#RolandMartinUnfiltered - KY Four Cops charged for Breonna Taylor Death, Brittney Griner Sentenced to 9yrs, Monkeypox Crisis?

Episode Date: August 5, 2022

8.4.2022 #RolandMartinUnfiltered: KY Four Officers charged for Breonna Taylor Death, Brittney Griner Sentenced to 9 years, Monkeypox Crisis? "Today is a good to arrest the officers who killed shot and killed Breonna Taylor," and that dream became reality as the Department of Justice announced it's an indictment of four officers involved in Taylor's 20202 death. We'll speak with Attorney Ben Crump and Tamika Mallory about the ruling. WNBA Star Brittney Griner is found guilty today in Russia and sentenced to 9 years in Prison. We'll speak with Debbie Jackson, who was Griner's High School Basketball Coach, about the ruling. And The U.S has officially declared Monkeypox a public health crisis, we'll speak with Dr.Taison Bell on way to keep you safe as cases rise. U.S. Representative Charlie Crist is running for Governor of the state of Florida. We'll speak with the representative about what he plan's to do in the sunshine state if elected. Support RolandMartinUnfiltered and #BlackStarNetwork via the Cash App ☛ https://cash.app/$rmunfiltered PayPal ☛ https://www.paypal.me/rmartinunfiltered Venmo ☛https://venmo.com/rmunfiltered Zelle ☛ [e-mail] Annual or monthly recurring #BringTheFunk Fan Club membership via paypal ☛ https://rolandsmartin.com/rmu-paypal/ Download the #BlackStarNetwork app on iOS, AppleTV, Android, Android TV, Roku, FireTV, SamsungTV and XBox 👉🏾 http://www.blackstarnetwork.com #RolandMartinUnfiltered and the #BlackStarNetwork are news reporting platforms covered under Copyright Disclaimer Under Section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976, allowance is made for "fair use" for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This is an iHeart Podcast. now we have to keep this going the video looks phenomenal see this difference between black star network and black owned media and something like cnn you can't be black owned media and it's time to be smart bring your eyeballs home you dig Today is Thursday, August 4th, 2022. Coming up, a Roland Martin non-filter streaming live on the Black Star Network, live from Las Vegas, the site of the NABJ, N-A-H-A National Convention. Today, the DOJ announced four officers involved in the killing of Breonna Taylor. They have been arrested and will be tried on civil rights violations. We will talk with attorney Ben Crump, also Tamika Mallory of Until Freedom about this important breaking news story.

WNBA star Brittany Griner is found guilty today in Russia and sentenced to nine years in prison. We'll talk with Debbie Jackson, Griner's high school basketball coach, about this decision. The U.S. has officially declared monkeypox, a public health crisis. We'll talk with Dr. Tyson Bell on the way about the Keeping You Safe cases rise. Also, Congressman Charlie Chris is running for Democratic nomination for governor of Florida. He joins us on the show to talk about his plans if he gets back in the governor's mansion. Folks, there's a lot we're covering today. It is time to bring the funk. I'm Roland Martin, unfiltered on the 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 With some go-go-royale Yeah, yeah It's rolling, Martin, yeah Yeah, yeah Rolling with rolling now. Yeah.

He's funky, fresh, he's real, the best you know, he's rolling Martin. Now. Martin. folks big news today out of washington dc the department of justice filing civil rights charges against four louisville police officers over the drug raid that led to the death of brianna taylor the charges filed today are another effort to hold law enforcement accountable for the killing of a 26 year old medical worker after one of the officers was acquitted of state charges earlier this year. We're going to show you in a moment the announcement from Attorney General Merrick Garland as well

as Kristen Clark, who heads the Civil Rights Division of the Department of Justice. Attorney Ben Crump is about to hop onto a plane right now to fly to Las Vegas, where he and I will be together for a screening of his documentary on Netflix. Ben, I know you're about to hop on this plane. Just share with us just your initial thoughts of this decision by the Department of Justice to hold these cops accountable. This is a huge, huge decision. Roland Martin is historic in every sense of the word. Christian Clark, the first black woman to lead the civil rights department, if you're

keeping count, she made sure she got guilty verdict in the killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis of the police. She got a guilty verdict of the lynch mob that lynched Ahmaud Arbery in Georgia. And today she got a guilty plea and indictments against the officers who executed Breonna Taylor. So this sister, I believe, as I said at the press conference, is doing as much in the way of civil rights as any other Justice Department has done, I believe, since Bobby Kennedy during the civil rights movement with Martin Luther King and Congressman John Lewis. And you're right.

Look, we've talked about numerous times how the White House is not really focusing on the work that they are doing, the number of corrections officers who they have tried, who they've convicted. They hate crimes as well. A lot of activity going on there. But so many people, so many activists, they were demanding justice for Breonna. Didn't happen on a state level. The Kentucky Attorney General, he, of course, did not want to pursue charges. But this is also why voting matters for this Department of Justice to step in and say there's

enough evidence. Remember, it was former Attorney General Eric Holder who said there was a very high bar to try someone for civil rights violations. They believe this DOJ, they have met that requirement. Exactly, Roland. And we have to note that this is the first time in history that the federal government has charged police officers for killing a black woman. the deprivation of Breonna's constitutional rights that led to her death, that can land these officers in prison for life. And that is so significant

when we talk about the value of black women. I know my co-counsel, Anita Baker, Tamika Mallory, you know, Funtill Freedom, Monique Preston, all of us just talk for a moment about what this means for black women in America today. Absolutely. Now, Ben, I know you've got to catch a flight right now. So I'm going to see you in a few hours here in Las Vegas. You're going to be talking more with all the journalists here. A symbol not only about your documentary, but also having a media availability to discuss this case as well.

So I'll see you in a few hours. Safe flight. Thank you, Roland. And we'll talk about Breonna Ayers in Georgia, Breonna Grip in Georgia. All right. Indeed. All right. I certainly appreciate it, Ben. Thanks a lot. Folks, during this announcement, Attorney General Merrick Garland and Christian Clark of the Civil Rights Division said Breonna Taylor should be alive today. We allege that the defendants the officers responsible for falsifying the affidavit that led to the search took steps to cover up their unlawful conduct after Ms. Taylor was killed. We allege that defendants Jaynes and Goodlett conspired to knowingly falsify an investigative

document that was created after Ms. Taylor's death. We also allege that they conspired to mislead federal, state, and local authorities who were investigating the incident. For example, we allege that in May 2020, those two defendants met in a garage where they agreed to tell investigators a false story. This indictment separately alleges that defendant Meany lied to the FBI during its investigation of this. As Attorney General Garland just stated, today's indictments allege that Louisville Police Detective Joshua Janes and Sergeant Kyle Meany drafted and approved what they knew was a false affidavit to support a search warrant for Ms. Taylor's home. That false affidavit set in motion events that led to Ms. Taylor's death when other

LMPD officers executed that warrant. The Fourth Amendment of the Constitution ensures that people are subject to searches only when there is probable cause supporting a search warrant. Falsified warrants create unnecessary hazards for the public and for the police who rely on facts that fellow officers report in carrying out their public duties. The indictment alleges that by preparing a false affidavit to secure a search warrant for Breonna Taylor's homes, defendants Janes and Meany willfully deprive.

Joining me now, Tamika Mallory, co-founder of Until Freedom, Samil Trivedi, senior staff attorney for Criminal Law Reform Project, the ACLU. Glad to have both of you with us. Tamika, first of all, y'all spent a whole lot of time in Louisville on the ground working with Breonna Taylor's family, rallying folks there, demanding justice. Your thoughts on today's DOJ decision. Today is an incredible day. You know, it's validation for us that we were not crazy, that we are not crazy,

and that Breonna Taylor, her life mattered, and it matters still today, Roland. You know, at some point, you were probably the only person willing to continue to keep the coverage of what we were doing here in Louisville alive. There were days when we didn't have cameras. We didn't have people out here covering our work. But we were very committed. I have some issues with Tamika's audio. Let's get that taken care of. Samil, I want to go to you. When you go through these charges, Samil,

they are showing, and we talk about this all the time, what happens when cops lie. That's right. Thanks for having me. And I'm glad you showed the comments from the attorney general and from Cliston Clark laying out not just the crime, but the cover-up. You know, we say it's not the crime, it's the cover-up. Here, it is both the crime and the cover-up. Cops lying to cover up for their misdeeds is a national epidemic, and this case is emblematic of that epidemic. They lied to get the warrant, they lied about shooting her, and they lied to the FBI about lying about shooting her. This is the sort of thing where you wonder, what is training going to do? Surely these officers were trained not to lie, and they did it anyway. And that's why after the fact accountability from the federal government, which by the way, the federal DOJ was established purposefully, particularly for this, to vindicate the rights of minority

Americans when state and local governments wouldn't do it. And so the DOJ really lived up to its creed today and exposed a really big problem that you know is not limited to Louisville, but is national in scope. To make that on that point, we talk a lot on this show, what happens when officers lie, when they make things up. And I keep telling people it's a huge, huge problem. And for them to listen to Garland and Clark talk about them meeting in a parking garage to pull their lies together. And we've seen other stories where officers lie. And I've always said the moment a cop lies on the police report, it should be the automatic firing.

Absolutely. And the scary thing about it, though, is that that meetup in the garage happens often. It's happening across the nation. And we know that because it has been uncovered several times that officers have lied on reports. But this lie, this particular lie in terms of the search warrant, it caused a young woman to be killed and a young man's life to be traumatized forever. We cannot forget Kenny Walker was there, her boyfriend, and what has now happened to him

and his life since this all took place. Janiyah Palmer, her younger sister, could have been home that day. In fact, her room was riddled with bullets, but she was out of town and was not there when this incident occurred. Tamika Palmer could have lost two daughters that night. It's really tragic. And today is so important because there were naysayers, people who told us that Breonna Taylor was a criminal and that, you know, she had no business or that Kenny had no business firing a shot that he fired at police.

He didn't fire at police. He fired at criminals. He fired a shot, a warning shot at people who were at his door that had not announced themselves. And they had lied to get the ability to be there in the first place. And so this is vindication for our movement. It's vindication for Tamika Palmer and Breonna Taylor's family. And we need more of this. And we have to protect Kristen Clark at all costs because just like there are people who love and appreciate what happened today,

and all she did was her job. She didn't do a favor. She didn't do anything, you know, that is illegal. She did her job. And we know that just as much as there are people who appreciate the work that was done with the Department of Justice, there are people who hate it as well. There's a report that is going around talking about the amount of white supremacists who are in law enforcement, infiltrators

within law enforcement. And law enforcement includes the Department of Justice, by my estimation. So this is a very important day, but it also brings up a lot of the sickness, the illness that is embedded in our system. Samil, one of the things that Keith Ellison, the Attorney General of Minnesota, said a couple of weeks ago at the Rock Nation Social Justice Conference, he said we need to continue to see more protests because that puts pressure on those DAs and prosecutors to do their job. And the reality is here. There were continuous protests. The story was dying out. What Tamika and Linda Sarsour and Tiffany Lofton

and others, they were there joining with Black Lives Matter and others on the ground. And they were getting criticized for it. But what people need to understand, political pressure. They are political animals. They're elected. They respond to elections. It is absolutely right that... Thank you. And a head of civil rights division like Kristen Clark, who would respond to that pressure in the right way. And this is the right response. And if I could just jump in on the last question for you to make a last question for you, I want you to speak to that.

But also this, we talk about why elections matter. And it's a bunch of people out there who are sitting at home right now. They're frustrated. They're saying, you know what, we don't like what Biden has done thus far, what Democrats have done thus far. This is what we know. If this was the Donald Trump Department of Justice, we would not be having this conversation right now. And so what we're dealing with now going into into November is that we're seeing local DAs, progressive DAs who are on the ballot, and it matters to get them in office as well. And so people have to understand

you may not have everything that you want. But trust me, there is a what there is a counter to what the current DOJ, because if it was it was the bar DOJ or the Jeff Sessions DOJ, we would not be having any accountability for police officers. Absolutely. I mean, elections matter. And there are many people who challenge us every day. Why did we support Joe Biden? And of course, you know, he wasn't my top choice. And you and I discussed this many times. But we knew that we were looking at an imminent threat in the re-election, the possible re-election of Donald Trump. Let me just say, though, on this Daniel Cameron piece, it is so important for us to underscore what happened here. It's not just a botched investigation. He lied. Daniel Cameron has actually committed criminal acts because the

jurors who sat through his presentation, the presentation by his office in this case, they came forward, if we remember, to say that they were never presented with charges for the murder of Breonna Taylor, that they never had an opportunity to bring charges against those officers, and that if they were presented with anything of the sort, they would have used it as an opportunity to bring these officers up and to get accountability for these officers. And he came out and said that the jurors decided that there were no charges for these officers. So that means that he lied. He is an obstructionist. He did not want to see. I mean, you look at all the details that the Department of Justice found.

And you're telling me that the attorney general who was in the same state was unable to find anything. It has been public record, Roland, that the the warrant was it was not true that the information and the warrant was, was, uh, uh, untrue, right? Because the first story they told was that the postmaster said that Jamarcus, I think his name is Jamarcus, um, the gentle, the young man who was the sort of the center of this entire situation, that he was receiving packages at Breonna Taylor's house, that she was getting several packages and that they were suspicious. But what we know is that the postmaster came forward after that report was released saying he never, that they had not in any way determined that suspicious packages were being delivered to

Breonna's house. And so if you couldn't even find something in that, it's problematic. And it tells me that he was involved in a cover up. All right. Tamika Mallory, Until Freedom. Sybil Trevedi with ACLU. I thank both of you. Thank you. Thank you, Roland.

Right now we'll talk to Betty Baez. She's a longtime columnist in Louisville and one of our esteemed members of NABJ. We're here in Las Vegas for our national convention. Betty, you've been talking to folks in Louisville all day. It's been a huge reaction in that city to today's announcement by the Department of Justice. Exactly, Roland. I understand that the protesters were back at Justice Square, downtown Louisville, and Breonna's mother was there, her aunt and her sister, and the people of Louisville, the protesters feel like they have been vindicated, even though the work is still to be done.

And I got a statement that the Urban League put out, and then they clearly at the top said Breonna Taylor's life has always mattered. It mattered to her mother, it mattered to her family, it mattered to the Louisville Urban League and every protester who raised their voice with us and put their safety and security on the line in her name. We are still reeling from today's the Department of Justice announcement for the indictment of the four police officers for their role in unlawful killing of Breonna Taylor and the subsequent cover-up. What they say is the question now is we want to know how state officials investigating

Breonna Taylor's case and the federal government could be so far apart on the outcome. What information did our Attorney General have? Where did he get it and what did he present to the grand jury? We want to know the exact reasons for recusals and why some agencies were involved in the process, were not involved in the process. With the exception of the interim police chief, Yvette Gentry, a black woman who had the courage to step in and fire the officers involved, the people in Kentucky responsible for seeking out justice, they stood still. Give us a sense of, again, what this has been like in Louisville since her death, just the rage among African-Americans. Well, the one thing that they say, the trauma is still there in the city, and the people are still angry about it.

They feel like they were not heard, that this decision today was part of what they can, you know, that they finally feel like they're being heard. But they were real clear. And this is what the Urban League said. And I agree. They said justice for Breonna Taylor is not complete. There is more to come from the Department of Justice. There is more work to be done in this city. But today, the city of Louisville, the protesters and the friends of Breonna Taylor are grateful

for what has been done. And they still are trying to understand what is it that that our black attorney general Daniel Cameron saw Republican did not see Republican who wants to be governor of Kentucky we they want to know why Breonna Taylor why he could not find what the feds were able to find what What was it she said? It's either the people are saying it's either a cover up or he was incompetent or corrupt. And one of the things about it, I'm looking at a young man who's here working with the students here who covered those protests on the ground. Stefan Dingle from our WLKY affiliate anchor there. He was out in the

streets with the people. The anger was palpable. So today I think the protesters feel vindicated at this moment, but they know the work still has to be done. So Louisville people and those of us, and this is very important, justice, we have to say, today while we are grateful for what has been done, we will forever say Breonna's name, but we ask that every people, every person who held the line with us today, vote as if your very life depends on it, because it's what you said earlier, Roland. These are not inconsequential elections. We have to be up on it when it's the state attorney general, whoever it is, to make the

difference. And we are so grateful to the Justice Department for doing what was not done by our state officials, including our black attorney general, who disappointed us. And the one officer that he did find guilty was found not guilty, but he got prosecuted for shooting at drywall for the people next door. But nobody was held accountable for killing Breonna Taylor. And so her mother, her fiance, her family has grieved enough. And I think the people of Louisville don't want another mother to have to

grieve the way Breonna's family. So I think the city of Louisville can thank all of the people who came from outside of our city to really help us to deal with this issue. All right. All right. Always good to see you. I appreciate it. Thanks a lot. Thank you, Roland. All right. Folks, got to go to a break. We come back. We'll talk with Congressman Charlie Chris. He's trying to become the next governor of Florida. We'll get his thoughts on this case and other issues, especially what's happening there in the Sunshine State.

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And I'm Lili. And we're SWB. What's up, y'all? It's Ryan Destiny. And you're watching Roland Martin Unfiltered. Thank you. Folks, we continue to tell you on this show, state elections matter. In Florida, that is certainly the case. This month, the primary is taking place where Democrats are going to be picking their candidate for governor to face Republican Governor Ron DeSantis. One of those folks who wants to return to the governor's mansion is Congressman Charlie Crist. He joins us right now.

Congressman Crist, glad to have you back on Roland Martin Unfiltered. Hey, Roland, it's great to be with you. Thank you so much for the opportunity to spend a little time with a dear friend. This particular case we're just talking about is a perfect example of what happens when DOJ federal steps in, but people want to see justice on the state level. In Florida, you've had an example where Rhonda Santis has been, frankly, operating, and many say, as an autocrat, operating as a mini Donald Trump. And so, you know, what is your message to Democratic voters as to why you are the best choice to face him in November? Well, because I've been governor before and I've been the attorney general of Florida. And as the attorney general of Florida, I had the opportunity to bring about automatic restoration of rights, Roland. 155,000 former felons, returning citizens,

got their rights restored under the first Crist administration because of my efforts. I believe in fairness, and I believe in fundamental fairness. You know, it's called doing the right thing. I wear these yellow wristbands every day. I don't know if you can see them, but it talks about a rule that's very important. Yeah, it's called the golden rule. And that the wristband says, practice the golden rule every day. Do unto others as you would have done unto you. And that's why I'm running for governor. We have a governor right now who only cares about himself, only cares about running for the Republican nomination in 2024, and has forgotten our beautiful Florida in 2022. And that's why we're going to turn Florida blue in 22, and I can't wait to get there. But it's a real issue, and that is, frankly, the Democratic Party in Florida is a mess.

This used to be a blue state. It went purple. It's gone red the last several cycles. And you've had, you know, Democrats have had issues there trying to mobilize. You've lost significant support among Latinos in that state. How are you going to fix that problem? Well, we've got a great new manager for our party, our chairman, rather, Manny Diaz. He's doing a wonderful job pulling people together, working all over the state, and bringing folks together to do what we need to do in Florida to have the organized, unified, coalesced Florida Democratic Party. We're going to have the greatest coordination effort in the history of Florida for get-out-the-vote opportunities. Val Demings, you know, wonderful colleague of effort in the history of Florida for get out the vote opportunities.

Val Demings, you know, wonderful colleague of mine in the House now is going to be our next United States senator. We're working together to do everything we possibly can to make sure that Democrats win this time and that Republicans are only helping us. Look what happened in Kansas this week. Kansas, Kansas, Kansas. Red, I mean, really red Kansas. And they stood up for women. They're right to choose, did the right thing. I think that's a canary in the cave. And that's an indicator of what's going to happen in November. And remember this, Roland, this governor, DeSantis, got elected by the smallest margin in the history of Florida for a governor's race, 0.4 of 1%. That's it.

And so he's like an accidental governor, to be honest with you. Now, listen, nationwide on Fox and the Republican outlets, they think he's wonderful. Well, we don't think he's so wonderful in Florida. That's why I'm leading him in the polls right now. One of the things that has happened, you look at DeSantis when it comes to critical race theory, when you look at him saying that math books have CRT in it, you look at right now, teachers are literally confused about what they can even teach. One of them came out publicly talking about this three day class they had to go through. And they're just befuddled as to can they actually teach American history? Because you've got

Republicans who wanted to deny the reality of Jim Crow and slavery. And so how, you know, how are you going to get that voter to say that matters, that that's an issue that is important to them. And also, what are you going to do also? Because we talk about Broward County and Miami-Dade. I mean, even with Andrew Gillum, those numbers were awful. Had Miami-Dade and Broward turned out at 65 percent turnout, he's governor. And so how are you going to also move those numbers up? Well, as I said, Val Demings is

our wonderful United States Senate candidate, a strong, powerful African-American woman, former chief of police of the city of Orlando, outstanding candidate. She's got people excited all over the state in the minority communities, the people of color. That's critically important, number one. And I hope and pray and believe that we'll have great surrogates come down to Florida in the closing days of the general election, people like President Barack Obama. I mean, he's done it before. I believe he'll do it again. And I'm excited about it. It'd be great to have Jim Clyburn come down. Dear colleague of mine in the U.S. House from South Carolina, Look what he did for Joe Biden in the presidential race. Extraordinary. So people are excited in Florida. We have an opportunity in this election

to really make history, to get Democrats back in the governor's mansion, to make sure that we increase our, you know, number of state senators in the state Senate, number of House of Representatives in the state House, really have an opportunity to start to move Florida forward again because DeSantis has brought us down so badly. He's attacked LGBTQ, attacked African-American voters, doesn't care about the environment, tried to tell school teachers what to do in every county in the state, every district. He's an autocrat trying to be a dictator, Roland. It's appalling. And the people of Florida are sick of it. They're fed up. They want to change. They want a governor who's got a heart and is a decent human being again.

I strive for that every single day. And I look forward to the race in the future and having a better future for my sunshine state of Florida. What do you say to black voters? What is your black agenda? That's going to be critically important. Haitian voters there in Miami-Dade. So again, what are you saying to those black voters that's necessary to get them to turn out what you will do as governor? Well, we're going to do what we did in the first Chris administration. I'm the last governor of Florida who appointed an African-American to the Florida Supreme Court, Justice James C. Perry, a great jurist. During my administration, the first time, we had about 21 percent of our administration were African-Americans.

Very proud of that. In addition, I named the secretary of the Department of Corrections, Walt McNeil, African-American secretary. Did a great job. Another one, a dear friend of mine who's a pastor now here in my hometown of St. Petersburg, Frank Peterman, appointed him as the secretary of the Department of Juvenile Justice. These are just a few of the things that we did when I was governor the first time. And I'll do them again. And I'll do even better. We will make sure that the representation in the second Christ administration is second to none when it comes to minority representation. And as

I said earlier, that representation, what about policy? That's representation. What about policy? Well, those people are going to make the policy, Roland. They're going to be the secretaries of those departments. It doesn't get any more important than that. That's why it's significant. That's why it's important. And it's done out of respect, because of how I was raised with my three sisters by my mother and father here in St. Pete and my Methodist church. It's called doing the right thing. And it's called a Florida for all. We're one of the most diverse states in America. Thank God for that. Literally. And I think that we need to show that in a new administration, unlike the one we have right now, where all people are represented.

And as our slogan says, we will again have a Florida for all. Last question for you in terms of your outreach. That's going to be important as well in terms of hitting those communities. One of the things that I've heard from folks in Florida also, it comes down to economics, contracts, opportunities as well. And so what are you focusing on? What are you saying to African-Americans on what you would do to ensure that that African-American companies are able to participate and create and build wealth there in Florida by virtue of state contracts? That the Office of Economic Opportunity and the governor's office of Florida is going to be laser focused on making sure those opportunities are available, that they are fair, that they are proportionate, and that they make sure that everybody gets to participate. We have the highest budget in the history of Florida this year, $110 billion. I mean, we're the third largest state in the country, Roland. So there's a lot of largesse that we need to make sure that everybody participates in it. One of my dear

friends and great supporters is a guy named Jimmy Giles from Tampa, Florida, played tight end for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. And I have been helping him in his business do well ever since I first met him because he's a good, hardworking, honest man. He's in the ring of honor of the Tampa Bay Bucs. We were at dinner together the other night with his family. I love him.

And that's just a small example of what we're gonna do. And we going to expand it and continue to grow it and do what's right for everybody. What did Spike Lee say? Do the right thing. That's what we're going to do in Florida under the second Chris administration. Congressman Charlie, Chris, I know you have to go. I certainly appreciate it. Look forward to having you back on the show. And I'm quite sure I'll be in the Sunshine State. Actually, I was in Tampa the last four days. I gave a speech to the black realtors on yesterday, but I'm sure I'll be back there covering the various campaigns. Come back to the Sunshine State, Roland. I'd love to have you and host you.

God bless you and thank you for your time tonight. I appreciate it. Thanks a bunch. Folks, got to go to break. We come back. We'll talk with our panel about these the Florida race. Also about the Breonna Taylor case coming up next. We'll also talk with the high school coach of, of course, a Brittany Griner. She got sentenced to nine years in prison in Russia today. We'll discuss that monkey pox now being declared a national emergency. Dr. Tyson Bell, an infectious disease expert, will join us as well. You hear a lot about DEI. Well, we got a woman who was a DEI expert, and she says it ain't all what it's cracked up to be.

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When we invest in ourselves, we're investing in what's next for all of us. Growing, creating, making moves that move us all forward. Together, we are Black Beyond Measure. What's going on? This is Tobias Trevillian. Hey, I'm Amber Stevens-West. Yo, what up, y'all? This is Jay Ellis, and you're watching Rolling Martin Unfiltered. Thank you. All right, folks, welcome back to Roller Martin Unfiltered. Let's bring in our panel, Erica Savage, founder of the Reframe Brain, the Greg Carr Department of Afro-American Studies at Howard University. Brianna Cartwright, political strategist.

Glad to have all three of you here. Erica, I'll start with you. Just your thoughts on this DOJ announcement with regards to the arrest of four Louisville police officers today and the death of Breonna Taylor. Yeah, Roland, what an incredible win. What an incredible way to say that voting absolutely does matter. The announcement by Attorney General Mary Garland and the friend of the show, Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clark, really does show the importance of people engaging in their vote.

And when you think about it, Tamika mentioned this when she was speaking earlier, when you think about the number of offenses that were executed by these four officers lying on a U.S. postal inspector and then falsifying an affidavit and then lying amongst themselves to get their stories together, what an incredible way to see justice executed in having their arrest done. The one thing, though, I do want to speak to with regard to what the Louisville Metro Police Department chief said today in her statement, in the latter part, she talked about an effort to build police community trust. And trust is such a large word when you're talking about an apparatus that without announcement can and unknowingly can go and create falsified documents, lie on postal service, whomever it is that they have to lie on to fulfill an agenda, that they're effectively intentionally creating lethal situations for humans of a community.

So I think talking about police community trust building efforts first needs to start at home first with ensuring that officers that come on board that do say that they're going to protect and serve a community, that when they're not doing that, that they are fired and no longer able to serve in that capacity, but also by ensuring that those community members aren't allowed to be menaced at will, at cause by said officers. So today's announcement was indeed a victory for all. Greg, when you saw one tweet for one of these officers upset because the FBI used tactical teams to go arrest them saying, oh, this was not right. It was unfair. They were cooperating. No, they treated y'all like they treated Brianna, except they still living.

How about that, Roland? Absolutely. And I can understand why they're upset. We heard Tamika talk about the fact that white nationalists riddle law enforcement, state, federal, and local law enforcement. So they thought they were their kin. But to Detective Joshua James and Kelly Goodlett and to Sergeant Kyle Meany, be afraid now. Be very afraid. And to the killer who was acquitted in the White Lives Matter case, Brent Hankison, who was acquitted after shooting 10 bullets and his crime apparently was endangering the lives of white neighbors, be very afraid. Young Dan Kramer, you punk. Two words, Charles Booker. He should be the only statewide elected official to represent Kentucky, certainly in the federal legislature. Y'all make sure y'all register to

vote and vote for Booker. But young Dan Cameron, who has his eye on higher office and aspiration, he too should be very afraid because the feds aren't finished. And again, as you said, elections matter. So whether it's Joe Biden or whoever's going to run in 2024, the midterm elections coming up with the House and with the Senate, the attorney general may have his eyes and in Kristen Clark's case, her eyes trained on you, young Dan Cameron. You liar, you indefensible liar. And but finally, we do have to remember these are federal charges. And as so as such, they will be appealed. And let us not forget that a kinsman of young Dan Cameron sits on the Supreme Court in the

personage of Clarence Thomas, who is very, very, very lenient with law enforcement. So this Fourth Amendment charge, the core of these charges, in fact, that Breonna Taylor and everyone endangered and in her case killed by these punk pat-a-rollers should be free from unreasonable search and seizure, you're invoking the Fourth Amendment. And we know that this current Supreme Court goes light on the Fourth Amendment. So just because these indictments, basically federal government doing their job, I don't extend gratitude when, as the ACLU lawyer mentioned, this is because we got in the streets, in the damn streets, as Tamika said as well. Just because they did their job doesn't mean that this is because we got in the streets in the damn streets as tamika said as well

uh just because they did their job doesn't mean that this is over this is far from over uh brianna i we always talk about elections having consequences and the reality is this year uh if um joe biden uh if black folks don't do what they do in south carolina he's not the nominee they may be very well not have won the white house christian clark doesn't become uh here the civil Biden. If black folks don't do what they do in South Carolina, he's not the nominee. They may very well not have won the White House. Christian Clark doesn't become head of the Civil Rights Division. Vanita Gupta does not become a deputy attorney general. And so I know there are people, as I said to folks earlier, who are frustrated, who are angry. But let's be real clear. The Trump Department of Justice pulled back on consent decrees.

They made it clear they were not going to go after officers. And so thank goodness Biden Harris are in the White House because we would not be having this conversation today. They would have simply co-signed everything Daniel Cameron did. Yes, absolutely. It's a great day for us, and I'm glad that we now feel like we're a little less crazy because, these midterms are going to be crucial in showing what we as a nation reflect. And that's going to show a lot about how we feel and how we have support for Biden to keep propelling or keep doing things that are for the best of our nation, because, you know, we have had a House that's been supportive of Biden, but a very narrow Senate. And we've seen people like the Sinemas deter some of the progress that we wanted to have as Democrats. And so I think that's very important. I do believe that they will get charged. I do think the federal arrest was very important.

The fact that the charges mirror a lot what the family has been saying shows hope um and i hope like i said hope that um they do the right thing and everything turns out um better for the brianna family uh indeed indeed all right folks so we're going to go to uh our next big story here and that is uh the news out of r dealing with Brittany Griner, a judge in Russia convicted her of the WNBA star drug possession and smuggling. Look, it was a fait accompli. The person is rarely acquitted in Russia. She was sentenced to nine years in prison in a politically charged case

that could lead to a high-stakes prisoner exchange between Washington and Moscow. Griner showed little emotion to the sentence, but a lawyer said later she was very upset, very stressed. President Joe Biden issued this statement about the verdict. He said today American citizen Brittany Griner received the prison sentence that is one more reminder of what the world already knew. Russia is wrongfully detaining Brittany. It's unacceptable, and I call on Russia to release her immediately so she can be with her wife, loved ones, friends, and teammates.

My administration will continue to work tirelessly and pursue every possible avenue to bring Brittany and Paul Whelan home safely as possible. Now, Grounder had told the court she had no intention to break the law by bringing vape cartridges with cannabis oil when she flew to Moscow to play basketball in the city, in one of the cities there. Debbie Jackson is Griner's high school basketball coach. Debbie joins us now. Debbie, glad to have you here on Roland Martin Unfiltered. It has to be maddening for friends and loved ones of Brittany Griner to see what she is going through now in its sixth month? Well, it's really heartbreaking, starting with February 17th, when she was

stopped in the Russian airport. And then the decision today is frustrating. It saddens me. But I expected it just from what I know of the Russian judicial system, which is so different from ours. 99% of all cases in Russian courts are found guilty. And the Russian prosecutor was asking for nine and a half years. So I was very sad to hear it. I was trying to be optimistic, but I expected that. There's been a lot of criticism of the Biden administration, wanted them to do more in this case. But what you have going on is a war with Ukraine between Russia.

And so Brittney Griner is sort of caught in between that because you have Putin using her, frankly, as a pawn in this back and forth with the U.S. And so is there more that you want or have wanted the government to do? And or have you taken this simply as a matter of we just have to wait this thing out and hope this prisoner exchange is actually going to do the government and President Biden on his word that they're going to do everything possible to facilitate a prisoner exchange. I hope that's true. It took a long time to hear anything from the State Department. And finally, Secretary Blinken did come and say that they had made proposals to Russia, which gave me some hope that the government really was trying to help Brittany.

It's just such a fear that Russia will drag this out for as long as possible. They want to use it as leverage to get as much as they can. They really have no concern for rights there. So it's almost an unwinnable situation for Brittany. And I just hope that we are doing everything to get Brittany and any other American citizen wrongfully detained, such as Paul Whelan, that they can come home to their loved ones and their families. You know, this is again, and this has to be hard on folks like you who coached her and just to see these videos and see these images of her behind bars. It's terrible when they bring her into the courtroom and then she has to go into a cage like she's a serial killer. When she has been so helpful to the Russians as far as establishing women's basketball,

it's because of her and her team that Russia has won the last five European league championships. And she's really admired by the citizens of Russia for her skills and thought of very highly. It's just a shame that she's become a political pawn or a dictator that has no concern for human rights. Indeed. Well, it is. We certainly hope this story is going to have a conclusion soon. I have a conclusion that Brittney Griner will come home. But again, no one can predict what Vladimir Putin is going to do, especially with his hatred of the United States supporting Ukraine. Yes, we'll pray that she gets home sooner rather than later.

All right, Debbie Jackson. Again, Brittany Griners, high school basketball coach. We certainly appreciate you joining us here on Roland Martin Unfiltered. Back to my panel here and and and look uh brianna this is just a delicate situation because again we have nothing over putin and and and she is in the middle of a difficult situation especially with there being the war with ukraine the United States supporting Ukrainians. I agree. I think it's a difficult situation. And what I have to say is not the most popular thing to say. We all know the show of Locked Up Abroad and having respect and tiptoeing when we are in a different country. There has been talks about there being a teacher,

a white male teacher over there that's done similar things that was there before. And he got 10 years. We can talk about here in America, how not too long ago, a black man would get locked up for a small bag. And so, I mean, we're making it political. However, I strongly believe that Biden should not do a trade for one of their terrorists,

for someone who has committed war crimes that can come back and hurt us more because, you know, that's what Putin has been doing from tampering with our elections, from holding, for lifting up Trump. And now to this, I just don't think that we should play into their hands. It's very sad to see Britney going through this. I wish she didn't. It was just a pin. The other cartridges, you know, I guess they're saying, shows that there was more, but there wasn't intent to sell. But smuggling legally is just crossing the lines of the state lines, international. And so the issue of it being there in the first place because it was on a plane is actually illegal in itself. And so I can say that it's sound. I mean, that's really the end of her career, nine years, almost a decade. That's very hard.

And so and we'll see how, you know, if it appeals, if they're going to keep her in Moscow. It's something that we should definitely be paying attention to. And it's very sad that she has to be in Russia in the first place, and not being able to concentrate on, you know, her skills and talents in America and stick to being American. Yeah, here we are.

And I just don't think that our country should take this hit. But here's the deal, Greg. Biden doesn't have many options here. The U.S. does not have many options in dealing with this. And the pressure will continue having a high profile women's basketball player still in prison? Yeah. Yeah, I suppose. I mean, I'll echo you, Brittany. This may not be particularly popular, but, I mean, facts are facts.

The facts of this case are really irrelevant. They really are irrelevant. I mean, when we heard Judge Anna Satnikova give that sentence today, that's all fait accompli. Right now, there's a summit taking place. I think it's a summit in Asia where Tony Blinker, the Secretary of State in the U.S., is going to probably pull Sergei Lavrov, his counterpart in the Soviet Union, aside and press him on this trade. A lot of this is cosplay. You know, Victor Bout is an arms dealer in the US press, but anybody just reading the US press is woefully under-informed. Everybody's an enemy to somebody else. If you, you know, we've been keeping up with world politics, we understand that the US Senate voted yesterday to admit Norway and Sweden into NATO. And it's the same day that Sweden fell in line with other EU countries to impose stricter sanctions on Russia, said Soviet Union.

There is no Soviet Union anymore, which is part of this problem. But to impose greater sanctions on Russia as it relates to everything except a carve out for agricultural products and oil. There's going to be a prisoner swap. There was a prisoner swap earlier this year. They sent a Marine back to the United States named Trevor Reed. They traded him. And they're going to trade Brittany Griner.

And, of course, the person they want, the U.S. wants, is Paul Whelan. Paul Whelan is the guy the Soviets say was engaged in espionage. And, of course, if you read the U.S. press, then, of course, that's about as good as reading the Russian press. There's going to be a prisoner swap. This was the next thing, and everything else is pretty much irrelevant. We'll see Brittany Griner home soon. Erica? Yeah, well, I want to just really echo what our government has said, is that Brittany Griner is being wrongfully detained and that, according to her lawyers, it has been very much so verified that there was no trace of cannabis oil in her system. And let me just speak from this as a person who did function as an emissary in a foreign country in South Sudan

when there was an actual political prisoner that was being held. These are very, very, very delicate negotiations when you're talking to national security directorates, when you're talking to local and now tribal leaders, when you're talking to people that are on the ground, when you're talking to other diplomats, when you're speaking to national figures. It is all very much so a song and dance game, unfortunately. And that person's life hangs in the balance. So when we look at the emotional, the physical, the spiritual condition of Brittany Griner, that is a person that is paying a huge price for a political show. And so what ended up happening is that next year that that person was released, but

they weren't released without residue. They weren't released without their safety being endangered and things of that nature. So I will say that as the spokesperson of the Kremlin has made it known that they want to keep these discussions discreet. A part of that reason is because of what will be happening in terms of that exchange. But it is good to have the public pressure continue going forward, even as the spokesperson and other people that are a part of Putin's regime speak to the megaphone diplomacy that they want to have piped down. Well, that is because they operate very much so in the dictatorship, and America does not currently. So all of that to say that there is a call for continued public pressure, but also what's happening behind the scenes in actually negotiating the terms of release

with Mr. Whelan and whomever is going to be involved in that swap is also very important, is very tedious, is very hush-hush, and is something that I've not spoken publicly about because of the delicacy of all that happened. And then eventually after that person was released and their family had to relocate a couple of times. So very much so want people to always bear in mind that our government is saying that Brittany Griner is wrongfully detained, that this is a human being, and that anybody that is being used as a political pawn, believe me, the suffering that they are enduring is incredible. All right. I have a follow-up question. We come back.

Go ahead. You may or may not know, but isn't one of the Ball brothers still in China detained? Say it again. One of the Ball brothers? No. From the petty theft spree? Say it again. Could be. No. From the petty theft spree they had? Oh, no. No, no. Yeah, no.

Oh, no. Oh, no. They've been home. Yeah, they've been. Matter of fact, matter of fact, he and the NBA. I thought. For two years. They've been home.

Okay. No, no, no, no, no, no. They've been home no no no no no they've been home they were home shortly after that I don't even think they spent two weeks there yeah no so they've been home alright folks hold tight one second I gotta go to break we come back monkeypox down to clarity a national emergency by the Biden administration.

What does it actually mean? Are we literally seeing this thing go out of control? Dr. Tyson Bell, infectious disease expert, will join us next on Roller Martin Unfiltered. Also, you keep hearing the phrase DEI, diversity, equity, inclusion. Is it really having a difference or is it bullshit? We'll discuss with an expert right here on Roland Martin Unfiltered on the Black Star Network. Sexy to me is the exact same feeling as running water, ever flowing. Water always finds a way to get through.

And so when you know that you're sexy, there are no questions about it. It is an ever-flowing emotion. It is an ever-flowing feeling. When you question it, though, you stop the water. Mm. I actually, I struggle with this a lot, mainly because I've been told what sexy should look like,

what it should feel like. As a model who did Sports Illustrated, you're told that this is what sells sexy, but then you travel the world and what's sexy to one person is not sexy to another person. I'm more of a mind fuck kind of person. How can you stimulate the brain? To me, that's, that's it.

When we invest in ourselves, we all shine. Together, we are Black Beyond Measure. We're all impacted by the culture, whether we know it or not. From politics to music and entertainment, it's a huge part of our lives. And we're going to talk about it every day right here on The Culture with me, Faraji Muhammad, only on the Black Star Network. When we invest in ourselves, we're investing in what's next for all of us. Growing. Creating.

Making moves. That move us all forward. Together, we are Black Beyond Measure. Hello, everyone. It's Kiera Sheard. Hey, I'm Taj. I'm Coco. And I'm Lili. And we're SWB.

What's up, y'all? It's Ryan Destiny. And you're watching Roland Martin Unfiltered. The U.S. has declared a public health emergency to bolster the federal response to the outbreak of monkeypox. It already has infected more than 6,600 Americans. The announcement by the Department of Health and Human Services frees up federal funding and resources to fight the virus, which may cause fever, body aches, chills, fatigue, and pimple-like bumps on many parts of the body. Joining us right now is Dr. Tyson Bell, critical care and infectious disease specialist at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville, Virginia.

Glad to have you here, Doc. So how in the hell did we get here where now we're dealing with monkeypox? I know it's one thing on top of the other. And we were already sick of COVID two plus years in and now another public health emergency. But essentially what we're seeing is the monkeypox virus or the virus that causes monkeypox has found a way to infect more people than usual. This has been a disease that's been known to people who are working in West Africa, sub-Saharan Africa. But it's made a jump and it's started to infect the populations in Europe

and the United States. And for that reason, it's got the attention of officials. And cases have been going up. And I think it is the right call to declare a public health emergency so that you can gather resources to attack it head on. Okay. So I saw a message earlier today, and that was someone who was coming here to Las Vegas for NABJ, but chose not to when this report went out. Let me see if I can pull it out. It said as of August 1st, there are 23 probable and confirmed cases of monkeypox in Clark County and the Southern Nevada Health District is looking to keep a handle on the situation. But the thing is, this is what it says.

It says the good thing is that the monkeypox signal is relatively low and it is coming from strategic manholes that serve as segments of the Las Vegas Strip and from at least one 15th wastewater treatment plants. OK, so so so so where is it coming from? And because I'm seeing some reports that say you can catch it only with skin to skin contact. So how do we truly protect ourselves? Right. So really good question. So monkeypox can be detected in the sewage just like COVID can. But the primary mode of transmission looks to be skin to skin contact and sexual activity. And now it can spread other means.

It can be on bed linens, for instance, and other surfaces. It can be spread by respiratory droplets. But the primary mode is going to be direct skin-to-skin contact and being in prolonged activity with somebody face-to-face for a long period of time. So the main ways to protect yourself, you know, luckily, we haven't had an explosion of muckypox to the extent that it's infecting many different kinds of populations like we saw with COVID. It can affect anyone. Let's be clear about that. It's an equal opportunity virus. But it has been predominantly seen in the LGBTQ community and specifically men who have sex with men. So, you know, if you're a member of that community, I think it makes a lot of sense to take extra precautions right now

to make sure that you're safe. So what do we do? Do we not hug people? Do we fist bump? I mean, if you're an individual, how do you detect it? What are we looking for? Right. So, I mean, I don't know about you, Roland, but I have not been spending a lot of time in other people's faces in general because I don't want to catch COVID.

And we are in the surge of that right now. Now, this is not as easy to transmit as COVID. So, if there's anything that can be said that's good, it's that it's much harder to transmit than COVID itself. The aerosols, that's not merely a primary mode of transmission. Now, the symptoms to look out for, there are many, unfortunately, but some of the ones that have been publicized and seen on TikTok videos and stuff are skin lesions. So that is one aspect of this virus that presents differently than some of your usual sort of viruses that you can contract. Other than that, fevers, chills, muscle aches, those are very generalized sort of symptoms,

but the appearance of the lesions and skin rashes really should be a clue to get checked out. All right, questions from our panel. I'll start with Dr. Graycar. Thank you. Thank you, Roland. Doc, thank you, man. Just looking at some of the articles from today, you know, for the U.S. to have 5% of the world's population and a quarter of the reported monkeypox vaccines, it seems like you covered all the bases. But you said something quickly that I want to go back to. Maybe that's what stops some people traveling to Vegas for the NABJ and NASJ conventions. You said something about clothes, bed sheets. Could this be a problem in hotels? And also maybe just a quick follow up. We're right at the moment. The dorms at Howard, for example, open up next Monday.

Kids are coming back to school. Are you concerned about and they they'll be down there in Charlottesville right around the same time, are you concerned about students now returning to campuses? That is a concern of mine. I mean, there are diseases that we expect can pick up when people get in congregate settings. In college, many of us have been to college. We know what happens in college. So I think that is a higher risk setting. So in addition to that, I would add homeless shelters, Congress settings like prisons, these are all areas where it could be a setup for monkeypox to really spread. And so in addition to

engaging the LGBTQ community and making sure everyone has the information that they need, we want to make sure that testing, vaccination, and treatment are available in these higher risk communities as well. So absolutely, I want to see plans. I want to see every college have a plan for how they're going to ward this off and potentially deal with a surge because we don't want to be dealing with it and be thinking about what we're going to do while we're in the midst of it. Thank you. Yeah, thank you. So my question would be to you, you know, as we continue to battle COVID, do we foresee a vaccine for monkeypox? Is there already a vaccine for monkeypox? And are N95 masks still the strongest mask for people to still wear?

I still double mask when I go out in public. Are N95 masks still sufficient to wear? Great question. So for the answer to your first question, there is a vaccine that's available. It was a vaccine that was developed to counteract smallpox, but monkeypox is related to smallpox. And so there's a thought that there's good efficacy between this vaccine and monkeypox. It was studied in a small study back in the 80s in sub-Saharan Africa. It wasn't a particularly high-quality study.

So we need to do more studies to make sure that the vaccine isn't effective, as it was reported to be in the 80s, the mid 80s or so. But this is what's available. In addition, T-pox is available as a treatment for people who have been exposed or have early course of disease. So, you know, there are some treatments that are available. As far as your question about respiratory droplets, I think N95 is still a very good way to protect yourself and to make sure that, you know, in that off chance that there could be transmission through respiratory droplets, you know, just to backtrack, it's possible, but it is less likely because, you know, this has been transmitted more so in this country through direct bodily fluid and body-to-body and sexual contact. Respiratory is possible. N95, for multiple reasons, because we're still dealing

with the pandemic. It's still the highest quality mask that you can wear to protect yourself from both of these. Thank you. Brianna. Thank you so much for being here and answering our questions. I'll admit there's a lot I do not know about monkeypox. So I have a two-part question. One, why is it seen as more prevalent in the LGBT community? And two, what is the difference between, other than, you know, the physical look, the difference between chickenpox and monkeypox, what does it do to our body and can we die from it? Really good question. So it's very important to just reiterate this is not a gay male disease, although we are seeing gay men, gay and bisexual men bear the brunt of disease in this country so far. I also wouldn't call it a sexually transmitted infection, even

though that does seem to be a primary driver of infection in this country. There are other ways that you can contract the virus and there are other communities that can be at risk. And so that's important because we want to make sure that we're targeting areas that are high risk, but we also don't want to deny anyone access to testing if they have concerns. We want anyone to be able to get testing, but we do want to have a focused effort. And what was your other question? I forgot. I'm sorry. I was just saying, what is the difference of in physical difference or the appearance difference between chickenpox and monkeypox? And will one die? Like, what does it do to your body other than? Right. So, yeah. So luckily,

in both cases, we have, you know, vaccine available for chickenpox. And so we haven't seen large outbreaks of that. These are different viruses that cause different kinds of disease, but again, both have skin manifestations. That's the pox part of chickenpox and monkeypox. They can cause these skin lesions that have these fluid-filled vesicles. So, you know, that is a feature that is common to both, but they are different illnesses. And, you know, lucky for us, another thing that we can say that's good is that this version of monkeypox does not seem to be as lethal as some of the earlier versions that we had seen overseas. And so the majority of people who have ended up in the hospital have actually been there for pain control, because if you have anal lesions,

it tends to be very, very painful. And so oral medications don't tend to work like Tylenol. So people are being admitted for pain control, but not because there's a threat to life or limb or anything like that. So, you know, if there is any bit of good news is that it does not seem to be severe in terms of a risk to life, although it can cause some really intractable pain. All right, Dr. Bell, we appreciate, man, your advice and counsel. Folks, protect yourself at all costs. Hell, don't hug, don't kiss cheeks, all sorts of stuff like that. And like I keep telling people, fist pump work but i guess at this point damn a fist bump

yep if you can see if you can't if you can just wait don't be in their space just wave just wave or just do do do do the black greeting personal space that'll work that'll work. That'll work. I appreciate it. Thanks a lot. Thank you, Roland. Look, Greg, that's the one right there. That's right. You see people like,

hey, come on. That's serious. He had me shook with them sheets, man. I'm like, I see why I don't understand the hotel room. I was like, say some more about these sheets, bro. Because I'm like, what? Don't, because I got to be in a hotel room. You understand?

You're scaring me. No, no, y'all understand. I'm on a group chat with a bunch of journalists, and they were talking about coming to Vegas. Man, about half of them were talking about they bringing their own sheets. I'm like, first of all, I already got – y'all got to understand. I got a set of golf clubs that's all ready. That bag is about 68 pounds.

I was in Tampa on Saturday, so I've been gone – so total eight days. I got all these clothes. That suitcase, 67 pounds. Then I got my suitcase with all of my television gear. That's 95 pounds. I ain't got no room for sheets. So, yeah, but here's the problem, though. Okay, fine, you change your sheets, but the doc we had on the other day,

Dr. Gaffney, talked about how it lives on surfaces. So, hell, you could change those sheets. It might be on the damn bed stand. Wow. Lys stand. Wow. Lysol. Yeah. I would encourage everybody to watch the interview that you did with her. It's about 25 minutes, 26 minutes long.

I was watching it. Hey, she scared the hell out of me. You and me both. But I would encourage everybody to watch the Black Star Network app, Roland Martin, wherever you watch Roland Martin Unfiltered. Go back and watch that. Please watch that in the Texas TV Specialist episode that Roland, that interview he had with her.

It'll get you right. Man, the whole time. The whole time I was saying, man, just keep your ass at home. Okay. All right, y'all. We got to – look look i got way too much travel going on all right we we got we got to go to a break uh folks coming up next we're gonna talk about dei it's all the rage my next guest she's like yeah it ain't all cracked up

to what you think it is um and i got some thoughts about it as well because we've been experiencing this as we've been dealing with this whole advertising thing. So trust me, y'all don't want to miss this next conversation as we talk about the new rage in corporate America, DEI, diversity, equity, inclusion. Folks, don't forget to support us in what we do. If you're watching the show right now, hit the like button, hit the share button. All that matters. And so we should do that also. If you want to support us in what we do, download the Black Star Network app. We should be at 50,000 easy, y'all. We should be over 100,000.

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Next on The Black Table with me, Greg Carr. Succession. We're hearing that word pop up a lot these days as our country continues to fracture and divide. But did you know that that idea, essentially a breaking up of the USA, has been part of the public debate since long before and long after the Civil War, right up to today. On our next show, you'll meet Richard Crichton, the author of this book, who says breaking up this great experiment called America might not be such a bad thing. That's on the next Black Table, right here on the Black Star Network. When we invest in ourselves,

we're investing in what's next for all of us. Growing. Creating. Making moves that move us all forward. Together, we are Black beyond measure. I'm Angie Stone. Hi, I'm Teresa Griffin.

Oh, Roland. Hey, Roland. I am so disappointed that you are not here, first of all. Where's our dance? It's like we get a dance in every time I see you. And so now you're not here for me to dance with, sir. You and your ascot. I need it.

I need that in my life right now. Okay. I love you, Roland. What's up? I'm Lance Gross, and you're watching Roland Martin Unfiltered. 15-year-old Shamari Lewis has been missing from Miami Gardens, Florida, since July 24th. She's 5 feet 6 inches tall, weighs 240 pounds, with black hair and brown eyes. Anyone with information about Shamari Lewis should call the Miami-Dade, Florida Police Department at 305-476-5423, 305-476-5423. A civil rights lawsuit accused a suburban Boston police officer of pinning a black man to the

ground and placing a knee on the man's neck while pursuing a white suspect. The lawsuit was filed yesterday against the town of Arlington and claims police violated Donovan Johnson's constitutional rights when they stopped him, searched him, handcuffed him, and placed him in the back of a cruiser before releasing him with no charges. Arlington Police Chief Julie Flaherty said in an email that they couldn't comment as neither police nor the town had yet been served the lawsuit. Folks, the suspect in the Highland Park shooting on the 4th of July has pled not guilty. Robert Cremo, the third, is accused of killing seven people and wounding dozens during a 4th of July

parade in Highland Park, Illinois. He confessed to the shooting as well as one in Wisconsin on the same day. Cremo was indicted by the Illinois grand jury on 117 felony charges related to the shooting. Lake County State Attorney Eric Reinhart declined to state if Cremo could face additional charges nor if his parents could be charged. Cremo will appear back in court on November 1st. Folks, in Georgia, Republican candidate Herschel Walker has agreed to a debate with incumbent Senator Raphael Warnock

as they run for the U.S. Senate seat in Georgia. This is the first out of three previous debate invitations that Walker has accepted from Warnock's campaign. The debate comes as approval ratings for the two candidates narrow. A Fox News poll found Warnock with 46 percent of support from registered voters and Walker with 42 percent. The debate is scheduled for October 14th in Savannah, Georgia. Early voting in the state will begin on October 17th. And Trump supporters in Georgia are attempting to remove Fulton County D.A. Fannie Willis from her position. Willis is investigating Trump's efforts in overthrowing the 2020 election.

The organizers of the campaign are seeking monetary donations and said they want to damage Willis' political career. Yeah. Okay. Yeah, we got you. Okay. Uh-huh. Whatever. Folks, let's talk about this. What's all the rage? That's diversity, equity, inclusion. In light of recent incidents of discrimination at amusement parks, some companies are trying to improve their company culture. Some believe training and education in diversity, equity, and inclusion is a way to reduce discrimination in the workplace.

Now, in the aftermath of the death of George Floyd, there have been more than 100-plus DEI positions opened up. At one point, literally two months after George Floyd's death, there were 81 DEI positions posted on LinkedIn. So you've now seen all of these different people. So it's DEI, DEI, DEI. But is DEI, was DEI real or is it the latest corporate bullshit? Joining us is Randy Bryant. She's a diversity and inclusion strategist, speaker, trainer, and writer in Washington, D.C. Randy, glad to have you. So I got you on the show, Randy, because I saw a video post you made on TikTok and Instagram where you went in on this whole DEI thing. So explain again why you posted that video about DEI. So I've been in the field for probably three decades before it was hot, right? And, of course, after George Floyd's murder, my phone was ringing off the hook.

But I've been doing this for a long time. And, you know, I've become very, honestly, quite disgusted with how I see companies using DE&I more as a PR move. You know, it's more like public relations. Let us be able to say that we have someone in that position, but not give them the ability, the power to really do anything. DE&I is run by the same people that really don't see the problem. And that's the problem. See, so here's the thing for me with DEI. You create a position

and that's all you create. The reality is in corporate America, if you don't have P&L responsibility, you don't mean a damn thing to the boss. And so that's why I've talked to a lot of black folks who are like, lo, I want a DEI job. I want an operational job.

I want a job where I can actually hire people down the line. You talk to, for real, if we want to be honest here, Randy, most DEI people, it's them and an assistant. So small budget, not significant. And so all of a sudden, you know, whenever there's black people, you know, oh, they send the DEI person. Oh, they send the DEI person to the meeting. We've had those meetings with advertisers. And I'll be honest with you. And it's no disrespect to that person, and most of the time they're black, I don't want to talk to the DEI person.

Right. We're trying to get advertising money, and the DEI person got a little throwaway bullshit budget. Right. You're absolutely right. I mean, they hire these people, provide them with no resources. Oftentimes, the DEI lead is working with volunteers within the organization who have a full-time job,

but on their free time is volunteering to make the company more palatable to people who are black, and so are any underrepresented group. And so they don't have power. They usually don't have money. They don't have really the support. Because the problem is, if you look at the majority of companies, they are still run by white males.

And white males don't see our issues as their issues. So they're not going to fund it. However, as the world is changing, I believe that they have no choice but to understand that they must change. I mean, the demographics, as we know, are changing. The lawsuits, the money that is paid out each year from discrimination lawsuits Discrimination lawsuits is crippling, which is great. I tell people, continue to do that. And DE&I is not just there's a person who doesn't feel comfortable. What I try to explain to people is that it should be across the entire company. So let's talk about Sesame Place. They're talking about they're going to do some training. Training doesn't change anything.

I've made a lot of money going into companies and doing a training. I cannot change a company's culture in one, two, or three trainings. having an inclusive, diverse environment and an inclusive, diverse environment for their customers as well so much that they're looking at everything. So Sesame Place, for instance, they wouldn't just be looking at training there, but the person couldn't even get a job without asking certain questions to determine if they are ready to deal with diverse children. Just like they do with customer service. They do personality tests, but it hasn't mattered to them in the first place. It should be looking at the characters. Are the characters representative of this diverse world?

They should be looking at the stories they're telling. It should be literally across the entire organization and it should be tied to every or every department's bottom line. If a manager is not hiring diverse people, they don't get a bonus that year. If a manager is not having, getting good scores on inclusion, like if their staff is saying, no, we don't feel included, they don't get a bonus that year. If someone makes a mistake, they call it microaggressions to make these things sound innocent, although they can be very, very damaging, they're gone. There should be zero tolerance for this type of discrimination.

But right now they're not taking it seriously. I think back to when Al Newhart, here we are, NABJ, NAA, Shea, Al Newhart was the CEO of Gannett. And he said, we are going to be the leading company for diversity in media. And he said, I am going to attach your bonuses to this issue. He said, we're going to elevate black and Latino general managers, publishers, editors of newspapers. And he said, some of you are not going to like it. You are welcome to leave the company. And there are some people who are pissed off that he tied their bonuses to diversity. And he said, yo ass can leave.

And there are people who actually left and he didn't care. That Gannett is quickly went to the top in the industry. But here's what it did, Randy. It forced every other company in the industry to go. And I'm talking about Knight Ritter, Cox, all of them. Oh, my God. You know, we got to do something because they were afraid of losing their black and minority talent. To me, when it comes to DEI, if this thing ain't hardcore from the CEO and from the board, it's not real. Let me tell you something. You know, Roland, I tell people don't take a DEI job if you're not reporting directly to the CEO. That tells you how serious it is. Say it again. There you go. There you go. Do not take it. You not reporting directly to the CEO. That tells you how serious... Say it again. There you go. There you go. Do not take it. You have to report to the CEO. That shows that they take it

seriously. And let's be real about it. There are going to be some people who are going to give you pushback. So you have to have the CEO's name behind you. You have to have it for any sort of power to get any change to happen. It's the reason why I always say, look, no, go ahead. No, go ahead. I'm sorry. Go ahead. Go ahead. No, it's the reason why I've always stayed as a contractor. It's much easier usually because I don't report to anybody. So I can go in there, help people set up their strategy, act a little bit of a fool, right? Because I'm not worried about, oh, my goodness, am I going to get fired?

I have a little bit of leeway to help people out and say the things I say. Well, I'll also say this, Randy, and look, and I'm telling you as someone who's experienced this far too many times, one of the greatest impediments that we have experienced with the Black Star Network as we have been talking to companies about advertising has been the black DEI person. Mm hmm. Oh, rolling is scary. The white folks over there going, yeah, let's roll. But and so so part of this thing is we talk about DEI. We got to have black people who are in these positions who have some damn courage who are going to say, no, I'm using I am using this this office, this position to actually drive home this issue. And I think we're also if you're interviewing forI job, a friend of mine, she did this. She said, okay, are y'all going to allow me to be responsible? I think she said, make a billion dollar commitment and I get to be the person who decides who gets the money. And the company was like, oh, hell no. She said, well, guess what? She said, y'all ain't real. Because what we experience is we're trying to sit here, Randy,

and we're talking to the salespeople, the marketing people, the folk with the money on the ad side about allocation, and they want to see this DEI person, and sometimes the DEI budget is so small, and I'm like, I'm not talking to you for about no $20,000 when I'm trying to get $2 million. Right. Well, let me say this. You know, I talk a lot about, because of the lack of inclusion, how Black people feel the need to be the good Black, right? We have to be that Black person that white people feel comfortable around. And depending on how much you're able to kind of kill your inner self, how much you're willing to code switch, really does, if we're being honest, it really does dictate how high you can go up that corporate ladder.

Because people like you and me that speak out make a lot of white people uncomfortable, right? So they will try to block us as much as possible. I know that. I know that. Oh, that. I know that. Oh, I know that. Lord, they like, ooh, rolling. He, he too radical. He, he making us uncomfortable. We're angry, right? We're angry. But damn it. If, if, if, if, if, if you're spending 1% of your budget on black on media, but we represent 30% of the people buying your product. Well, guess what? I should make your ass uncomfortable. You know, asking for equal everything should not be a radical concept.

But, you know, what you were saying is really accurate. Sometimes the DEI professional that gets hired, no offense to my colleagues, is the person who's really not down-down. They are the person that the white leaders knew that they could somewhat control. They are the person that they said, oh, we can give this person a good salary, a nice title, but we know they will do basically nothing. So that person is non-threatening to them. So that's the problem when you get these DEI people who are not making the moves that need to be made. To be in DEI, you have to be extremely courageous.

And you have to care about it. You know, the reason why I got into it early was because I really give a damn. And some people don't. And we just got to be honest. What they care about is that title and that money. Right. And let me say this here. I'm going to go to my panel next year because here's what you're dealing with.

You're dealing with largely a black person who has never made $150,000, $200,000, $250,000, $300,000, maybe $350,000, maybe $400,000. And so they're thinking about their family, their kids going to private school. They're thinking about their family, their kids going to private school, they're thinking about their livelihood. I get it. But the reality is you are in the position, though, to be a change agent. You are supposed to be in the position to say, how are we including things? And I'm going to say this, I'm going to say this, Randy,

and I just want to just let me know if you have to. I'm sick of these black DEI people who want to walk red carpets, accept awards, take photos, and only want to spend money with us while you're putting on an event where it's a table and they're bringing out tickets to their people. That ain't driving a wealth building with black people. I want to know what are you doing on the contract side? The DEI person to me should be on the inside of the company raising hell going, I'm sorry, what's the holdup? Why have we been talking to this person for a year or a year and a half and we haven't sign of contract. What's going on here? And so to me,

you should not be a safe DEI person. You are supposed to be driving the agenda forward to be able to grow and build. That's just how I look at it. Your thoughts? No, you're absolutely right. And let me say this. The reason why people can't get anything done is they're not being honest about the fact that this is a country that was built on racism, right? And so DEI exists because we have to counteract the racist policies, the biased minds that we have running these companies. People think DEI is the moral, altruistic area. It's not. It's really a division that is supposed to help right wrongs. Most people are going to hire people and promote different organizations that they feel comfortable

with. Okay. The majority of CEOs and directors and vice presidents are white males, not because they're the most talented and highly qualified, but because they were hired by men just like them. And so we have to realize that we can't expect people to make these decisions to bring in the best talent or to advertise with the most, the best fit for the black community. We have to recognize that they won't do it because it's not natural for them to do it. Our country has designed them, made their mindset not to do it. So DEI is supposed to come in and say, let me help you do what's right. And with smart. And with smart. It's interesting to me that these companies think that they can get away with being so monocultural for so long when the world is changing. And when they're making mistakes that can go viral in five minutes.

This is not where you can do something wrong and just that town knows about it. It's a very small kept secret. You, Sesame Place, they made a mistake. Not a mistake. It's more than a mistake. But I had people on my site on TikTok contacting me from places all over the world. So they will realize their reputation can be ruined very quickly and start giving power to their DEI departments. Because honestly, the strength of an organization, a company relies on. And I'm going to say this here, and I want to get your thoughts on this before I go to my panel.

So panel, get ready. What this also means, I'm going to need that black board member. And I'm going to need those black senior executives to lean the hell in. Because part of this problem, Randy, and again, I have dealt with this here. I have witnessed this here. When I see companies that are barely spending any money on black-owned media, on black contracts, and I see one or two black board members, I'm literally saying, what the hell are you doing? What are you doing? What are you doing? How are you on the board not raising hell? And then you got, again, the safe senior exec.

And, again, coming up with all the damn excuses. And I'm going, we fought for you to be there to advocate for black people, not to simply fatten your check and get the stock options. Yeah. I mean, I'll say this as a person who's been on the inside. One, they make it very difficult. They give people, black people titles within these companies, but they don't give them power, you know, just to these people's defense. But also, you know, it becomes where if you really look at the stats, there's usually one, there's one of us in every company. That's just kind of it.

And they, people are scared because they want to remain that one. Like you said, they have these, they've gotten used to a certain lifestyle. They have certain bills. They've sent their kids to the best places. And they lose sight of the larger cause and really focus on themselves. Questions from my panel. I will start first with Brianna. Thank you so much for this conversation. It's definitely needed. My most pressing questions, because I have a lot, but the most pressing one is if you feel that you're in a place that has the title, but you do not have the power to execute on what you think the title is, how do you suggest someone going about that? Should they quit? Is there different mechanisms that you encourage for one to take?

What is your guidance in regards to that? I would absolutely suggest that they write a document. Why is it important that this person report to the CEO, have a budget? You know, and in that document, they would show how some good, some companies are doing it well, but really the ramifications if the DEI person is not given a level of power in the company. And present it to the president. Whoever the highest person is, have a meeting with them. But I'm saying put that in writing.

Put that absolutely in writing and state your cause. I find that there is a pressure now. I think CEOs are recognizing, even though they don't want to, and even though that unfortunately, because it's not a problem for them. Show the lawsuits. Show what social media is saying. Show what's happened to your competition. And so you're saying you may think that this doesn't affect you, but it does. So I would apply the pressure and go straight to the CEO directly. Absolutely. Absolutely. Erica.

Hi, Randy. First, I want to say love the look, and that photo behind you is absolutely stealing. My question, I love it, I love it. That's Tutu. Tutu? I named him Tutu. I don't know his real name, but I've named him Tutu. Tutu, I named him Tutu. I don't know his real name, but I've named him Tutu.

Tutu. I love it. I love it. Tutu. Well, Tutu is absolutely silly. My question for you would be, when I think about diversity, equity, and inclusion, of course, race comes up, but because I am a person that now has a disability, that is something that definitely resonates with me foundationally.

So I would like to know within DE&I, what have you seen executed around shining light, highlighting, ensuring that there is diversity, equity, and inclusivity for people that have disabilities? I've really seen a lot done when it comes to technology and ensuring that technology software companies are creating products that can be used with any level of ableness that I find just quite interesting. Of course, most of the time, anywhere you go should make it where anyone can access that area that has not happened as quickly as it should. But there's been a lot of attention given to that, a lot of lawsuits that have come up because of that. So I have seen changes more actually quickly in that area than other areas.

But yeah, it's absolutely important. When I talk about, I tell people I talk about DE&I from the perspective of a black person because that's who I am and that's what I most relate to and that's my pain center. But, of course, DE&I is about ensuring that everybody has a place and feels comfortable. You know, at first everyone went to let's just hire a bunch of people, but they never considered how these people would feel and how they would be treated once they became hired. You know, just even now, every statistic shows that even once people from underrepresented groups are hired, we're not getting to the higher ranks. Thank you. Greg Carr. Thank you, Roland, and thank you for inviting our sister here, Sister Randy. Thank you as well.

And I echo what Erica said about that picture and the fact that you named it Tutu. Among the Yoruba people, they would say Tutu means cool or coolness, and one of those colors in coolness is blue. So it just works right. You got everything in the same vibe right there. I'm particularly grateful to Roland for asking you to have this conversation with us tonight because, you know, as a college teacher, I see these young people, particularly at our black colleges coming in, particularly in schools of business, schools of communication. And as you say, and particularly in the wake of this so-called racial reckoning, these schools are being descended upon by these companies who are claiming, we want your students,

we want your students to come in and join us and partner with us. And I look at it as just a 21st century vocational education. As you say, you're trying to stop, you your shares from from from melting. Keep every keep yourself on top. But do you have any words of wisdom or kind of insights to share with the deans of these schools of business, schools of communication who are, you know, marketing this as a boon moment, particularly at HBCUs? But I'm not even not so sure about that. I'm thinking, you know, what should we be telling our students who are coming into these spaces as if now this is the moment when their big break is coming

as these companies come in and in the name of DEI are saying they're gonna get these young people in this pipeline? You know, we have been trained as a people to be grateful and absolutely we should be grateful, but get what you deserve. Recognize that you are in a position of power. These companies do need qualified black employees. Okay. So go in there and demand what you want. If they say, oh, we're going to offer you a summer internship, right? What else? What's the money? What is my guarantee of getting a job? How will you support me the following school year? Ask for what you want. What am I? So can you, you know, I am always surprised at how the majority culture is always is comfortable asking for what they want and what they feel as if they deserve. And sometimes we are just so happy to say, oh, wow, I have a summer job at this big company. And I would say for these HBCUs, I have two sons that attend Hampton University right now.

I would say to the career centers, I would say, what are you offering our students? No, no, actually, we would like this. Actually, for us to participate in your career fair, we want you to do A, B, C, and the third, not just for the entire school. You know, think about your power. I really like what Deion Sanders is doing, where he is saying, recognize your power and use it. So if yes, they need students, what do the students need from them? What do they want from them? How does the school get better? And how is that student's life actually enriched, not just for a summer, but for long term? Excellent. Thank you. Well, I'll say this, Randy, a final point. If it's one thing that also drives me crazy, I am sick of these fake diversity listings that awards all top company and these CEOs, they strive to get the award,

but then you look and go, well, what the hell did y'all actually do? Sometimes I wonder what the criteria, and I'll be honest, I think sometimes for some of these folks it's a full-page magazine. Like how are you actually determining what's the best company for diversity when I look at this deal? And this is what I said to our civil rights groups. They should establish a race index. It should be, you know, we're going to grade you on board members, on senior execs, on junior execs, because I want to know who's in line to be the CEO. We're going to grade you on contracts. We're going to grade you on black-owned media. We're

going to grade you. Are you using black transportation companies, black catering companies, black audio visual companies, black photographers? Are you those vendors? To me, you do that. But but but as long as we as black people keep handing these people awards saying, oh, how miss so and so, how great you are, Mr. So and so, how great you are, and Mr. So-and-so, how great you are, because they gave somebody $10,000 for some damn table at a luncheon, that ain't helping black people. Absolutely right. DE&I has become a PR move, like I've said. It has become that, and people, if someone's willing to take those dollars and take that

position, if they can be bought, it's going to work. And we have to, you know, not allow it. It really is up to us. We really can demand so much more. And let me just say this. That's what it is. I was just going to say to the students and also to people who work in companies like Glassdoor, there are people who are keeping track of how underrepresented groups are treated. Instead of just going home and complaining to your friends or your spouse about how so-and-so doesn't treat you right or how you have not gotten a raise, go to Glassdoor.

Put the ratings on there. Like, use your power because I'm telling you, they care about how they're perceived. And so when you are trying to get leverage in the business world, you have to conduct in a language that they understand. That's it. Simple as that. Randy, we certainly appreciate you joining us. Hopefully some folks learn something from this. And I really hope a lot of these companies will pay attention. I think too many of them DEI is just completely BS in what they're doing. I

Agree, but I think it's gonna change get you know, just like people are posting videos like Sesame Place we're not allowing it anymore All right, we appreciate it thanks a lot alright that is it for us today let me thank you very much let me thank Brianna let me thank great let me thank Erica as well I've got to go get ready I'm hosting the screening of the Ben Crump Netflix documentary and it's gonna be a Q&A we're gonna be gonna carry that Q&A live right here on Roland Martin unfiltered he's also gonna be talking about the Breonna Taylor decision, but the Department of Justice today will have that as well.

And so we are here at the National Association of Black Journalists, National Association of Hispanic Journalists Joint Convention here in Las Vegas. And so a lot of things happening here that we're going to be covering as well. So we appreciate all of you for tuning in. Don't forget to support us in what we do. Download the Black Star Network app. We're available everywhere. Apple phone, Android phone, Apple TV, Android TV, Roku, Amazon Fire TV, Xbox One, Samsung Smart TV.

And, of course, you can also support us with your resources. Folks, that is hugely important. I can't tell you what it means when you are contributing to us, which allows for us to cover the news, to cover the stories, for us to be able to hit the road. We're going to be hitting the road real soon. We've got elections coming up. And so you can send a check or money order to PO Box 57196, Washington, D.C., 20037-0196. Cash app is Dallas Sign, RM Unfiltered.

PayPal is RM Martin Unfiltered. Venmo is RM Unfiltered. Zelle RMartin Unfiltered. Venmo is RM Unfiltered. Zelle is rolling at rollingatsmartin.com. Let me thank Colette, Angela Brown. Let me thank Alicia Lindsey. Let me thank, let's see here, Robert Shade. Let me thank, give me a second, folks. I'm going through some names right here.

Again, I said Alicia Lindsey. Let me thank, let's see here. I'm looking through some names right here. Again, I said Alicia Lindsay. Let me think. Let's see here. I'm looking at who gave during the show. And so all of these names are coming up. Let me think. Let's see. Who is this on Zelle?

Karen Simpson. Let me thank Karen Simpson for supporting us as well. And I'll have more names for you tomorrow. First of all, Cordell, thanks supporting us as well. And I'll have more names for you tomorrow. First of all, Cordell, thanks a bunch as well. So, folks, that is it. I will see you all in a little bit later. For now, we until then, I'll see you in Roland Martin on a filter on the Black Star Network live from Las Vegas. Holla! this is an iHeart podcast