#RolandMartinUnfiltered - Kevin McCarthy OUT!, Outrage after Black Alabama Man Killed By Cops, Building Black Wealth Tour

Episode Date: October 4, 2023

10.3.2023 #RolandMartinUnfiltered: Kevin McCarthy OUT!, Outrage after Black Alabama Man Killed By Cops, Building Black Wealth Tour  Kevin McCarthy is out as House speaker. Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee will be with us tonight to discuss what's next.  A black Alabama family is not buying the police's account of events that left a black man dead in front of his home. I'll talk to some Decatur, Alabama activists who say there's more to the story and the police need to release bodycam footage of the night Stephen Perkins was gunned down.  The National Association of Real Estate Brokers will kick off its 60-city Building Black Wealth Tour event this weekend. The organization's president will be here to explain why this event is vital to black communities.  In our Marketplace segment, the creator of Amami Luxury explains her leather pieces promote self-love and build community. Download the Black Star Network app at http://www.blackstarnetwork.com! We're on iOS, AppleTV, Android, AndroidTV, Roku, FireTV, XBox and SamsungTV. The #BlackStarNetwork is a news reporting platform covered under Copyright Disclaimer Under Section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976, allowance is made for "fair use" for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This is an iHeart Podcast. Let's put ourselves in the right position. Pre-game to greater things. Start building your retirement plan at thisispreetirement.org. Brought to you by AARP and the Ad Council. I know a lot of cops. They get asked all the time, have you ever had to shoot your gun? Sometimes the answer is yes. But there's a company dedicated to a future where the answer will always be no.

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

This kind of starts that a little bit, man. We met them at their homes. We met them at their recording studios. Stories matter, and it brings a face to them. It makes it real. It really does. It makes it real. It really does. It makes it real. Listen to new episodes of the War on Drugs podcast season two

on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Today is Tuesday, October 3rd, 2023. Coming up on Roland Martin on a filter streaming live on the Black Star Network. Kevin McCarthy, holla! No longer Speaker of the House. Booted out by eight fellow Republicans. All the Democrats vote against him.

We're going to explain to you exactly what happened. Chaos is on the Republican side, and now they've renominated. Congressman Jim Jordan has renominated McCarthy to be speaker. Then Matt Gaetz gets up and nominates Jim Jordan. Lord have mercy, who's on first? Also, history made on the Senate side. There's a black woman back in the United States Senate.

Lafonza Butler, sworn in today as a new senator from California. We'll show you that as well. Also, a black family in Decatur, Georgia, Decatur, Alabama, asking some questions. What happened to their loved one? Why is he dead? We'll talk about that.

The National Association of Real Estate Brokers, the black real estate brokers, they're gonna go on a 60 60 city tour focused on black wealth. We'll talk about that as well on today's show. Plus, in our marketplace segment, we'll talk with the owner of Amami Luxury Goods. Y'all know how we do it. We always focus on our black businesses.

It is time to bring the funk. I'm Roland Martin-Unfield to the Black Star Network, let's go. He's got whatever the piss he's on it. Whatever it is, he's got the scoop, the fact, the fine. And when it breaks, he's right on time. And it's rolling. Best believe he's knowing. Putting it down from sports to news to politics.

With entertainment just for kicks He's rolling Yeah, yeah It's Uncle Gro-Gro-Yow 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 fresh, he's real, the best you know He's rolling Martel Martel On this vote, the yeas are 216. The nays are 210. The resolution is adopted. Without objection, the motion to reconsider is laid on the table. The office of Speaker of the House of the United States House of Representatives is hereby declared vacant. Oh my goodness! For the first time since 1876, the Speaker of the House

has been booted. That's right. Congressman Matt Gaetz of Florida, he followed through on his decision to get rid of Speaker Kevin McCarthy saying he did not govern accordingly. Eight Republicans voted to oust

McCarthy. So here's actually what happened. There initially was a vote to actually consider the resolution. Guess what? All Democrats voted for it. Eleven Republicans voted for it as well. That's when it then led to an hour of floor debate as to whether or not to get rid of McCarthy.

After that, then there was a vote. It was 216 to 206. Six folks did not vote. And so as a result, McCarthy, the position has been vacated. He has been booted. He has served 263 days. Look, he can't blame anybody but himself. He's the one who cut the deal that allowed for even one Republican to move to vacate the position. He cut all those deals in order for him to get the Speaker's job.

Speaker pro tem Patrick McHenry, if y'all want to see how frustrated my man was, watch this as he gaveled the House to close. Watch this. Admitted by the Speaker, pursuant to the rule, acts as Speaker pro tem until the election of a new Speaker, and bestows the authorities of the office of speaker upon the speaker pro tem to the extent necessary and appropriate to that end. In the opinion of the chair, prior to proceeding to the election of a speaker, it will be prudent to first recess for the relative caucus and conferences to meet and discuss the path forward. Accordingly, pursuant to Clause 12A of Rule 1, the chair declares the House in recess subject to the call of the chair.

It was not happy at all. You know what? Come on, Patrick. Go ahead and show us that gavel again. Go ahead. So, y'all, he was a little perturbed. Watch this. Chair declares the House in recess, subject to the call of the chair.

I think he was a little upset by that. Again, look, look, look, Democrat minority leader Hakeem Jeffries, he made it perfectly clear that they were not going to just stand there and play any of these little silly games with Republicans. And in fact, I saw one story the reporters were putting out there that said that you had some Republicans who were calling moderate Dems, begging them, begging them to vote with Republicans not to get rid of McCarthy. Why? Why? You had Jeffries.

He went on various media outlets talking about this here. In fact, this was him earlier today in the hallways of Congress making it clear where him and the Democrats stood. Watch this. This is a serious, solemn, and sober moment. House Democrats are going to continue to put people over politics and to fight to make life better for everyday Americans.

From the very beginning, that has been our objective, and it will continue to be our sole focus, delivering for the American people. We encourage our Republican colleagues who claim to be more traditional to break from the extremists. In the chaos, in the dysfunction, in the extremism, we are ready, willing, and able to work together with our Republican colleagues, but it is on them to join us to move the Congress and the country forward. Let me remind everybody that it was Democrats who saved the butt of McCarthy by voting to fund the government. His Republicans, they failed on that.

And what did McCarthy then do? McCarthy then decided the next day to go on Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan and actually trash the Democrats. Watch this. Were you confident we wouldn't shut down? I was confident I could get to pass the bill. I'm going to pass the bill. I'm going to pass the bill. I'm going to pass the bill. I'm going to pass the bill. I'm going to pass the bill.

I'm going to pass the bill. I'm going to pass the bill. I'm going to pass the bill. I'm going to pass the bill. I'm going to pass the bill. I'm going to pass the bill. I'm going to pass the bill. number than Republicans to keep the continuing resolution alive. Did you watch the floor yesterday?

Oh, yes. 90 Republicans voted against it. Okay, so let's walk through what actually happened. First of all, the Democrats stood up and did dilatory actions, asked to adjourn. So was that supporting to adjourn? Then they used the magic minute. They went as far as pulling the fire alarm, not to try to get the bill to come up.

Look, Democrats stick together, but they did not want the bill. They were willing to let government shut down for our military not to be paid. No, I wasn't. We were going to make sure we keep it open while we finish the job we're supposed to do. Well, guess what? Today, this morning, in the Democratic caucus, when to do. Well, guess what? Today, this morning,

in the Democratic caucus, when they played that video, they were like, you know what? We don't give a damn about Kevin McCarthy. See, I keep trying to explain to people

that you can't sit here and trash the very folk who literally are saving your behind. These are the people who saved his butt. He could not get anything done. He couldn't get anything done by his own party. So therefore, he had to depend on Democrats to get it done. So what does he then do? He decides to go on national television, trash the Democrats, and they were like, no, player, we good with that. So you know what? What did Deion say?

Deion said, give me my theme music. This is what it sounded like to the Democrats right here. This is what it sounded like. That's what it sounded like right there. All right, let me bring in my panel. Mustafa Sontago Ali, former senior advisor for environmental justice at the EPA out of D.C. Joe Richardson, civil rights attorney out of L.A. Randy Bryant, DEI disruptor out of D.C.

Hey, Mustafa, if you need me to save your ass, don't talk about me like a dog, or guess what? We're going to whoop that trick. And that trick right now is Kevin McCarthy. Yeah, he definitely got pimped out. It's amazing. They went and got a baby pound on his ass.

It slapped the hell out of him, but my auntie said if you play with the devil, eventually you're going to get burned. And that's exactly what happened to him. I mean, he created this situation, as you shared with folks. You know, the reality is there's nothing anyone in this country can do where 1,000 percent of people are going to be in support of. So for you to give the power to individuals that if just one person wants to get rid of you, then they have the ability to at least bring that up, shows that you're not very intelligent as a leader or as

a speaker of the House. That's just dumb to begin with. You know, the other part of it is that not only has he continued to trash Democrats since he was elected after he got some assistance from folks, is that he continued to also make sure that no significant policies were being able to be passed, in some instances brought up for votes, and a number of other dynamics. So there was no reason for Democrats to come to his rescue, if you will, because they knew what was going to play out after they actually did that. So now he has to deal with the situation that he created. And of course, as I've said before, the Republican Party right now loves chaos. And because of chaotic situations,

he found himself caught up in that. Oh, my God. He found himself caught up in that. And Randy, the one that got me was again for the Republicans, calling the Democrats. I mean, literally one story said they were begging them, please vote with us to keep McCarthy. And they were like, nope. Come on. Yeah, nah. They were like, nope, nope, ain't doing it. And why should they?

I mean, white mediocrity is on display right here. And if it weren't so serious, if this weren't our government, it would be funny. I mean, the man begged. I mean, how many votes did we have to do to get him in there? And then he didn't last, what, 200-something days, and he's out of there. And what's even crazier is that the person Gates who put up, you know, that first started to kick him out, he's a fraud, too.

Haven't we found out that he's lied about half of his resume? I mean, the level of hot mess is just burning hot. It's lava hot with the Republicans right now. Oh, I love it. And again, matter of fact, I saw this tweet from Ari Fleischer where, let me see if I can find it. Hold on. I got it, y'all. I saw this tweet, and he literally was trying to blame Democrats for what happened. And I was like, Ari, this should, matter of fact, here's a tweet right here unbelievable the democrats with the help of matt

gates and a handful of gop members just ousted the republican speaker of the house what a mess this is so foolish why would anyone want to be speaker of the House. That's literally them trying to blame Democrats, Joe. And the Democrats, they like, nope, we ain't doing it. The Democrats saying, ain't gonna happen. Or as one

of the reverends would say that decided to grace us with a record, hell to the no, no, no. So, the first thing I do, the first thing I do is give a lot of credit to Hakeem Jeffries. The Democrats who disagree all the time stayed on the same page. Nancy Pelosi the other day said, you want to know what we ought to do? Follow the leader. What I love about Jeffries is Jeffries doesn't yell and scream. He doesn't whoop and he doesn't hoop and holler. But he's focused, he's direct, and he's saying the

same thing that he said the last nine months. Okay. So they're staying in place. They've done what it is that they needed to do. Meanwhile, back at the ranch, Kevin McCarthy cannot be taken at his word. So why would you save him when at the end of the day, even if you save him, that doesn't keep Matt Gaetz from continuing to bring that motion because Kevin McCarthy gave him the power to do it in the first place. But see, Kevin McCarthy never wanted to legislate. He wanted to be in power. it, including giving an opportunity to vote on removing him by just one person, which is fundamentally unstable, so that those that want to just burn the world, as bad as Republicans are, most of them didn't want to get rid of Kevin McCarthy. OK, they have some problems.

We all know there's some infighting, but there's 10 or 12 of them. They wanted to get rid of McCarthy. Matt Gaetz, frankly, probably wants to change the discussion. I think there's a little bit more personal going on there because of the investigation. We can talk about some other time. Well, but there's a lot going on there. But I'm glad that Jeffrey stayed. Jeffrey's my friend, Pete Aguilar. I know a lot of cops and they get asked all the time, have you ever had to shoot your gun? Sometimes the answer is yes.

But there's a company dedicated to a future where the answer will always be no. Across the country, cops call this taser the revolution. But not everyone was convinced it was that simple. Cops believed everything that Taser told them. From Lava for Good and the team that brought you Bone Valley comes a story about what happened when a multi-billion dollar company dedicated itself to one visionary mission. This is Absolute Season 1. Taser Incorporated.

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

I'm Clayton English. I'm Greg Glod. And this is season two of the War on Drugs podcast. Yes, sir, we are back. In a big way. In a very big way. Real people, real perspectives. This is kind of star-studded a little bit, man.

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

Riley Cote. Marine Corvette. MMA fighter Liz Karamush. What we're doing now isn't working and we need to change things. Stories matter and it brings a face to them. It makes it real. It really does. It makes it real. Listen to new episodes of the War on Drugs podcast

season two on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. And to hear episodes one week early and ad free with exclusive content, subscribe to Lava for Good Plus on Apple Podcasts. Sometimes as dads, I think we're too hard on ourselves. We get down on ourselves on not being able to, you know, we're the providers, but we also have to learn to take care of ourselves. A wrap-away, you've got to pray for yourself as well as for everybody else, but never forget yourself.

Self-love made me a better dad because I realized my worth. Never stop being a dad. That's dedication. Find out more at fatherhood.gov. Brought to you by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the Ad Council. Et cetera. And so now they're in a situation of their own making and they got to figure out how to get out of it. Well, again, they keep trying to sit here and blame the Democrats. Uh-uh. No. There it is. Hell to the no-no.

Y'all can sit here and blame everybody else for y'all problems, but Bishop Woodwick was saying, uh-uh. Yes, there it is. Y'all can't do that. I got to go to break. We'll be right back. Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee will join us. House Republicans in total

disarray. And y'all said y'all want to leave the country. I'll be back on Roland Martin on the Black Star Network. Hatred on the streets, a horrific scene, a white nationalist rally that descended into deadly violence white people are losing their damn minds there's an angry pro-trump mob storm to the u.s capital we're about to see the rise of what i call white minority resistance we have seen white folks in this country who simply cannot tolerate black folks voting. I think what we're seeing is the inevitable result of violent denial. This is part of American history. Every time that people of color have made progress, whether real or

symbolic, there has been what Carol Anderson at every university calls white rage as a backlash. This is the wrath of the Proud Boys and the Boogaloo Boys. America, there's going to be more of this. Here's all the Proud Boys guys. This country is getting increasingly racist in its behaviors and its attitudes because of the fear of white people. The fear that they're taking our jobs, they're taking our resources, they're taking our women. This is white people.

I'm Faraiji Muhammad, live from L.A., and this is The Culture. The Culture is a two-way conversation, you and me. We talk about the stories, politics, the good, the bad, and the downright ugly. So join our community every day at 3 p.m. Eastern and let your voice be heard. Hey, we're all in this together, so let's talk about it and see what kind of trouble we can get into. It's the culture. Weekdays at 3, only on the Blackstar Network. Hey, what's up, y'all? I'm Devon Frank. I'm Dr. Robin B., pharmacist and fitness coach, and you back to Roland Martin Unfiltered

right here on the Black Slut Network. Joining us right now, Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee of Houston, Texas. Congresswoman, glad to have you here. I just find it amazing to listen to Republicans like Ari Fleischer, to listen to Republicans like Ari Fleischer, to listen to so many others literally blame Democrats for what happened today when, correct me if I'm wrong,

a speaker was, Nancy Pelosi was speaker, there was even a slimmer margin of Democrats, yet she was able to get things done. This is all on them. You know, historically, Roland, and thank you so much for having me, this is a sad day in the history of the United States of America. And it is a day that shows a complete collapse of the Republican leadership, the Republican conference, and their ability to govern or to lead or really to think about others other than themselves, to really think about the entire body politic of America.

You know, America is not mega extremists in totality. It is a potpourri of states and rural communities and different demographics and people who are in need, and they need federal funding. In fact, the cities of the nation, in particular, cities like Houston, depend upon federal funds. Sometimes the federal funds are even in their general funds to help them operate because cities are where people are in need and where basic services are used to keep, in essence, the country going. So why are they in the midst of this debacle that could have been avoided by having unity

in their own conference? We did nothing but express our support for Akeem Jeffries to be the next speaker. I remember yesterday Speaker McCarthy saying he wasn't going to ask Democrats for anything. Maybe there would have been something like shared power, but he wasn't going to ask. And I'm told in politics, in parenting, you have to ask. He did not ask. And so we stayed unified. We had a caucus this morning, and the caucus decided uniformly that they would not get in the middle of Republican politics.

What we wanted to do is to be the adults ready to help move appropriations that were realistic that the Senate would take to avoid a shutdown in 45 days. That's the work we want to do. Speaker Ken McCarthy, go to my iPad. Speaker Ken McCarthy, he posted this tweet 22 hours ago called Bring It On. This is how Gabrielle Union responded.

The meme from her movie, Bring It On. This is how Gabrielle Union responded. The meme from her movie, her movie, Bring It On. And again, this was a guy who was arrogant in that where he, as you said, he said, I'm not working with Democrats. Yet Saturday, if it wasn't for Democrats, the government would be shut down. And I have to remind people, because I think a lot of people forget this, he was the Speaker of the House. That's the whole House. Yes, he was Republican, but you're the Speaker of the entire House. The Constitution even says that to be Speaker of the House, it doesn't require you to even be a member of Congress. Literally anybody in the country can be Speaker of the House. He seemed to

have forgotten that, and he got shaped by his own people. Roland, I'm glad you said that, because after we held our caucus, after we held together the entire week, last week we were going home at 2 in the morning, many of us, and determined not to suffer the kind of draconian 30 percent cuts that would have literally, again, I have to refer to cities like Houston, San Francisco, rural communities, you know, cities like Jackson, Mississippi, Atlanta, New York, and all in between would definitely have suffered. And can you believe $800 million in cuts to the women and infant and children? I don't even know who could write legislation like that. But because Democrats were adults, we held our own and cast that vote. The majority of those who voted to not have the government shut down and not have military not being paid and not have border security persons at the border not be paid,

it was Democrats. And yet now to come full circle and think that you might get through on your own colleagues and not in any way reach out to Democratic leader Jeffries on what the next steps should be for the American people. That did not happen. So how anyone could think mysteriously four or five or ten Democratic members would just mysteriously, out of the goodness of their heart or any other basis, to vote for someone who did not ask and who was prepared to cut $800 million out of women and infant and children and not pay for military, law enforcement, border security, and many other essential needs that the nation has. So here's where we are. We do have a speaker pro tem, Patrick McHenry, and he will be in place for a period of time until they come forward with a nominee. By the way, you made a very good point.

The speaker is the speaker of the entire House. And he is or she is third in line to the presidency. This is a crucial constitutional position. And for the conference, Republican conference, to allow extremist views to undermine this constitutional position is left to them. We as Democrats will again stay unified to keep the government steady, to keep the doors open, and we'll work with those who want to work with us. But right now, we are leading, along with President Biden, who did have a sealed deal with Speaker McCarthy about the budget numbers, the debt ceiling,

and moving forward to pass these appropriation bills. There's a meeting right there. This is what I also think is dumb. And again, when you're not a smart leader. The funeral for California Senator Dianne Feinstein is on Thursday.

Democrats asked McCarthy, go to my iPad, Democrats asked McCarthy, go to my iPad, Democrats asked McCarthy to hold votes to allow Democrats to attend the funeral. He didn't even respond. The funeral is Thursday. The vote to oust him was today. I would think that if your leadership was in peril,

you don't just say, I'm just going to ignore your request to attend the funeral of the longest serving female senator in American history. Again, that is not smart leadership. That not only is not smart leadership, just as

today was historic, that was historic failure of character. How do you deny Californians and others of this... And he's from California! The opportunity to mourn such a person who, by the way, she was feisty and a fighter, but she reached across the aisle, as many of the senators said.

In fact, we should probably have a recess out of respect for the senator till next week. That would have shown that there's trust and mutual respect. None of that was shown. In fact, it really, Roland, hurt my heart because I just came from the Senate congratulating our new senator, and I signed the sympathy book for Senator Feinstein. And so I'm hurt as a woman that he would be so insensitive. And you made the point.

He's from California. And in the last week allowed us to adjourn in honor of the senator, Senator Feinstein, and wouldn't allow for the respect of her funeral? It's shocking. But now we're in a historic moment. Democrats will be meeting in the morning. We will stay unified. The main thing I want is that we protect the American people, the most vulnerable. And my future is to run for the mayor of the city of Houston and I clearly want to make sure that cities are not harmed. We did so by stopping the shutdown and I'm going to keep the fight going.

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

From Lava for Good and the team that brought you Bone Valley comes a story about what happened when a multi-billion dollar company dedicated itself to one visionary mission. This is Absolute Season 1, Taser Incorporated. I get right back there and it's bad. It's really, really, really bad. Listen to new episodes of Absolute Season 1, Taser Incorporated on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Binge episodes 1, 2, and 3 on May 21st, and episodes 4, 5, and 6 on June 4th.

Ad-free at Lava for Good Plus on Apple Podcasts. I'm Clayton English. I'm Greg Lott. And this is Season 2 of the War on Drugs podcast. We are back. In a big way. In a very big way. Real people, real perspectives.

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

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

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

because I realized my worth. Never stop being a dad. That's dedication. Find out more at fatherhood.gov. Brought to you by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the Ad Council. Consul in Jackson Lee, we appreciate it. Thanks a lot.

Thank you for having me. Joe, I want to start with you. You're there in California. Again, if your butt's on the line, you don't sit here and do more stuff to piss off the very people who you need. He needs them. Yeah. Or he needed

them. Right. And he's burning bridges all the way throughout. And at the end of the day, you know, when you're in power, you're supposed to be in power for a reason. By that I mean, you're supposed to be in power and do certain things while you're in power, but you need to bolster yourself so that you can do the things that you need to do. This was really cooked in the cake. Once he agreed to let one person bring to the floor, when he made this agreement nine

months ago, you know, a motion to vacate him. And at the end of the day, to vacate the speakership, at the end of the day, there's a saying where Alfred in one of the Batman movies is telling Bruce Wayne that he doesn't understand the Joker. And he told a story about gems and bribing folks in some part of the world, in Burma. And the way that he ended the story is by saying some people just want to see the world burn. Kevin McCarthy knew that there were five or 10 of those folks over there on the far right that just wanted to see the world burn. That one vote initiative, that ability to do that and to bring to the floor a motion to vacate the speakership ensured that it was only

a matter of time before this happened. And so, you know, he's not, he doesn't look around the corner. He worked with Senator Feinstein, got things done with her. He's going to have to get things done. I mean, the mark of a good speaker is actually accomplishing legislation, but he never positioned it like that was what he wanted to do anyway. He actually think he did something once he became speaker after 15 votes. But he was the weakest speaker you'd ever seen because it relied on people that wanted to see the world burn and burn. It is. I was cracking up. You even had some people stood up who said this was one of the most accomplished speakers in American history. I was like, man, sit your ass down. I was like, come on now. In 263 days, boy, sit your ass down.

Yeah, as was shared, he's the least accomplished in the history, at least modern history, of Capitol Hill. It's just, he was disappointing in so many different ways. It's not that whoever's next is going to be any better. I mean, who knows who they'll put up. But, you know, the responsibility to actually be able to, you know, fund the government, to make sure that the pieces of legislation that are so critically needed are moving forward. This shows you that they do not care about this country when you know that we had the government shutdown,

the looming government shutdown. Then we got the 45-day pause. So this foolishness that's now going on is going to make it extremely difficult to actually be able to move forward and make sure that the government doesn't shut down. So they have no interest in helping the everyday person in this country. There's not been one piece of legislation that they have authored that has been beneficial to folks. And that's just fact. All you got to do is go out there and look. You can go into LegislStorm. You can go to a number of these different websites and see the various pieces of legislation that is either out there or has been passed. And you will see that there's a significant deficit underneath of his leadership about helping the American people.

I mean, I have just fallen out laughing, Randy, at how nutty these people are. I mean, I mean, I watch the debate. They're standing up there trying to give the world lectures. The Democrats have failed this and failed that. Dog, y'all got the majority. You can't even keep your own people together, and you let a pissant like Matt Gaetz bring you down. That's what you get for basically giving everything away.

Kevin McCarthy was so power hungry that he was willing to give up everything to be speaker. And it came and bit him in the behind. Absolutely. This was never about governing. This was never about actually leading and ensuring that our government continued to function in some decent way. This was about an entitled man. I mean, from the beginning, you can see that he felt that he was due this position, that he deserved it. And then once he had the power, it was just about having power. I don't think he ever considered how he could be at all effective. And that's the problem. You have so many power-hungry people in that Republican Party, just like you said, who are willing to let it burn before they

actually compromise with others and work with others. It's personal for them. It is about power. It is not about running our government and working with others, which is what the Speaker of the House is supposed to do. Well, bottom line, you see what's going on. We're going to talk more about this here. We're trying to get Congresswoman Maxine Waters on as well. When we come back, we're going to talk about some other news as well. But go on to break. I really think, now kill the music, I really think that this is probably an appropriate song for Speaker Kevin McCarthy.

I'll be back. I think I better leave you alone. So get your bags and get the hair long. See, because I know, won't you know. When you talk about blackness and what happens

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us in what we do folks we want to hit 2 000 people 50 this month rates 100 000 we're behind 100 000 so we want to hit that your money makes this possible check some money orders go to fuel box 57196 washington dc two zero zero three seven dash zero one nine six the cash app is dollar sign rm The Cash App is Dollar Sign RM Unfiltered. PayPal is R Martin Unfiltered. Venmo is RM Unfiltered. Zelle is Roland at RolandSMartin.com. All change is not growth. Right. But thoughtful change is real good fertilizer. And that's what has been so beneficial to us. But you also were not afraid of the pivot.

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

Yeah. Fearful? No, uh-uh. No. No. On the next A Balanced Life with me, Dr. Jackie, two facts that you need to be aware of. African-American women have the highest diagnosis of breast cancer than any other group in the U.S. And young African-American women are most likely to be diagnosed with one of the highest aggressive forms of breast cancer than all other groups.

It is a disease that requires fast action, determination, and a whole lot of support. On our next show, we'll meet a young woman who's chosen an alternative path and approach to tackling this disease. And you'll hear from our medical and support experts on how to maintain balance through it all. We encourage exercise.

We encourage, you We encourage changing diet and making all those personal changes. That's on the next A Balanced Life on Blackstar Network. What's up, everybody? It's your girl Latasha from the A. And you're watching Roland Martin Unfiltered. As a matter of fact, I think you better call Tyrone. Call him.

And tell him, come on, help you get your shit. I think Ken McCarthy better call Tyrone because he is no longer the Speaker of the House. Joining us right now from California is Congresswoman Maxine Waters. Congresswoman, it was utterly hilarious, again, watching today and watching and seeing these stories and tweets of Republicans

begging Democrats to save them from their own crazies in their own caucus. Roland Martin, first of all, thank you again for being right on top of it. You're absolutely right. It was an unusual story that unfolded today, historical, certainly, but not the kind of history that you would be proud of. What you saw was a dysfunctional Republican conference with failed leadership and a vote that was taken where McCarthy did not have the votes that he needed to stay in office. So the vote that was taken caused him to be vacated because there were members of the Republican Party who voted with Democrats, and he was ousted. It was unusual, but we knew that something like this was going to happen.

Roland, if you remember, when he was elected speaker, it was 15 roll calls before he was able to put the votes together. And because he did not have the kind of support, he ended up, you know, cutting a deal with the devil, Marjorie Taylor Greene. And she's one of the Trumpers who, you know, cooperated with the other Trumpers to vacate the speaker's seat. You know what? Again, I listen. I'm always listening to what people say. And they criticize President Joe Biden for his age. They rip apart Vice President Kamala Harris and they say she doesn't know what she's doing.

They trash Congressman Hakeem Jeffries. But it seems to me like the people who are running things accordingly and who aren't operating with dysfunction are President Joe Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris, and House

Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries and the whole Democratic caucus? Well, let me tell you, we have a united Democratic caucus under a fabulous leadership with Hakeem Jeffries. Hakeem Jeffries and President Biden work very closely together. They've been able to have some tremendous successes. They are showing this country what real leadership is like. And unfortunately, the Republicans, as you just said, are in disarray, it's chaotic.

They don't know how to lead. And it has brought us to this point today where they've vacated the chair of their speaker and they don't know where they're going. They don't know who their next speaker is going to be. And so we're in for some uncertainty over the next days as we try to approach getting this House together and moving forward to get a budget.

We're doing a temporary budget at this time, and so we don't know where all of this is going. We're going to work very hard to try to get the Republicans to understand that the people of this country are depending on government to do its job, depending on government to take care of the people's business. And so we're going to try and encourage them. We'll try and work with them in every way that we can. But they've got to get their act together. You know what?

I am. I've made this clear before. And I highly, you know, when when First Lady Michelle Obama, when she said, when they go low, we go high. I said, damn that. If they go low, you kick them in the knees. And they kick you in the shins. You kick them in the bottom of their feet. So I just don't believe that nonsense.

Because politics is real. And what they are doing to this country is shameful. Republican Matt Lewis actually wrote, I just saw this tweet. And I'm trying to do everything in my power to cuss him out. But he actually, this is what he wrote. Democrats blew, go to my iPad, Democrats blew a huge political win by not saving Kevin McCarthy as House Speaker. Congresswoman, here's what gets on my nerves. I'm sick and tired.

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

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

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

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

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

MMA fighter Liz Caramouch. What we're doing now isn't working, and we need to change things. Stories matter, and it brings a face to them. It makes it real. It really does. It makes it real. Listen to new episodes of the War on Drugs podcast season two

on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. And to hear episodes one week early and ad-free with exclusive content, subscribe to Lava for Good Plus on Apple Podcasts. I always had to be so good, no one could ignore me. Carve my path with data and drive. But some people only see who I am on paper. The paper ceiling. The limitations from degree screens to stereotypes that are holding back over 70 million stars. Workers skilled through alternative routes rather than a bachelor's degree.

It's time for skills to speak for themselves. Find resources for breaking through barriers at taylorpapersceiling.org, brought to you by Opportunity at Work and the Ad Council. Of people wanting Democrats to play by the rules, play nice, and save other folk when they lose their mind. Now, they wanted to be in charge. They won, they changed, they blocked the redistricting, the seats in Louisiana and Alabama, and they stole the seats in Florida.

That's how they were able to get that majority. Okay, now y'all in power. And so, I've long said, Democrats are sitting here and say, OK, y'all in charge. We're going to sit here to your point in unity. We're going to see what y'all going to do since y'all in charge. I'm tired of these folk who don't want to hold their own accountable. But then once they're Democrats, y'all should have saved America, should have done this for the American people when that man, Kevin McCarthy, went on Face the Nation on Sunday

and blamed y'all for the debt problem when y'all saved his ass 24 hours earlier. That's right. He absolutely did that. He lied to the American people and tried to deny the fact that the Democrats were responsible for getting a continuing resolution to keep the government from shutting down. It was absolutely awful the way that he misled the people about what had happened.

It was despicable. And so that's the kind of leadership that they have been providing or lack of leadership that they've been involved with. And so now, you know, he was removed from the speakership. His position was vacated, and we don't know where it's going. We don't know who they're going to choose. Maybe they're waiting on Trump to tell them. Trump has been leading them, and he's leading them right down the drain as he did today. And again, first of all, now they got to figure out who they're going to pick. Is it going to be somebody who's

sane? Is it going to be one of their crazies? And you know what? If they did that thing to McCarthy, they're going to cut the same crazy deal with whoever is next. They have to own their dysfunction. You're right. And we don't know. Maybe the crazies will pick Marjorie Taylor Greene. She is the most popular Republican in the Republican Party these days. And she is absolutely, unbelievably irresponsible and not to be trusted. Indeed. Congresswoman Maxine Waters, we appreciate it. Keep up the good fight. Thank you so very much. And thank you so very much.

I appreciate your help, your assistance that you provided over the weekend, and I thank you for being so generous with your time. Thank you so very much. Thanks a bunch. I appreciate it. I'm going to go back to my panel here. This piece by Matt Lewis, Randy, really does piss me off because he writes in here, he goes, they could have been leaders

who rose above culture, war, partisan rancor and put the country first. Instead, they voted for chaos and craziness. See, I'm tired. See, this is the bullshit that always happens. Republicans act a fool. Then they want to come by, Democrats, y'all should have done this. You must do the right thing. They get to do whatever they want to do.

They get to blow everything up, but then they want Democrats to piece it all together. No, I'm a firm believer, but this is what Democrats sit there and go. Let me know when y'all done. I'm going to stand back here and watch you fools drown. No, I ain't throwing you no life wrap. I ain't calling the Coast Guard. I'm going to stand here and watch your ass drown since you wanted to hop in that damn water.

And I've been pleased that the Democrats in this case have done that. Sometimes the Democrats have disappointed me because we can be a little bit too nice and a little bit too forgiving. And I feel that with Jeffrey's leadership that they've said, you know what, I'm going to let you go ahead and sit in this mess, this pigsty that you've created and just stink and let the world see and smell the stink that you've created. I'm really happy with the stance that they've taken right now. But I'm not at all shocked that the Republicans expected us to save them.

They've always done that, and they've always pointed the blame at everyone else but themselves. Mustafa? Oh, you know, they say they talk about karma, right? So when you do dirt, dirt going to come back and get you eventually. And you see this playing out now. When he says in that article that Democrats had the opportunity to rise to the occasion, then why haven't Republicans actually moved forward on any significant police reform pieces of legislation that have been introduced? Why haven't they done anything to actually expand the sets of needs that exist around

the climate crisis? And we know our most vulnerable communities are the ones who continue to get hit first and worst. You know, why haven't they done anything about immigration? We can go down the list of things that they had the opportunity to actually do something to help people, and they chose not to. So if Democrats in this moment decide not to help them, then that is just karma coming back around because you refuse to do anything to help the most vulnerable in our country. Joe, this is, again, this is the BS in this Matt Lewis piece. And Matt Lewis is a conservative, okay? So this is his party. This is what he said. It would be understandable if Democrats decided to remain neutral on Tuesday by voting present, reasoning that it is a Republican

civil war, but they didn't. Instead, by voting no on the procedural motion to table Representative Matt Gaetz's motion, and then voting yes on his motion to vacate the office of Speaker, Democrats effectively voted for Gaetz. And a a vote for Gates is a vote for chaos. No, Joe, that's a lie. It was a vote against McCarthy. This is the same McCarthy that refused to appoint Republicans to the January 6th committee. This is the same McCarthy who condemned Trump for January 6th and then went down to Mar-a-Lago to kiss his ass and

took a photo all thumbs up. This is the same McCarthy who allowed for a House inquiry of impeachment to proceed without a vote of the full House. And then this is the same McCarthy who blamed Democrats on Face the Nation one day after they saved his behind when his own party voted against his bill to keep the government open. And so it was Kevin McCarthy who continued to insult Democrats, and he was nothing more than a hard right-wing nutcase like Jim Jordan, except he did it with a tan. Yeah, I mean, at the end of the day, I don't know if you've ever been at Target or been at your store or whatever else, and you see somebody with some

kids, some real bad kids, and so much so, they're disruptive to other people, and you really just want to say out loud, you know what? You really need to control your kids. You brought them here. You're supposed to be in control of what's what. And that's what Kevin McCarthy needed to do. And that's what the Republican Party needed to do.

Nine months ago, when this thing was going down, when the whole speaker thing was going down, somebody in that conference needed to stand up and holler at those 10 or 15 folks and say, look, y'all going to go with us or y'all not gonna go with us, but guess what's gonna happen? You gonna go with us, because you the kids over here, and this is what has to happen for us to get anything done. We're not gonna make it if we don't roll together. He never

did that, and now, fast forward nine months from now, we're supposed to save him? We don't need to save Kevin McCarthy if he can't control his kids. That is it. My last thought on this here before I go to the break and then in the next hour, we're going to talk about the other history making event today that is a black woman being sworn in to the United States Senate in Lafonza Butler. Here's the thing here that, again, is important. And I've laid out to y'all

on this deal. This is not a question because I've never actually, I've never self-identified as a Republican or a Democrat. I vote based upon blackness in terms of the issues where I stand. What we are looking at right now is a fascist party. We are looking at the leader of this fascist party who is sitting in a New York City courtroom this week, insulting the judge, insulting the black New York attorney general, insulting the clerk of the judge to the point where the judge had, the judge had to issue a gag order saying you cannot make a comment against any of my staffers. That's the person, that's the party we're talking about. We're talking about the party that is denying voting rights of black people right now.

This is the party that did their way, did all they could to stop the creation of a black congressional district in Alabama. They are fighting a black congressional district in Louisiana. The NAACP Legal Defense Fund goes to the Supreme Court on October 11th to argue that particular case. They are fighting black districts in Florida right now. They are fighting against DEI at every turn. They are trying to defund the Pentagon and the Secretary of Defense, wanting to reduce his salary to a dollar because they say he is believing in DEI. Senator Tommy Tuberville voted against the brother who was named head of a joint chiefs of staff saying because

he wants to bring critical race theory and DEI into the military. These are the folks who are against the fearless fund trying to provide venture capital money to black businesses, black female businesses who are being ignored everywhere across this country. They sued

affirmative action, they sued and They sued affirmative action in colleges. Even when the Supreme Court allowed affirmative action to continue in the military academies, now they are suing that. They're targeting law firms. They're targeting corporate America. They are targeting everything in this country when it comes to blackness. They are sitting here banning the books of Ta-Nehisi Coates and Toni Morrison and numerous other African-American authors all across this country.

Moms for Liberty, a right-wing hate group, has taken over school boards, and they're firing black superintendents and firing black teachers and others. And you want me to stand here, Matt Lewis, and somehow save these people when they literally do not give a damn about black people, do not care about the rule of law, do not care about the Constitution, all they care about is power? Absolutely not. When somebody is burning their own damn house down that needs to be burned down, I'ma stand back with a glass of water and sip it real slowly and watch them do it.

So I don't give a damn what happened to Kevin McCarthy. I don't care what he does. He has been a feckless, impotent leader who needed to be booted, and now they now have to decide who it is they want to lead them. Don't come crying to Democrats. Don't come crying to black people. Don't come crying to Democrats. Don't come crying to black people. Don't come crying to anybody else. Y'all figure out your own insanity for yourself.

And Kevin McCarthy, since you sitting here now chilling, and you might as well change your Twitter handle, because it says Speaker McCarthy, your ass is no longer the speaker. I figured we might as well go to break, listen to some Natalie Cole, because that's the situation you in right now. I'll be back. Change your Twitter handle, because it says Speaker McCarthy, your ass is no longer the speaker. I figured we might as well go to break, listen to some Natalie Cole, because I never realized Oh, Lord

That you mean so much to me I'm catching hell Living here On the next Get Wealthy with me, Deborah Owens, America's Wealth Coach, we talk about the principles of mindset, strategy, and execution. This week, we're adding a fourth. Faith, you're going to hear from a mother and daughter duo who are helping thousands of black women build wealth all through

their faith. You are more than you can ever imagine. Not just obtaining things to show that, but seeing yourself. Making your faith work for you, that's right here on Get Wealthy, only on Black Star Network. Next on The Black Table with me, Greg Carr.

An hour of living history with Dr. Richard Mariba Kelsey, thinker, builder, author, and one of the most important and impactful elders in the African American community. He reflects on his full and rich life and shares his incomparable wisdom about our past, present, and future. African genius is saying that my uncle was a genius, my brother was a genius, my neighbor was a genius. I think we ought to drill that in ourselves and move ahead rather than believing that I got it. That's next on The Black Table here on the Black Star Network. I'm Faraji Muhammad, live from L.A., and this is The Culture.

The Culture is a two-way conversation. You and me, we talk about the stories, politics, the good, the bad, and the downright ugly. So join our community every day at 3 p.m. Eastern and let your voice I know a lot of cops and they get asked all the time. Have you ever had to shoot your gun? Sometimes the answer is yes, but there's a company dedicated to a future where the answer will always be no. Across the country, cops called this taser the revolution. But not everyone was convinced it was that simple. Cops believed everything that taser told them.

From Lava for Good and the team that brought you Bone Valley comes a story about what happened when a multi-billion dollar company dedicated itself to one visionary mission. This is Absolute Season One, Taser Incorporated. I get right back there and it's bad. It's really, really, really bad. Listen to new episodes of Absolute Season One, Taser Incorporated, on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Binge episodes 1, 2, and 3 on May 21st and episodes 4, 5, and 6 on June 4th. Add free at Lava for Good Plus on Apple Podcasts. I'm Clayton English.

I'm Greg Lott. And this is Season 2 of the War on Drugs podcast. Yes, sir. We are back. In a big way. In a very big way. Real people, real perspectives. This is kind of star-studded a little bit, man. We got Ricky Williams, NFL player, Heisman Trophy winner.

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

Marine Corvette. MMA fighter Liz Karamush. What we're doing now isn't working, and we need to change things. Stories matter and it brings a face to them. It makes it real. It really does. It makes it real. Listen to new episodes of the War on Drugs podcast

season two on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. And to hear episodes one week early and ad-free with exclusive content, subscribe to Lava for Good Plus on Apple Podcasts. Sometimes as dads, I think we're too hard on ourselves. We get down on ourselves on not being able to, you know, we're the providers.

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

Always be heard. Hey, we're all in this together. So let's talk about it and see what kind of trouble we can get into. It's the culture. Weekdays at 3, only on the Black Star Network. Hey, what's up? Keith Turney in a place to be. Got kicked out your mama's university.

Creator and executive producer of Fat Tuesdays, an air hip-hop comedy. But right now, I'm rolling with Roland Martin. Unfiltered, uncut, unplugged, and undamned believable. You hear me? Thank you so much! Thank you! All right! I know your love for me is getting weaker every day I can tell by your touch that you're not far away I tried to prepare myself, cause I know it won't be long

Before the little love you have left soon will be gone I'm holding on to a dying love. It ain't no easy thing. Hold on. Holding on to a dying love. It ain't no easy thing. All right, hello. I figure I'll give y'all a little Otis Clay,

holding on to a dying love for Kevin McCarthy right there. All right, y'all. The Alabama community wants some answers after police gunned down a black man in front of his Decatur home. Folks, Steve Perkins died. First of all, the story of how Steve Perkins died depends on who you talk to. Police say he pulled a gun on them during an attempted vehicle repossession, but family and friends say he was current on his vehicle payments and that the repossession was incorrect. Many who hit the streets in protest think there's more to the story and they want

the Decatur Police Department to release body cam video and be transparent about what really happened to Steve Perkins. Joining me now is Rodney Gordon, president of the Morgan County, Decatur, Alabama, NAACP chapter, and Adriana Tapscott from the organization Standing in Power. So, first off, when did this take place? This took place last Saturday around 2 o'clock in the morning. Okay, so 2 o'clock in the morning. Okay, so 2 o'clock in the morning. So why was he? So give me the circumstances.

Where was he stopped? Why was he being stopped? And if it's a car repossession, cops do that? They don't supposed to do it. But it wasn't a stop. He was at home at his residence. His dog starts to bark. He goes outside. This man's got his car

trying to hook his car up. Okay, so who is trying to repossess his car? Is it the police or is it a tow truck? Who is it? A tow truck company. You know, the police can't report your car. So it was a tow truck company.

Okay, so a tow truck company. So then what happened? I mean, how did he go from his dog barking, a tow truck company is in his driveway, and now he's dead? So he comes outside. He catches the guy. He comes, well. Well, according to the video,

he came, you know, he came outside and then he looked around and next thing you know, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom. You say according to the video. What video? Surveillance cameras. Neighbors have cameras, ring cameras, and we've all, you know, they've been circulating on social media. Okay, so the surveillance camera video, have y'all pulled any of that? Okay, all right, so go ahead and roll it, please. So this is from one of the neighbors, and so a little hard to tell here. But so he comes out, a tow truck is trying to take his car.

We see him running out right there. Police running out. I'm sorry, those are the police there. Okay, but this I'm still trying to understand. Why are the cops present? Exactly. There you go, there you go. They shouldn't be.

I mean, if a car's being repossessed, does the tow company call the cops ahead of time and say, hey, we're going to repossess the car, so I need y'all to be here in case something happens? Now, that's protocol, but that didn't happen.

All right? Now... What you saw is the second time they came back. The tow truck driver came back. It happened the first time after he ran him out of his yard. All right? He goes... Go ahead.

Listen to me. Listen to me. The first time the guy came to tow the car, he catches him in his yard. Okay? Allegedly, according to their statement. According to their statement. He runs him out the yard, okay?

Allegedly. After he runs him out the yard, he comes back with the police. The tow truck driver. Now, what you're seeing right here is what the ambush right here. What you're seeing now is how they hid, how they got in place,

and they hid themselves until the folks who came back to lure him back out the house. And they didn't identify themselves as police officers. Okay, first of all, stop the video. Believe it up. So is this

across the street? Yes, they're hiding out. They hid out behind the house, at the neighbor's house. Okay, I'm going to the center. Pull it up on the center, please. So I'm just trying to understand here. So, okay. So his house is the one that's across the street?

Excuse me again? His house is the one... Across the street. Yes, sir. Right, so the cops are standing behind a vehicle that's. Hiding. Hiding. Hiding is correct.

Across the street, right? Yes. All right. So the cops are, again, I'm just trying to understand here. So come to me here. I'm trying to understand. So. As it goes forward.

Pull up the video back. Because here's what I'm trying to understand. Where they're standing, they're looking across the street, right? At the house. At the house, correct. Okay, so they're standing here. They're looking across the street. Again, I'm just trying to understand.

Okay. Why? So not one time did a police officer go to his door and go. That's right. Not one time. Go to his door and say, sir, we are here because this tow truck, they are repossessing your car. At no time did it ever happen. So they literally are hiding behind a car waiting for the man to come back out and not roll a video.

Yeah, roll the video. Roll the video. Yeah, it's rolling. Now, you see the police? Now, you see that flash? Yeah. That's a signal that they hit him. And then the guy comes from behind the car to tell the police car to go down the street.

When that police car should have stopped. Let him go. Okay. from behind the car to tell the police car to go down the street when that police car should have stopped. OK, so we're what? So again, so he's just this is absolutely. So what has mayor, police chief, what have any of those folks said? All they say is his on-coin investigation. Now, we're pausing like this because we're being told what to say. Okay? So that's why I don't want you to think that we're slow or anything,

but that's why we're doing this. No, no, no. First of all, we're just walking through it anyway. But, again, there are just some basic common sense things that normally should happen and transpire. Joe Richardson, you're a civil rights attorney. Joe, what I don't understand is if you're a tow truck driver and you first come to the house and then you leave and call the cops, why don't the cops come back and knock on the door and say, sir, this tow truck driver has something to repossess your vehicle? That's right.

I don't understand why you hide behind a car, Joe, and then wait for the guy to come out, and then you shoot him. That's absolutely right. They're lying in wait. Apparently it sounds like even when one of the police cars comes down the street, they shoo it away. You know, get away.

We're trying to hide. We want to come out into a certain time. So it's not about keeping anybody safe. It's about the element of surprise. And so here they come out of nowhere in a situation that shouldn't have involved police. But if it did involve police or should have involved police, arguably the police should have gone, identified themselves, knocked on the door and said, they're here to repossess your car. There's been something said about you stopping them from doing it. We don't have to deal with that.

They're just going to repossess the car while we stand here. And that should have been it. They are hiding like they're waiting to do something. And if it was really about keeping the people that are doing the repossession safe, they would have stood in front of it in the first place. So there's a whole lot going wrong here. Something in the milk truly ain't white. No question about it. The thing here,

Randy, look, I'm born and raised in Texas. I have a right to protect my property. So if I come out of my home and if I see somebody messing with my car, I literally have the right to fire

at them to protect my property. If no one identifies themselves, I don't know who the hell that is messing with my car. Plain and simple. Self-explanatory. Randy, go ahead. Randy, go ahead. You have no idea what's going on. And Texas, it is absolutely legal when you can go out and protect your property. And, you know, I've read a couple of articles and they kept saying whether the gentleman was or was not up on his payments.

That doesn't matter that. I mean, I'm tired of us always having to prove our innocence and things because that doesn't matter. The police still should have conducted themselves in a far better way than they did. It does seem like an absolute ambush. If the tow truck driver did not feel safe and he called the police, they should have been there to help the tow truck driver. But it seemed honestly more like an ambush to me. Just absolutely there is something wrong there and just quite sad. Mustafa, again, according to their report, they're saying that Perkins brandished a handgun that was equipped with a light

towards an officer with the Decatur Police Department, causing the officer to fire at Perkins. I can tell you this, Mustafa, we know this here. If that body. I know a lot of cops and they get asked all the time, have you ever had to shoot your gun? Sometimes the answer is yes, but there's a company dedicated to a future where the answer will always be no. Across the country, cops called this taser the revolution. But not everyone was convinced it was that simple. Cops believed everything that taser told them.

From Lava for Good and the team that brought you Bone Valley comes a story about what happened when a multi-billion dollar company dedicated itself to one visionary mission. This is Absolute Season One, Taser Incorporated. I get right back there and it's bad. It's really, really, really bad. Listen to new episodes of Absolute Season 1, Taser Incorporated on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Binge episodes one, two, and three on May 21st and episodes four, five, and six on June 4th.

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

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

Riley Cote. Marine Corvette. MMA fighter Liz Karamush. What we're doing now isn't working and we need to change things. Stories matter and it brings a face to them. It makes it real. It really does. It makes it real. Listen to new episodes of the War on Drugs podcast season two on the iHeartRadio app,

Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. And to hear episodes one week early and ad free with exclusive content, subscribe to Lava for Good Plus on Apple Podcasts. I always had to be so good, no one could ignore me. Carve my path with data and drive. But some people only see who I am on paper. The paper ceiling. The limitations from degree screens to stereotypes that are holding back over 70 million stars.

Workers skilled through alternative routes rather than a bachelor's degree. It's time for skills to speak for themselves. Find resources for breaking through barriers at taylorpapersceiling.org. Brought to you by Opportunity at Work and the Ad Council. Camera footage backed up what they report said that that footage would be out already? Without a doubt. You know, we know some of the statistics, right? So black folks are three times more likely to die at the hands of police than white folks are. 859 people have been killed across the country by police so far this year. So we begin to ask the question, well, why are those statistics the way that they

are? And when we see these types of things, it begins to answer some of that. Because as has been stated, the police could have very easily went to the door and talked to the gentleman and said, you know, we've got a situation here, we need to figure it out. And then because they are supposed to de-escalate situations. By what we see currently on this video, there was no de-escalation. So, yes, if the police were in the right, we would have already seen the video. So it will come out,

and then the truth will be known. Indeed. Rodney, Adriana, certainly keep us abreast of what happens next in this story. We will. Thank you. Thank you for having us. Thank you so very much. Folks, got to go to break.

We come back. We're going to talk about a 60-city tour the black realtors are about to go on, focusing on the idea of building black wealth. You're watching Roland Martin Unfiltered right here on the Black Star Network. Next on The Frequency with me, Dee Barnes, the the amazing drew dixon she gives us the details behind the hbo documentary that shed light on the alleged sexual assaults by russell simmons

and we're talking about the netflix documentary ladies first right here on the frequency on the black star network on the next a balanced life with Dr. Jackie, two facts that you need to be aware of. African-American women have the highest diagnosis of breast cancer than any other group in the U.S. And young African-American women are most likely to be diagnosed with one of the highest aggressive forms of breast cancer than all other groups. It is a disease that requires fast action, determination, and a whole lot of support. On our next show, we'll meet a young woman who's chosen an alternative path and approach to tackling this disease. And you'll hear from our medical and support experts on how to maintain balance through it all. We encourage exercise.

We encourage, you know, changing diet and making, you know, all those personal changes. That's on the next A Balanced Life on Blackstar Network. All change is not growth, but thoughtful change is real good fertilizer. And that's what has been so beneficial to us. But you also were not afraid of the pivot. Well, I'm a black woman in business. Come on. I don't care how I dress up. I don't care who I'm speaking with. I don't care what part of the world I am in. I still

am a black woman in business. Being afraid of the pivot, being fearful of change is not what got me here. Respectful of change. Respectful of pivot. Yeah. Fearful?

No, uh-uh, no. No. Farquhar, executive producer of Proud Family. Bruce Smith, creator and executive producer of Proud Family, Louder and Prouder. You're watching Roland Martin. ¶¶ ¶¶ ¶¶ And I don't really want to know Where you're going Maybe once or twice you see

Time after time I try To hold on to what we got But now you're going And I don't mind About the things you're gonna say, Lord I gave all my money and my time I know it's a shame But I'm giving you back your name Guess I'll be on my way

I won't be back to stay I guess I'll move along I'm looking for a good time. Time for Kevin McCartney to sail on. Oh, I got a whole bunch of other songs to play for him. All right, y'all. We often talk about the importance of building black wealth, and housing is one of those ways.

It's the National Association of Real Estate Brokers are about to embark on a 60-city tour focusing on building black wealth tour. It kicks off Saturday in my hometown of H-Town, Houston, Texas. Then they head to Birmingham, Charlotte, North Carolina as well. Dr. Courtney Johnson-Rose is president of the National Association of Real Estate Brokers. She is here. Courtney, the thing about when we talk about this idea of home ownership, it's not just buying a home. It's getting people to understand what that means, understanding when you have equity in that home, how you can now use that equity to take out additional loan, begin to buy other properties. So it goes beyond just saying, hey, spend your money and buy a house.

It does. It really does. And thank you so much, Roland, for having the National Association of Real Estate Brokers tonight. We are so excited about the launch of our 60-city tour. And you're so right. It's really about education. At the end of the day, our community needs education on the importance of homeownership. There's a lot of headlines right now about high interest rates. There's a lot of headlines now about how high pricing is. There's no inventory. So there's a lot of things trying to talk us out of building black wealth through real estate. But we know that it's one of the best tools that a family can have to build wealth. So we're going to go out into our communities

and share this message with them because it's so important. Now, there's a great scene from the movie Hootlam where the Lawrence Fishburne character says, when you don't know, you don't know. And I think in many, I mean, that's the case for a lot of us. We really don't know. We don't understand how we're able to leverage these dollars. And again, if you don't have the information, then you just sort of stuck out in the cold. Well, we do a report that's called the State of Housing in Black America Report that NARAP produces every year. You can get access to that on our website at nareb.com. But in our report, Roland, it shows that there are more than two million Black Americans that are mortgage ready. What that means is that they have the

credit to buy a home and they have the income to buy a home, but they don't know it. They don't understand that there's down payment assistance programs for them. They don't understand what their credit score really needs to be to be able to actually purchase. They don't know that what they pay in rent is probably more than what they will pay in the actual mortgage note. So this Black Wealth Tour is really about going into our communities to educate them about what the opportunity is for them to purchase real estate.

But there's more than two million black professionals out in our communities that don't know that they're mortgage ready. All right, questions for our panel. First up, Randy. Randy. Actually, I'm going to go back to Randy. Mustafa, I'll go to you first. Yeah. Well, thank you for joining the show. I know that President Biden had increased dollars over at HUD to help people with first time home ownership. How do you all utilize the information both that's

happening there from the federal side of the equation and from the banking industry to help people to understand where these dollars are to be able to move forward? Yes, excellent question. And there's a lot of information that we'll be sharing on the tour. So one of the things that has really come about is what's called special purpose credit programs that the administration and several banks have been able to produce over the past couple of years. So there's programs for buying in low to moderate income areas. There's down payment assistance programs available. We have a class that's part of the Building Black Wolf tour that's called Show Me the Money. And in this class, each of the cities that we're going to,

we're gonna talk about where the money is, what zip codes you can buy in and get access to down payment assistance, what banks have special products for black and brown borrowers. So this tour is really about going into our communities to talk about things like Show Me the Money, down payment assistance.

Some of the other classes that we're going to have that we're really excited about is one that we're producing that's called What to Do with Big Mama's House. We realize in our community, we're not just not buying homes fast enough, but we're also losing our family homes. We're not passing along real estate in the proper way. So we're excited to partner with the National Bar Association of Black Lawyers that will be in partnership with

us for this course, but really to talk about what do you do with Big Mama's house? How do you pass it along? How do you work with your cousins? What does that paperwork look like when you want to keep this home in your family, when you want to preserve this wealth that your family built. And when gentrification is happening in our areas, we know that this is going to be a really important course. In the Houston market, we have another course that we're really excited about that's part of the tour that's called Black Men Buy Houses. Two of our members here, the Shelton's and the Houston Market, did a program for black men last weekend. And they had over 600 black men show up that were interested in buying homes.

So we're going to make this a part of the tour also, too, because black men do want to buy houses. They talked about before you get married as a black man, you should have a home. And how do you do that? What's the steps? How do you get your credit ready? How do you get the down payment money? So we're going to walk through that. So we're really excited about the tour and the content that we have. We're going to do ABCs of home buying. We have another course that we're very excited about too called Careers in Real Estate. There's not enough of our young African-American professionals getting involved in the real estate industry. And they just in the real estate industry.

And they just think about real estate just as sales. They think about brokers. They think about agents. But they're not thinking about appraisers. They're not thinking about real estate development. They're not thinking about property management. Every building that you see, every high-rise that you see has a property manager. That's big business. And we need to be exposing our young people to opportunities to be involved in one of the best industries that there is, which is real estate. Randy. I'm just so impressed with what you're doing right now. My mother dropped me off to the Alpha Omega School of Real Estate when I was 18 years old. I love it. I love it. When I was home

from break on college because she felt that having the knowledge about what home ownership could do was so important. I was wondering is after people take the courses, will there be mentors that can hide? Because I find that within our community, there's just fear, you know, fear to even walk in a bank and apply for a loan, you know, fear to go out and look. And so even when we have the knowledge, we're still fearful. Yes. The one thing that I'm so glad that you mentioned that because fear is a big issue in our community. We have been rejected so many times. We are fearful of what does it mean and the responsibility of homeownership, because many times no one in our family has ever owned a home. I'm a real estate broker here in Houston. One of my most successful

real estate transactions in the past 20 years was a 65-year-old woman who bought her first home, and she said the reason why she wanted to buy it was that her family can have a Thanksgiving dinner that wasn't in an apartment complex. She said her whole life, her family, her children, her grandchildren, everything was done Christmas, Thanksgiving in apartment communities. So we have fear in our community because no one has ever done it. The big thing that we use to get over that fear is our members. We are not realtors. We are realtists. When our association was founded in 1947, it was founded before African-Americans could become realtors. So we started our own organization called the Realtors Association of the National Association of Real Estate Brokers. And our members have a special charge to help the

African-American community. So we're very focused on building Black homeownership. So we are the mentors. If someone comes to this tour and they are not able to get pre-approved, one of our members will walk with them through the process until they can purchase a home. So we provide the hand-holding, the mentorship, that special one-on-one care that we know that our community needs to bring them to home ownership. Our members are trained for that. That's what we do. That's why we joined this association, because our special charge to help the Black community increase Black wealth. Joe, absolutely impressed with what you're doing and have a connection because my wife's grandfather jesse robinson was the first black realtor in houston

and our cousin just runs runs hall right now as we speak uh so shout out you already know what it is and so tell me about the next tier. How do you guys connect with legislation potentially? Are there certain things that you advocate for so that perhaps that next tier, I love how you're preparing some folks that need to be walked through. But maybe some of the next folks, what are some of the things that are out there that you would think legislatively would allow even more people, maybe people that don't have a lot of bills but they pay rent. So they may not have high credit scores because they don't have a lot of bills, but they pay rent. So they may not have high credit scores because they don't buy a lot. You know, what are some of the things that you would look for, you had a wishlist,

to make existent to allow more people to buy? Yes, thank you for that question. Judson Robinson was the founder of our Houston Black Real Estate Association, our local chapter of NARAP here in Houston. So just a legend. So you're so right that this is a multi-prime approach that we have to do. We have to educate our community, motivate them to

homeownership, but we also have to advocate for them at the same time for the programs, for the regulations, for the policies that will help increase Black homeownership. So we produce the State of Housing in Black America report every year. And out of that report comes our legislative, our policy issues. I'll give a couple of examples. Last year, one of the things that we really promoted was how student loan debt is calculated. So UNCF says the average Black student graduates from college with $44,000 worth of debt. Well, if that $45,000 worth of debt hurts you when it's time to buy a home because of debt-to-income ratio, we know that if we're able to affect policy on how student loan debt is calculated in mortgages,

we know that that will help increase Black homeownership for young professionals. So we advocate for things of that nature. We have two reports that we do that with the state of housing in black America and our wire report, which is women investing in real estate that looks at the landscape for purchasing home for African-American women. Interesting stat that came out of our wire report that we're really focused on is that black women are three times more likely to receive a subprime loan. So something's happening in our communities where Black women are being targeted on subprime lenders. So there's an education that is needed there, but there's also a policy issue

there that we are being targeted. These things are in our communities. These lenders are in our communities and they're not regulated and they're affecting how we purchase real estate and the type of products that we are being marketed. So just note that through our state of housing Black America report, our wire report, both of those give us our policy positions that we work with on a day-to-day basis to continue to advocate for Black homeownership.

All right, where do folks go to find out if the tour's coming to their city? Yes, sir. So the tour is up to 66 cities now. You can go to www.narabblackwealthtour.com, narabblackwealthtour.com. And Roland, I just want to thank you. You came, sir, to our 75th

annual conference. You were our opening ceremony speaker for NARAP. You've come several times before, but this was a special time for us because it was our 75th anniversary. Our past presidents chose you as our opening speaker and you tore the roof off of NARAP. We will never be the same because you came. So we thank you for always showing up for it, for NARAB. We will never be the same because you came. So we thank you for always showing up for NARAB. We thank you for this opportunity. And we're excited about building Black wealth in our communities.

But we appreciate you for the voice that you have in our community also, too. I appreciate it. Thank you so very much. Thank you for having me. And I think I'll take it my people. I think they, hopefully they sent me the video so if they did, we

can restream that. So we'll find out. That would be awesome. It will find out. It was a powerful message. Powerful message. All right. We'll find out. Cool. Thanks a lot. We really appreciate you. Appreciate it. Thanks a lot. All right, folks. Got to go to break. We come back. History made in the United States Senate today,

overshadowed by the craziness in the House. We will tell you and show you what happened with the newest black woman, United States Senator. That's next right here in Roland Martin on the filter of the Black Star Network. Don't forget to support us in what we do. If you're watching on YouTube, hit the like button, y'all. Also, be sure to join our Bring the Funk fan club. Y'all ain't getting nothing like this on no network.

MSNBC, CNN, Fox, CNN, ABC, none of them. They ain't got this much flavor, this much color at all. And you know you ain't going to have four black people talking at one time about what happened today. You might get one black person per hour. Might. Barely that's going to happen. one black person per hour. Might. Barely that's going to happen. So, Sarah, check your money order at PO Box 57196, Washington,

D.C., 20037-0196. Cash App, Dollar Sign, RM Unfiltered, PayPal, or Martin Unfiltered. Venmo is RM Unfiltered. Zelle, RolandSMartin.com, Roland Martin Unfiltered.com. And be sure to get a copy of my book,

White Fear, How the Browning of America is Making White Folks Lose Their Minds, available at bookstores nationwide. Download the audio version on Audible. And then, of course, you can also download our Blackstone Network app, Apple Phone, Android Phone, Apple TV, Android TV, Roku, Amazon Fire TV, Xbox One, Samsung Smart TV. We'll be right back. On the next Get Wealthy with me, Deborah Owens, America's Wealth Coach,

we talk about the principles of mindset, strategy, and execution. This week, we're adding a fourth, faith. You're going to hear from a mother and daughter duo who are helping thousands of Black women build wealth all through their faith. You are more than you. I know a lot of cops and they get asked all the time. Have you ever had to shoot your gun? Sometimes the answer is yes. But there's a company dedicated to a future where the answer will always be no.

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

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

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

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

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

And to hear episodes one week early and ad-free with exclusive content, subscribe to Lava for Good Plus on Apple Podcasts. I always had to be so good no one could ignore me. Carve my path with data and drive. But some people only see who I am on paper. The paper ceiling. The limitations from degree screens to stereotypes that are holding back over 70 million stars. Workers skilled through alternative routes rather than a bachelor's degree.

It's time for skills to speak for themselves. Find resources for breaking through barriers at taylorpapersceiling.org. Brought to you by Opportunity at Work and the Ad Council. You can never imagine. Not just obtaining things to show that but seeing yourself making your faith work for you that's right here on get wealthy only on black star network hatred on the streets a horrific scene a white nationalist rally that descended into deadly violence white people are losing their damn minds there's an angry pro-trump mob storm to the u.s capital we're about to see the rise of what i call white minority resistance we have seen

white folks in this country who simply cannot tolerate black folks voting. I think what we're seeing is the inevitable result of violent denial. This is part of American history. Every time that people of color have made progress, whether real or symbolic, there has been what Carol Anderson at Emory University calls white rage as a backlash. This is the wrath of the Proud Boys and the Boogaloo Boys. America, there's going to be more of this. There's all the Proud Boys, guys. This country is getting increasingly racist in its behaviors and its attitudes because of the fear of white people. The fear that they're taking our jobs, they're taking our resources, they're taking our women. This is white people.

Hi, everybody. I'm Kim Coles. Hey, I'm Donnie Simpson. Yo, it's your man, Deon Cole, from Black-ish, and you're watching... Roland Martin, unfiltered. I don't love you anymore It's just that simple No, no, no, not like before It's such a shame

Dirty shame, yeah We can't work it out for said it's a shame dirty shame we can't work it out no not this time we can't be together we can only be friends you gotta respect each other you gotta relate to your lover

I don't love you anymore That's what I'm saying, Randy. Let it play. It could never be like it was before You don't know what I'm talking about I don't love you anymore It's just that simple No, no, no, not like before And we got some news that's just coming in. Come on.

News is coming in. Kevin McCarthy has said that he is not going to run for speaker again. The new Speaker Pro Tem said they're going to have a Candace form on Tuesday and they hope to have a vote on Wednesday. So that's where the drama continues in the House. And while that was happening in the House, on the Senate side, history was made when LaFonza Butler was sworn in as the newest United States Senator from California. Please raise your right hand and repeat after me. Say, do you solemnly swear that you will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic,

that you will bear true faith and allegiance to the same, that you take this obligation freely without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion, and that you will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office upon which you are about to enter. So help you God. I will. Congratulations. Congratulations. Congratulations. Here comes the third black female United States senator.

Carol Moseley Braun was the first. Of course, Kamala Harris was second. And now LaFonza Butler. She will serve the remaining term of the late Senator Diana Feinstein, a little bit more than a year. Butler, Joe, has not decided whether she is going to actually run for the office. She's got a short runway because the primary, you know, it's fast approaching. You've got to raise money.

And so what's interesting, Joe, it's a lot of people have been upset because some black members of Congress, some other sisters who are supporting, who are supporting Congresswoman Barbara Lee, they got attitudes with them because they have been congratulating, they've been congratulating Butler, but also saying they're going to be working towards, working towards electing,

working towards electing, working towards electing a lead to the Senate. And I saw some of these videos earlier, excuse me, a post earlier. I'm trying to find them. One of them was from Ayanna Pressley. One of them was from Cori Bush. And people have,

oh, this is wrong, this is foul. And I actually disagree. I mean, the bottom line is a perfect example. Let me see if I can pull this up. Give me one second, y'all. I'm going to pull this up. Here you go. Let me go.

All right. We'll do a screen share. Give me one second. Here we go. All right. So this is a tweet here from Cori Bush. She said, congratulations, LaFonza B, on your historic appointment, becoming just the third black woman to serve in the U.S. Senate.

Let's continue to expand that number as we work to elect Barbara Lee for California 2024 as the next senator of California. Tara Lee Watkins tweets, absolutely disgusting. Barbara Lee's campaign is doing a major disservice with this comment. I disagree. I mean, let's be real clear. Butler hasn't said she's running.

These women have already endorsed Barbara Lee. So, I don't understand. My deal is, they've already done it. What they're saying is, hey, I'm going to congratulate Butler, but guess what? We want to see Barbara Lee as the next United States Senator.

I don't find it to be disgusting. Yeah, there's a couple things that are going on here. Gavin Newsom had a couple choices. Once he made that promise to appoint a black woman, the context would have to be he'd either have to qualify it by saying, unless I'll appoint a black woman, but that person will not have the Padilla effect in terms of being a pre-made frontrunner if people aren't, you know, running like they weren't with him if we're close to an election. He could have qualified that all that time ago or he would just deal with this bridge, cross it, you know, or jump off of it when he came to it. So it ended up being B. The fact of the matter is I think Gavin Newsom did the right thing.

I love Barbara Lee. She is a liberal lion. She's been around a long time. But Gavin Newsom, who also everybody knows he wants to be president, is not a secret. He was damned if he did and damned if he didn't. But he said he was going to appoint a black woman. He did. He shouldn't have appointed, I would argue, anyone that was already in the race because it

gives them a leg up. And in Barbara Lee's case, she probably needed it with all due respect to her. And let's add this. She's not young. She's 75. And the fact of the matter is that when we just got done spending a couple of years trying to get Feinstein to come down, Senator Feinstein may she rest in peace for all of the things that she did, including most notably probably the assault weapons ban and what she means for women all over. You know, there are a lot of reasons for him not to appoint Barbara Lee. And they are coming from the standpoint of what their campaign is and where they are. She's got some difficulties and she's got

some hills to climb as much as I love her. That being said, as a practical matter, even though he didn't put any requirements on Sister Butler, the one that's just got appointed, I would bet you 10 to 1 that she doesn't run. I will bet you it's unsaid that she doesn't run, but I would be shocked because among other things, it's a $100 million seat and she's got five months and the only thing that could tee them off more, the black folks that are upset, is if

she actually runs and now she dilutes Barbara Lee's votes. I just don't think that's going to happen. Here's what I disagree, Randy. First of all, Barbara Lee is 77. LaFonza Butler is 49. And look, she was the CEO of Emily's List. That's a big mailing list.

Two, has worked with unions and others. Her wife is an SEIU official. It ain't going to be a problem for her to raise 20, 30, 40, 50 million dollars, especially when you're now in the incumbent position. But the bottom line here is, and I've seen this argument in many other places as well, where age is brought up. The Senate is about seniority.

And so, you have a 49-year-old sister compared to a 77-year-old Barbara Lee. One term in, boom, Lee's 83, Butler is 55. And this is one of those things that some might say, well, you know what, you shouldn't be talking about that. But it's a reality of if you're talking about power, if you're talking about what is next, if you're talking about the next step, if you're looking at folks, if you're talking about, you know, Democratic candidates for 2028 for higher office, if you're talking about U.S. Senate, you're talking about president. Well, guess what? When you have folks who are in their mid-40s,

they're not in position for those positions. And we already hear people who complain about how old Pelosi, Sidney Hoyer, Clyburn, how the Democratic leadership was. And so we can't act as if that's not a part of this conversation. We have to be real when we talk about politics, because politics is about strategy, right? And, you know, I lived in California for 17 years and have absolute respect for Lee and all that she has done for us. But you do have to consider the age. If you look at the way the Republicans,

we have to give them credit for how they have dealt with, for instance, with the Supreme Court, right? Because when you get people of a certain age that have a certain youth, you know that they you get people of a certain age that have a certain youth, you know that they will be there for a long time and will be able to have an impact for a long time. So it is something that we have to have realistic conversations about and do what is best for the entire party and country.

You know what, Mustafa, first, having Butler in the Senate, it is important to have representation. She is the only African-American. But you have, look, the possibility. You've got some sisters who are running. Of course, in the last election, Sherrod Beasley ran for North Carolina. But Lisa Dorchester is the leading candidate to be the next United States Senator from Delaware. You've got other sisters who are running in Michigan and some other places as well. And so the thing that we are seeing, the thing that we're seeing, when you begin to have more folks who are running for statewide offices,

then they're able to go up the political ladder to expand the opportunities. And I think that's what you're seeing here. Yeah, without a doubt. You know, what is our country now? 247 years old and we've only had, what is it, 12 senators who are African-American and now we're blessed to have three sisters who've been there. We have an opportunity that's coming up over these next couple of election cycles to really ramp those numbers up with extremely talented people. I know most of the folks that you just called out and they have amazing skill sets, you know, from running companies to understanding the strength of unions to really being committed to what's happening inside of our communities. But then we have a responsibility also, you know, and that's why this show is so important, of really reminding folks about these opportunities and how our votes can really make sure that these sisters get the

opportunity. So one, congratulations to Senator Butler. You know, she will do a fine job in the short amount of time that she has. But we should really be focused on these, all these other folks who are going to be running and really make some strong decisions if we're going to get behind them. If we're truly going to get behind them, then that means we have to do it with our time and our money. And we can really make transformational change happen.

You know what? And the thing here, and again, I just disagree with the people who are criticizing Bush and Presley. Look, the people disagree. I know a lot of cops, and they get asked all the time, have you ever had to shoot your gun? Sometimes the answer is yes. But there's a company dedicated to a future where the answer

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Find resources for breaking through barriers at taylorpapersceiling.org. Brought to you by Opportunity at Work and the Ad Council. You have more than one black candidate who runs. And so guess what? Congresswoman Barbara Lee's in this race. She should run her race. If Butler decides to seek the position, she should do the same.

I don't see why people think that's somehow a bad thing, Joe. It just makes no sense. And people also don't seem to understand. California changed the rules. The rules in California now are the top two vote-getters go to the general election. It's not Republican or Democrat any longer.

That's right. It's top two. That's one of the legacies of the Schwarzenegger years, actually. And so when Kamala Harris ran, it was her and it was Sanchez. They were the top two. Clearly, this race is going to be top two

if I would predict what it was today before Ms. Butler potentially gets in. It would probably be Schiff and Katie Porter. And so she absolutely can run. To your point, she could raise money. She could be competitive. She's at the top of Emily's list. She can your point, she could raise money. She could be competitive. She's at the top of Emily's list. She can come up with a lot of money.

But I wonder if she really will, because Barbara Lee and the people that love Barbara Lee are already blaming Gavin Newsom for not promoting her. But that being said, I think that they would blame him more if she ended up actually running, right? And then Barbara Lee potentially comes in fourth. And so I just would be surprised if she did that because that would have the potential to burn some more bridges other than what people are going to already think. But she has every right to run.

She would be competitive. You know, she was at the head of SEIU for a long time. She knows how to run a race. She knows how to surround her people. I don't think there's any question about that. I'd still be surprised if she did it. And yeah, Barbara Lee does have to run her race. But the fact of the matter is, I think that the points made about seniority, et cetera, and age, particularly given what has happened with Senator Feinstein,

they're just going to have to come in and be brought to bear. And whether Barbara Lee's people is upset at me or not, I'm looking to Ms. Butler, too. I'd give her a look. If she said that she was running, I'd be crazy not to. We talked to the sister who's the owner of a luxury goods company. We'll tell you all about that next. Don't forget, folks. Support us in what we do. Your dollars are critically important for us to cover the news that nobody else is talking about. And so please do so by sending your check and money order to PO Box 57196, Washington, D.C.

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Right. But thoughtful change is real good fertilizer, and that's what has been so beneficial to us. But you also were not afraid of the pivot. Well, I'm a black woman in business. Come on, I don't care how I dress up. I don't care who I'm speaking with. I don't care what part of the world I am in.

I still am a black woman in business. Being afraid of the pivot, being fearful of change is not what got me here. Respectful of change, respectful of pivot, yeah. Fearful, no, Deborah Owens, America's Wealth Coach, we talk about the principles of mindset, strategy, and execution. This week, we're adding a fourth, faith. You're going to hear from a mother and daughter duo who are helping thousands

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How? Love TKO. No, I'm going to play Mama Say Knock You Out. Oh, all those songs for Ken McCarthy. All right, y'all. It's time for Marketplace. All right, folks. Every Tuesday, of course, we feature black-owned businesses in our Marketplace segment. It's an opportunity for you to learn about these businesses

that you otherwise would not know about. We've had a variety of folks over the years, excuse me, over the last several years in this segment. And so a lot of you have actually reached out to me and said you appreciate being able to know about them because when it comes to you getting gifts for Christmas and birthdays and things along those lines.

Alright, so we've got a luxury goods owner on today's show. Amami Luxury, Amami Luxury. Various leather goods, promoting self-love, and also building community. Now, these are one of a kind, custom made. And so the creator of Amami Luxury is Ty Barrett. She's also from LA. Ty, how you doing?

Hi, how you doing today? Good. So, how'd you, so inspiration for starting Amami Luxury Goods? Well, the reason why I actually started to build on Amami is because Amami, by the way, means love me in Italian. And I came to think about the fact that we are always wanting to basically commit to big luxury goods like Gucci, Louis Vuitton. We spend all this money because somehow we think that's going to define our self-worth.

What I'm thinking is why not go to the same suppliers, the same manufacturers that are working with those top fashion houses and build a brand that actually celebrates you? You're absolutely right. It's very interesting. I remember. Why is the name escaping me? I guarantee you Randy knows. Dapper Dan, Dapper Dan, out of Harlem. It was very interesting because when he did an interview and somebody asked him why did he partner with Gucci, he said, I'll be real.

Our people would not have bought Dapper Dan products. He said, but Dapper Dan and Gucci, they'll buy it. And that really speaks to a mindset where we will literally walk past luxury

items that if we don't know the brand because we are deriving something else if it's a hot name, a well-known name. And really, it ain't about the product. It's not about the product itself. It's really when somebody else sees us with that brand name wearing it on our ass. Very true. Very true. As you can see here on this particular bag, this is the me collection. And the me collection is all about me.

We have to come to realization that we have to understand our worth. We are our own brands. And that's why I wanted to basically, if you can just check on the craftsmanship, and this is so important, because I think when we look at different brands, we come to the assumption that, or we define luxury as African-Americans. We say, okay, it's not true

luxury. So I said, well, let's look at this. Look at the craftsmanship here on my back. You can see the edge. Well, first of all, define true luxury. What does that even mean? You know, so one person may say luxury may be lifestyle. One may say experience. What I define in terms of true luxury, I wanted to build it based on craftsmanship, based on materials, something that represents longevity. I wanted to make sure that, for example, this me bag has a very classic design, and it has amazing material that it can last a lifetime because I wanted to be able to create something that is a keepsake because as as we continue to evolve in our lives we go through different experiences and I always like to say my bags

are like those perfect companions those perfect fashion statement pieces saying, I am proud to be me. How are your items produced? All produced in Italy. All produced in Italy. All produced in Italy. And the various products that you have, handbags, what else? Handbags and coming soon,

which is a very, are pouches, which men love. We actually, and these are pouches and both men and women are tapping into and i always say you can put your ipad in here you can use it for luggage storage you can just you can do whatever you want i like to say they're the magic pouches but we have pouches we have a classic bag um soon i'm going to be launching a love bag which is part of it has love heart petals and that is about embracing self-love every collection in the brand is very human centric that means it's about

celebrating you so for example the me bag is about me the love bag is about building up the love that we have for ourselves because love should be intentional. It should be internal first. And if you don't love yourself, you're not going to be able to accept love from anyone else. Questions from the panel. Let's see here. Who shall I go to first?

I'm going to Mustafa first. He's always wearing these Kangols on the show. So if Randy wore beret one time, I would go to her first. Yeah, you know I love that. He's always wearing these Kangol's on the show. So if Randy wore beret one time, I would go to her first. But go ahead, Mustafa. I appreciate that. Congratulations on everything you're doing. I'm curious, you know, for the young entrepreneur who's into fashion, what advice would you give them based upon how you've been building your business? Follow your passion. One thing I did, I took a sabbatical last year. I went to Italy for

two months and I said, let me find the true people that actually do the work. Realize as an entrepreneur, you are not, you're only one person. You only have one specialty. So you have to go to the experts and have them help you. I've had a 10, had a 10 member team, global team. I hired a Louis, someone from Louis Vettel, who was a product developer who worked there for 18 years. I had someone design the bed that worked at Celine and the guy that's responsible for dealing with building my website worked for Burberry. So I said, let me get the top players, the true people in-house. And I actually interviewed, had hired a marketing research director who works one of the top retail brands to really kind of dive in deep to understand, okay, what's my audience look like?

What's my competitive advantage? Where do I see myself positioned as I enter the marketplace? So you really have to do your research, know how to properly delegate, and really truly have passion. Randy? I just want to say I'm so excited about what you're doing because you're talking about really the decolonization of our brains, right right like we were told that certain brands were luxury we bought it and we bought into that idea and really have walked past and ignored the great craftsmanship and and and products that we produce so i like that you've taken that and said listen i giving you luxury. I'm getting the best from around the world and it is made and designed by a black woman. And so all we have to do ourselves is

really decolonize our minds and say, luxury comes from us. High-end brands come from us and we deserve it. So the me on there and the hearts on there. I just really applaud you and congratulate you. And we need to grow up within our community. We do. We do. And it's our responsibility to educate ourselves. Yes. Right?

And that is so important. And it's interesting. I've been kind of going to different, like, events. I went to an event over the weekend about fashion. And I'm like, we really have to step it up because what happens is, and I think we're all guilty of it. It's like, even if I want a handy person, am I going to invest into a black handy person? We have to learn how to understand our values. We have to realize that we present quality. We are,

we are individuals that are as as competitive as someone in mainstream. We really have to, and that starts internally. It is our responsibility to get rid of those stereotypes. Yes. Joe? Congratulations on the interesting work that you're doing. I'm trying to talk low because my wife's upstairs and she's going to see this, you're in LA too. So it's getting ready to be on. But in any event, tell me about the next Frontiers. I know you're going to make some other purses, but are there other things that eventually you think that you would be making that are consistent

with the luxury brand and the feel and the lifestyle that you really want to reinforce with your products. So it's interesting. I'm you know, I have a celebrity male business partner, but I'm not going to disclose his name yet. But we're using that opportunity to tap into into the male market. We also want to do is going to start looking at it. Someone said, oh, my gosh, I would love to carry a tote bag. And that is something that I want to do is because it's like, I want to think about what do you carry on it every day? The beautiful thing is when it comes to my products, they always have some level of interchangeability. For example, this particular bag, the me bag, you're able to carry as a clutch. I had this custom hardware done,

so which it folds perfectly in the gusset. You can wear this as a shoulder bag and you can also wear it as a crossbody. I wanted to basically create different styles that gives you the opportunity for you to carry the products every day. Doesn't matter how you feel, what you're wearing, multi-occasional type bags. And the good thing also is that there is some elements here that I would love to share with you when it comes to my product specifically. I would love, this is like a big old prototype, but if you can see, see the quality of that. See that lining and see how beautiful that lighting is the lining in itself is it was actually made by a supplier that does it for Burberry and Gucci actually if you can spill anything on there and it's not going to

stain the leather has a special finishing which means if you spill something on it it's not going to it's going to be able to manage stuff in the climates and the beautiful thing is which is going to be able to manage stuff in the climates. And the beautiful thing is, which is going to be coming soon, is there is a secret pocket, as you can see, hopefully you can see, oh my gosh, that's in the pocket here.

And what that does is, I actually provide the opportunity for you to create a quote. And sometimes in life, people are trying to challenge us daily, right? Sometimes we forget who we are. Sometimes we don't understand our self-worth. So there is going to be a feature available by the end of the year in which you're going to be able to take these secret tags, put a customized message, and look at it throughout the day when someone is challenging you. So I'm all about basically partnering up, building a community, building a

movement that's going to help build up our self-esteem, not just for us African Americans, people from the LGBT community, people that suffer from disabilities, people that are basically questioning their worth every day. And one of the goals that I also would love to do is start partnering with other organizations and saying, hey guys, let's partner up so we can really start having people go through that journey of self-love, self-acceptance, and freedom of expression. All right. Tell folks where to go. Oh, Amami Luxury. So Amami is A-M-A-M-I, luxury.

You can find that on Instagram. You can also come and visit the website. All right. Well, first, okay, so I'm going to help you out. Forget Instagram. That's not where you're making your money. Okay. No, no, you need to tell people to go to your website.

Where can they buy the products? Build that particular brand. What is it? All right. The website is Amami Luxury. Amami is A-M-A-M-I luxury.com. All right, then.

We certainly appreciate it. Thank you so very much. Thank you so much. Thanks, Roland. All right, thanks a lot. All right, folks, that is it for us. And you know what? I just couldn't, you know, I just couldn't go ahead and just close the show out. I had to close the show out in honor of Ken McCarthy with this one right here. Turn it up. Turn it up.

Cam McCarver, let's go. You need to speak of the house. That's it, y'all. Joe, Randy, Mustafa, I appreciate it. Thanks a bunch. Folks, I'm going to see y'all tomorrow right here. Roll the button on Filth It on the Black Star Network where we keep it real, keep it black, and on Filth It.

Holla! Folks, Black Star Network is here. Hold no punches! I'm real revolutionary right now. Support this man, Black Media. He makes sure that our stories are told. I thank you for being the voice of Black America, Roller. Be Black. I love y'all.

All momentum we have now, we have to keep this going. The video looks phenomenal. See, there's a difference between Black Star Network and Black-owned media and something like CNN. You can't be Black-owned media and be scary.. You can't be Black on media and be scared. It's time to be smart. Bring your eyeballs home. You dig? you you you Sometimes as dads, I think we're too hard on ourselves.

We get down on ourselves on not being able to, you know, we're the providers, but we also have to learn to take care of ourselves. A wrap-away, you got to pray for yourself as well as for everybody else, but never forget yourself. ourselves. A wrap-away, you got to pray for yourself as well as for everybody else, but never forget yourself. Self-love made me a better dad because I realized my worth. Never stop being a dad. That's dedication. Find out more at fatherhood.gov. Brought to you by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the Ad Council. I know a lot of cops. They get asked all the time, have you ever had to shoot your gun?

Sometimes the answer is yes. But there's a company dedicated to a future where the answer will always be no. This is Absolute Season 1, Taser Incorporated. I get right back there and it's bad. Listen to Absolute Season 1, Taser Incorporated on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. and music, and sports. This kind of starts that a little bit, man. We met them at their homes. We met them at their recording studios. Stories matter, and it brings a face to them. It makes it real. It really does.

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