countries and most of the institutions have established IR boards that review these researchers and insist that people on the ground are involved directly. And those who are also going to be benefiting from this are informed of the processes that are involved directly, and those who are also going to be benefiting from this are informed of the processes that are involved. So we are conscious of that, and we are very particular that the research and the ideas should be done on the continent.

All right, then. Dr. Ahmadi, Shaka Fatah, gentlemen, I certainly appreciate it. Thank you so very much. Good luck with the project. Thank you, and thank you. Thank you, Roland, and thank you for the team. Thank you. I appreciate it. Thanks a bunch. All right, folks, got to go to a quick break.

We'll be back right here on Roland Martin Unfiltered on the Black Star Network. Woof! Woof! Nå er det en av de fleste stående stående i verden. Don't you think it's time to get wealthy? I'm Deborah Owens, America's Wealth Coach, and my new show on the Black Star Network focuses on the things your financial advisor or bank isn't telling you. So watch Get Wealthy on the Black Star Network. We're all impacted by the culture, whether we know it or not. From politics to music and entertainment, it's a huge part of our lives. And we're going to talk about it every day,

right here on The Culture with me, Faraji Muhammad, only on the Black Star Network. Let's trade in your broken phone for a shiny new one. You break it, we upgrade it. You dunk it, doggy bone it. Slam it, wham it, strawberry jam it, we upgrade it. Get a 5G phone on us with select plans. Every customer, current, new, or business. Because everyone deserves better. And with plans starting at just $35, better costs less than you think. Of course, every Wednesday,

we have our Tech Talk segment, where, of course, presented by Verizon, where we talk to African Americans in this space. A black-owned startup company is trying to bring intimacy back to social media. Truso, a video-based social app, creates a social environment as close to face-to-face as one can get. The app's goal is to create a safe networking space that's truly social, inclusive, and empowering for all its users. Matthew Newman is founder and CEO of Truso, and actor and entrepreneur Kareem Grimes joins us to

explain more. Okay, so what does that mean in terms of as face-to-face as possible? What is that? Good evening to you, Roland, and very happy to be here. Face-to-face simply means this, that what we found with Truso, which simply means true so, with the rise of social audio only apps, we wanted to counter that structure by implementing a video social app that brings real people together for real conversations.

We like to say that we are the virtual extension of the barbershop, the beauty shop, and the brainchild of the community. And those in the Black community, we know that what types of conversations happen in those spaces. And those are very intimate conversations. But because of the pandemic, because of quarantine,

because of social isolation, we've been isolated from those spaces that we once called home. And so we wanted to create a virtual extension of that by introducing the Truso app to the black community. All right, so this app, is it desktop based? Is it for iPads and only phone? Where can we find it?

Phenomenal question. So this will be a mobile application available from Android and iOS from Jump. So straight out the blocks, we're rolling it out to both Android and iPhone users. Okay. And so it's allowing video chatting. So as opposed to, and so up to how many people? So you take, if you look at Fanbase, if you look at Clubhouse, which has audio, Twitter has spaces, how many people can be chatting with one another video-wise? Here's the beautiful part, is that to answer that question in this way,

Roland, is that what we found was that social or audio-only apps have stages that are often crowded. So therefore, the voices of those participating aren't allowed to truly participate. And so what we've done is we've capped our stage to four people. That means up to three hosts and one participant can come up on the stage at one time. The room itself can range anywhere between 50 to 100 people to maintain the intimacy of conversation and open dialogue. Kareem, where's the app? I'm on my iPhone right now, iPad as well. Has the app launched? No, we haven't launched yet.

We're still in beta, so we're doing testing right now. So that's where we're at with it. Pretty soon we will be on iOS and as far as Android as well. Questions from our panel. I'll start with you, Candice. So can you walk me through, let's say that once you launch it, as Android as well. Questions from our panel? I'll start with you, Candice. So, can you walk me through, let's say that once you launch it, I get on,

I want to start a conversation with the community, what do I add friends, do I have to pay to be a part of this, and you mentioned a stage, so I imagine that it's kind of, you're trying to simulate maybe a conference or a panel discussion that has a real audience. What's the setup for someone like

me that comes on and wants to maybe present information to an audience? How do I build the audience and how does it work? Phenomenal question, Candice. Kareem, you want to ask a question? You can go and I'll add on. Okay, perfect. Candice, thank you very much for that question. So essentially the structure of our app is this. When you log on to Truso, you will immediately be directed to a dashboard. and wellness tips, small business and entrepreneurship, those types of communities and conversations are happening. Once you choose your community or the conversation that you want to be a part of, you jump into that community. We refer to them as communities, not rooms. And so if you as a host want to participate in or present information, you would sign up as a Community Plus member. And everyone currently within our protected network of beta testers and early adopters

will have an opportunity to experience the app as a Community Plus member for free for life. Because those are the folks that we want to engage with to learn how we can continue to improve that app for generations to come. Candice, your question. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. No, that was kidding. No, no, my bag.

Monique, your question. I'm sitting here looking at it because we just got Dr. Hill back. So we're just, we had it off. What's your question? Candice, do we all look alike? No. Dr. Hill, you know what? Dr. Hill, what's your question? Candace, do we all look alike? No. Dr. Hill, you know what? Dr. Hill, what's your question? Dr. Hill, what's your question? This is Monique. I want to run

her mouth. Dr. Hill, what's your question? I'm really intrigued. I'm an Android user, so I always have issues. But with this app, I can just have conversations with my friends or is it both video and audio? Can I take it with me? Is it going to be reliable?

Yes. So with TrueSoul, we're rolling out on iOS, iPhone, as well as Android. In the beginning, Clubhouse didn't do that. You only had to have an iPhone to be able to get on there. But with Truso, you will be able to get on your Android. Just as you would take your cell phone any and everywhere, you can be able to log on to Truso and join a community or start a community yourself. So it will be, and you also have the option of audio and video. So if you don't want to be seen, you can go in and simply cut your camera off and then you use audio. And if you do want to, you know, be able to be seen, then you can just cut your camera on and you have that.

So you do have two options. So when are y'all rolling this out? Right now we're in beta phase number two. We'll roll it out to the general public on the Android, on the Google Play Store as well as the Apple App Store in more than likely the middle part of February. We want to make sure that we tackle Black History Month and introduce this during a prominent time for us as a black community. All right, then. Gentlemen, I appreciate it. Look forward to checking out the

app when you launch it. Thank you very much. Appreciate you, man. Thank you. Thank you. Appreciate it. Monique, you don't get a question. All right, y'all. Former Baltimore Mayor Catherine Pugh is out of prison. According to the Bureau of Prisons, Pugh left the Alabama prison where she served a 36-month sentence about 12 months earlier than the expected release date. The former mayor of Baltimore was convicted for using fraudulent book sales to funnel illegal donations to her campaign and evade taxes in 2020. So I'm quite sure she is happy to be back at home. All right, y'all.

I am. We've been. So yesterday on the show, if y'all saw, I had some lessons, if you will, for Dan Bongino, who is a conservative radio talk show host. He's really an amateur. And so he was a little bit upset because I took issue to when I said that he was leaving Twitter. He was leaving YouTube, and I tweeted that him leaving YouTube was like a pimple on an elephant's ass. It's really irrelevant. So Dan was angry, calling it censorship and misinformation.

So, y'all, here's what he did. So YouTube hit him with a strike. He then loaded the same lie on another channel of his. YouTube said, no, player, they ain't how this work. So, they have now banned Dan Bongino for life from YouTube. Now, he has something like 800,000 subscribers. And so, now the conservatives have created this other video program called Rumble that's sort of closer to, like similar to YouTube.

It's got like 30 million users already and they've been trumpeting that. And he talked about he's an investor in the company. But the thing here that I find to be hilarious, I find to be hilarious, Candace, all of these Republicans, they keep hollering, oh, censorship. Here's the deal. Take your ass to your own platform. I mean, it's simple. If you're so mad, angry, and upset about Facebook or Twitter or YouTube, just take your monkey ass on to another platform. And on top of that, Roland, there are rules that YouTube has, and so

you have to follow them. If not, you get removed off of YouTube. So why he wouldn't follow that, I don't know. You can't just go out there and tell lies in order to get clicks. That's how a lot of people do it, but ask Cardi B, right? She took somebody to court because of the exact same thing that we're talking about.

Lies on YouTube, and she won her case. So a lot of people, I think, will find themselves in this position that they think they can do one thing on YouTube, but it's a whole different story. You cannot say what you want, which is why he should go to his own platform. But here's the funny part, Bonita.

So, Jason Miller, the dude who worked for Trump, he started his own social platform called Getter, also the one who wouldn't pay his child support when he had an affair with AJ Delgado, who was on the campaign of Trump. She had a baby, but he won't pay the money. He's been hiding his money.

Yeah, I threw it out there because his ass is trifling. So he created a platform supposedly to allow free speech. They have a policy where you can't do whatever. So when they banned some white supremacists, he got jammed up. When Trump announced his little fake-ass platform that lasted about six days, they had power. The bottom line is this here. I don't care who you are. You are going to have policies that people have to abide by,

and they can't just say whatever. No. Ultimately, well, you know, Roland, I don't know that that's true. What I am going to say is when things are working the way that they should, then that is what will happen. But the reason why this country is in the position that it's in right now after lie, allowed yellow journalism, allowed manipulation of the public, not just about vaccines. But, you know, think about how long it took for Trump to be banned. So, yes, when the stops are working, there there are limits, but we are finding out. We are finding out what the range is of those,

and we are dangerously precariously close to a time when there are none. Well, but here's my whole deal. It's very simple. I do not allow people who follow me to use the N-word at me. And if you do, I block your ass. I block you. You don't get to follow me on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, or any other platform, you blocked.

And I got, matter of fact, the funny thing is, somebody who I block calls somebody who I know and said, man, can you get Roland to unblock me? And he was like, well, clearly you did something. And then my homeboy blocked his ass too. Now I'm really upset, but I keep telling these people,

you don't get to say whatever the hell you want to say. Look, Umar Johnson's people were all mad at me because when he came on TV One show, I shut him down saying, you're not going to call somebody on my show a coon. I don't allow coon, the N-word, Uncle Tom, all that sort of stuff like that because I believe we can have discourse without using, first of all, I'm not going gonna allow somebody to use somebody black to use the words of the white oppressors against black people on my platform. That ain't happen.

So I'm clear. You can tell a person they a fool. You can say their argument is weak, but you not gonna sit here and use racial slurs and you not coming back. And so you can get mad, but those are the rules. We had this conversation in Tulsa, didn't we? Yep.

Same thing. You know, and see, we have to realize that we can't spell a different, put an A on the end of it and it means something. This is what they used before they murdered us, raped us, tortured us, and it's not a term of endearment. And so we need to understand that, you know, we are being bamboozled and tricked if we think that we can use it. I'm glad that you shut them down. See, I am that sister. I will stop somebody on the street. Excuse me, what did you just say?

And I give them an education because I'm going to assume that they just don't know that they're ignorant and they don't understand what it really means. But, you know, keep shutting them down and maybe they'll begin to get the message. Right. It is not acceptable, period. Right. I ain't going to say this person's name,

prominent person of wisdom, happy birthday today. And they replied back, my N-word, Thank you so much my brother I appreciate you and I'm like You could get the message I'm about to say, you know, you could have you could you could have left off Hold on. Let me just see this right now. You could have left I can name everybody who has a birthday No, no, no, no, I know I know a bunch of people who, you know, so I had to send out several birthday shout-outs.

So I'm like, Lord have mercy. But I tell folk, I tell folk, I don't, but the thing is, it's shit you can't do. You just can't, look, we all grew up, you walk into

your mom and daddy house. I remember my sister dating this dude, later married. He come into the house. First, he came by with his boy. I don't know who the hell go visit for the first time somebody you dating with your boy. I don't care if you roll with him. His ass should be in the car. But anyway, my man come in, and here's what happened.

My daddy had gone to the grocery store. My brother was somewhere else. So I'm next oldest, and I was like, say, bro, you got to take your hat off. He said, say what? You got to take your damn hat off. There are rules when you walk in your hat off. He said, say what? You gotta take your damn hat off. There are rules when you walk in folks' house. Like,

I don't understand why these people, there are rules when you walk in somebody's house, there are rules, I was watching The Equalizer the other day, part two, when the young kid came in Denzel's apartment, and he was like, what you cooking? And he reached over to lift the lid up, and Denzel slapped his hand.

He's like, there are rules. And so, these people who are mad, upset, and yes, if you don't like it, again, leave. So, to me, this is not hard. But they're whining and complaining, you won't allow us to say or do whatever it is

we want to do. Y'all mentioned the Cardi B, Tasha K deal. I do want to talk about that there because I am appreciative of that decision. Now, somebody out here might say, oh, my God, Roland, wait a minute. You're a journalist. Isn't that somehow going, is that negative? Because what if somebody decides to see you, sue you?

Okay, here is the most basic, fundamental thing, Candace. Don't go on a YouTube line and make a shit up. And that's what she did. She got hit with a $1.25 million judgment. Then, of course, damages. She got to pay $4 million. Now, I went on her, I ain't, first of all, let's be clear, I don't do celebrity people.

I don't do gossip. I can't stand I can't stand no damn housewives, reality shows. I don't watch them. I ain't never heard of this person. I ain't know who she was. So I go to her YouTube channel, and she was talking about, oh, it was a video from a month ago, how this is a business, and

I could do one video and make six figures a month. Well, based upon that settlement, your ass gonna have to do about 45 or 50 videos because you got to pay $4 million to Cardi B. And I'm glad Cardi B sued

because there are too many people who on these social platforms making stuff up about celebrities and prominent folk and thinking they can just lie and get away with it. But you know, it's so important, too, because the precedent is not just for celebrities. It's for people who are non-celebrities, too. And that's why this is so important.

You can't say anything about anybody, whether they're a celebrity or not, and get away with it if it's lying, if it's a lie, if it's defamatory, if it's slander, you just can't do it. I mean, Tasha Kay, the one who you were making reference to, she's the blogger who got sued. She had the videos up all during the trial, the videos that were in question. She only started taking them down today. Why? Because it kept on making money.

But now that that judgment is in, she had to take it down. And here's what, Dr. Hill, her ass gonna be real damn careful when she go back on her channel saying some stuff because trust me, every other celebrity is now sitting there going, say something, I wish your ass said something.

Say something, say something, say something! You know, social media, for some of us, has made us lose our damn minds. It's like, you know, that's common sense. You can't do what you want to do

for someone to walk up to you and say, I want you to talk about this on your show because I want to get my point across on your show. Well, no. Get your own show. But you better be careful about what you say and how you say it

and what you say because everything is public again. So if you say something, it's recorded, and there's a proof. You know, Monique, I was on Instagram last night, and somebody had said something about

yeah, you know, why is it that you don't talk about why you got fired from these networks? The rumors out here, and I was like, you might want to go read that Cardi B story. I said, keep saying some shit.

I said, try me. Keep playing and see what happens. And this is the world we're living in. There are people, Monique, who think that they can just step out here, make stuff up, no factual basis, and then think it's, oh, well,

the courts are, oh, from libel defamation, oh, you know, you're a person, you know, who's in the public space. No, no, no. Step out here and lie and see what happened. I mean, this Cardi B decision, I think, is going to impact a whole bunch of people who are making lots of money, especially in the celebrity space, who make

stuff up and lie about people. This is going to cause them to have to check their mouths because if they don't, they're going to be unloading dollar bills from their pocketbook. That's right. Right. And that's why she tweeted, you know, saying she needs to talk to your Royal Highness, to Meghan Markle, because they

in different countries did the same thing. And it really is just a, oh, concerned, you know, she has usually gotten these witnesses who will testify and agree to interview. And everyone will say that the information is questionable, but it's someone else who is telling her the information. And then she's adding two and two together and making six. And that's not journalism. And you can only try that so many times before you run up against a real one like a Cardi B who's saying

no, I've got the time and the money to ensure that you do not do this with me. So, lesson learned and I am for that reason very glad to see it. Well, hell, as a lawyer, I'm sure you are. So, again... But you don't have to be a journalist, right?

When you host... As an individual, I'm glad to see it. I'm just... And again, all these people, all these people want to pull on the coat. You can't be running your mouth with all that gossip and think you you a journalist. Nah, that ain't flying.

And the court smacked that down. They probably going to appeal, but it's going to cost them more money. I say, Tosh K., go out there and do about 40, 50 of them videos you say you can make six figures with because you're going to need to pay that money to Cardi B. And I hope Cardi B come at you like the woman who owes 50 cents of money. He ain't get... What, She owe him like $36,000 and he dragging

her every day. Girl, you better go ahead and cut that check. You better send him something, be a PayPal cash app, or something, because he going to keep dragging. Dr. Hill, I appreciate it. Candace, I appreciate it. Monique, I appreciate it, y'all. That's it for us. Today's show is always fun. I told y'all, that's it for us, today's show.

It's always fun, I told y'all, if y'all wanna support us in what we do, this is a real news show, where we have real people, we don't deal with no gossip, we ain't dealing with stuff that can't be proven, we ain't messing around with that nonsense, this is all about us speaking truth to power, of course, representing what we do.

Yo, that's Ida B. Wells-B Barnett over there. And what does she say? The way to right wrongs is to turn the light of truth upon them. So that's what that says right there. And then, of course, Mr. B behind me. We got James Baldwin over here as well. And so, y'all know how we operate here at Roland Martin Unfiltered.

We want y'all to support us in what we do. We're great to be, of course, in our new, new business. And we operate here at Roland Martin Unfiltered. We want y'all to support us in what we do. We're great to be, of course, in our new studio. You know, we've got printed right here the First Amendment on that wall as well. But you just can't be out here acting a fool, making stuff up.

And so, please, support us in what we do. Download our Black Star Network app. It's available on all platforms. Apple TV, Android TV, Apple phone. So please support us in what we do. Download our Black Star Network app. It's available on all platforms. Apple TV, Android TV, Apple phone, Android phone, Roku, Samsung, X-Box, Amazon Fire, all of those different platforms. And of course, you can also support us, y'all, via the various platforms.

Cash App is DollarSat, RM Unfiltered. PayPal is RM Unfiltered. Venmo is RM Unfiltered. PayPal is RMartinUnfiltered. Venmo is RMUnfiltered. Zelle, Roland at RolandisMartin.com. Roland at RolandMartinUnfiltered.com. You know, we're also taking phone calls. We're going to be doing that as well. And so, if you want to call in, you got to be part of the fan

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And so that's why we do what we do. So thanks a bunch. I'll see y'all tomorrow. This is an iHeart Podcast.