#RolandMartinUnfiltered - Louisiana's Democratic Party Crisis, Tenn. Pastor Survives Hamas-Israel Attack, No House Speaker

Episode Date: October 18, 2023

10.17.2023 #RolandMartinUnfiltered: Louisiana's Democratic Party Crisis, Tenn. Pastor Survives Hamas-Israel Attack, No House Speaker  A Louisiana professor will explain why he's stepping down after JeJeff Landry was elected the state's next governor.  And we'll look at the future of the state's Democratic party.  After today's airstrike, over 500 people were killed at a hospital compound in Gaza City.Tennessee pastor was on the ground when the Hamas-Israel conflict began.  He'll be here to explain what he say and how you got to safety.  Fourteen days and counting without a house speaker.  Jim Jordan failed to secure the 217 votes he needed to get that gavel. We'll talk to the Florida State senator who wants to overhaul the "Stand Your Ground" Law. Vice President Harris continues her nationwide "Fight for Our Freedoms" College Tour with students at Northern Arizona University. And in our Marketplace segment, we'll meet the creators of the only black-owned laundry detergent company, The True Products.Download the Black Star Network app at http://www.blackstarnetwork.com! We're on iOS, AppleTV, Android, AndroidTV, Roku, FireTV, XBox and SamsungTV. The #BlackStarNetwork is a news reporting platform covered under Copyright Disclaimer Under Section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976, allowance is made for "fair use" for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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It makes it real. Listen to new episodes of the War on Drugs podcast season two on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Today is Tuesday, October 17th, 2023. Coming up on Roland Martin Unfiltered, streaming live on the Black Star Network. A Louisiana State University professor resigns after Saturday's election

of right-wing Governor Jeff Landry. He will join us to tell us why. Also, what are black Democrats doing in that state after the abysmal performance of their party on Saturday? We'll talk to a statewide elected official about that very issue. Also, 14 days and counting, Republicans could not elect Jim Jordan as speaker. They've now recessed until Wednesday to get their act together.

And why is former Speaker Kevin McCarthy trying to blame Democrats? Because his party can't get their crap together? Wait till I show y'all that laughable video. Vice President Kamala Harris continues her tour of college campuses nationwide. We'll show you what took place at today's gathering. Also, in our Marketplace segment, we'll feature a black-owned detergent company.

That's right, detergent company. It's time to bring the funk on Roland Martin Unfiltered on the Blackstar Network. Let's go. With entertainment just for kicks He's rollin' Yeah, yeah It's Uncle Roro, y'all Yeah, yeah It's Rollin' Martin Yeah, yeah Rollin' with Rollin' now

Yeah, yeah He's funky, he's fresh, he's real the best You know he's Rollin' Martin Now He's fresh, he's real, the best, you know he's rolling. Martel. Martel. Folks, here in Louisiana, they're preparing for a new governor. Attorney General Jeff Landry beat all of the different candidates in the jungle primary. That's what it's called on Saturday. Some 16 candidates that were in the race, the top two vote getters, if no one gets 50 percent, moves on to the runoff.

Well, there's not going to be a runoff since he got more than 50%. It's easy to call him a right-wing MAGA governor because that's exactly what he is. He was one of the folks who was an art and critic during the COVID outbreak. You also had, of course, issues when it came to his take on abortion and trying to unseal the juvenile records in only three counties that were largely African-American. And Robert Mann, a professor at Louisiana State University, took exception to some of his COVID comments. Lampton got ticked off and blocked him on social media and was highly critical. After, of course, the election, Mann sent a letter to his bosses saying that he would not be returning to LSU. He joins us right now. Robert, glad to have you on the show. So you're not calling the resignation. So what is

it called? Well, I'm retiring at the end of the current school year, so I'm still going to be in class this week and next semester, but at the end of the school year, I'll be leaving my job at LSU. Clearly, the election of Landry is the prime reason, correct? Yes, it's because he has really declared war on free speech, and especially on free speech at Louisiana college campuses that he seems to think are populated by liberals who are trying to ruin the minds of the fresh young people of Louisiana. And he made it really clear early on that he wanted me gone. He asked the president of the university to fire me. I'm confident that he will make life a living hell for my dean and for my faculty and for my students. And it just seemed like the better thing to do to announce my departure, get out of here,

and not make my students and the people that I care about and I work with for the last 18 years suffer for my transgressions? Well, first of all, I wouldn't call them transgressions. It's just simply you offering your perspective. I say quote-unquote transgressions. Yes, offer your perspective. Sounds like Jeff Landry would be a bosom buddy with my native Texan governor, Greg Abbott. The attacks that he and Dan Patrick have had on university officials, and we saw the shameful conduct of the Texas A&M Board of Regents

when Kathleen McElroy was being tried, they were trying to hire her as the head of the journalism department, was one of the reasons why you don't see my Texas A&M ring on my finger and why I removed everything with A&M from my studio, because that's the kind of climate that we are living in. We're living in where we have Republicans who govern these state institutions who want to impose their ideology on these campuses. Yeah, the first thing that Landry did when he began running for governor was to go to Mar-a-Lago and kiss the ring.

He got Trump's endorsement. He first got Donald Trump Jr.'s endorsement and then got Donald Trump's endorsement. And he's been performing for him for the last four or five years, but most, you know, the last during the campaign, clearly performing for him. And I think he'll be performing for him as governor and will be trying to enact just about everything that Abbott and DeSantis have done in their respective states here in Louisiana. One of your tweets I saw when you talked about the targeting of academic freedom, tenure, things along those lines. This, of course, this is LSU has a black president there. Y'all go to my iPad, please. William Tate IV. And the reality is, look, when you're one of these presidents of a state institution,

sort of very much like John Sharp, who's the chancellor of Texas A&M, it's all about getting those state resources. And he's had to kiss the butt of Texas Republicans. And so do you see that President Tate at LSU having to bow down to the interest of the likes of a Jeff Landry if they want to survive in their jobs? Yeah, I suspect he will. I suspect probably he already has in the LSU board, many of which were appointed by Bobby Jindal, the Republican predecessor to our Democratic governor. They switched jerseys pretty quickly to stay on the board.

It's just what you do here in Louisiana and a lot of other places. You pay homage to, you bend the knee, you kiss the ring to the person who controls your budget and I suspect they'll do that with Landry if they haven't already. You are a history professor at LSU, correct? Journalism. I'm sorry, journalism professor. And let's just sort of look forward. Landry now

is going to be the governor. Republicans now have a super majority. Louisiana has been conservative, but it has not gone full far right like Florida, like Texas, like Georgia, like Tennessee. But now the conditions are right to frankly do whatever they want because they control all three branches of government.

Yeah, and not only that, but they control all three branches of government, particularly the legislature, because the Democratic Party didn't run challengers for most of the Republicans who were either running or running for reelection. Before Election Day, they were already guaranteed a supermajority in the House because there were so many House members who Republicans who ran unchallenged. So it's going to be like a hot knife through butter for Glendry getting pretty much whatever he wants. It's going to be it was already fairly extreme because we had a conservative Democratic governor who was going along with some of this stuff. But you can only imagine what a MAGA governor with a super majority in both houses is going to be able to do. It's going to be just pretty much his whims are going to be coming, going to be easily becoming law, I think. You by, you retiring, and so, look, you taught there for how long?

Eighteen years. And total number of years you've taught? Well, 18 years. I worked in journalism and politics in Louisiana before then. So, clearly, it has to be very tenuous for your colleagues who are preparing for the incoming attack. Yeah, everybody, I think, saw it coming. I mean, it was pretty clear that he was the leading candidate. I think we didn't see the fact that he would win without a runoff, but people were preparing themselves for this eventuality. And I know from talking to lots of colleagues over the last couple of years, but particularly in the last couple of months, that there's a lot of people who are either

planning retirement or planning their escape, trying to find a job in another place that's going to be more, it's going to be friendlier to higher education, where academic freedom will be respected, where free speech rights will be honored. Yeah, there's a lot of fear and loathing, not just here at LSU, but across higher education in Louisiana. On that particular point right there, and I don't think people really fully understand it. You take Florida.

In their African-American Studies Department, University of Florida, they couldn't field a number of the jobs. Folks refused to apply. We saw what happened to Kathleen McElroy at Texas A&M. And we see what's happening all over. You have folks who are saying, I don't want any part of that mess. And so what's going to happen is a lot of these institutions are going to be losing some seriously talented people

because they don't want to go to hostile environments. They don't want to go to a hostile environment. They also don't want to move if they're women or they're married with a wife of childbearing age or they have children of childbearing age. They don't want to move to a state where they no longer have bodily autonomy. I think Louisiana may be the state where it's the longest drive to another state that has the availability of an abortion. So if you need abortion services, you can't get them here. If you need emergency care, if you have a difficult pregnancy, you're not going to get it here. You'll have to be on death's door before you get treated.

So that's also it's not just the higher education policies. It's the lack of bodily autonomy for women in this state that I think is going to discourage a lot of people from coming here, but also hasten a lot of people's departures. You mentioned you were in politics before becoming a journalism professor. I would love to hear your perspective on the abysmal state of the Louisiana Democratic Party. Well, I worked for two U.S. senators, Russell Long, John Breaux, and Governor Kathleen Blanco, and spent almost probably two years of my life working on leave for those politicians

to do the communications for the Louisiana Democratic Party in the 90s. And it was a functional party in those days. It has been hijacked by some quasi-Republicans. The governor, the Democratic governor, completely ignored the party, was hostile to the party. It's fallen into complete disrepair. They spent more time trying to defeat a progressive House member in New Orleans, state House member in New Orleans, than they did trying to elect the African-American consensus candidate for governor.

It's just that it's a party that needs to be blown up, burned down, ground to dust and rebuilt, because it's not serving Democrats or other people right now. It's a lot of self-dealing. The immediate past president, past chair of the party is in prison for stealing from the party. And the current chair needs to resign because she was totally ineffective and spent more time in the spring

exploring her own potential candidacy for governor, undermining all the other candidates who were looking at it. Um, that says a whole lot there. Um, what's next for you? Well, I've got books that I write. And, uh, you know, I'm... my wife and I kind of joke that it wouldn't be fun maybe to live in a state and work at a university where when things break, they fix them.

So I'm open to maybe going and spending a few more years of my career teaching somewhere else and sharing what I know. But if that doesn't work out, I'm perfectly fine continuing to write books. That's what I enjoy doing, and I'll continue contributing in that way. Well, Robert Mann, we appreciate you joining us, explaining what's happening there. It is certainly, first of all, for the second most popular state for African Americans, it is not going to be great days ahead because if J.F. Landry governs as governor like he operated as attorney general, it is going to be dark days in Louisiana. Yes, it will. Thank you for having me on today. Robert, thanks a lot. Appreciate it. Thank you. Folks, going to go to break. We come back. We're

going to talk to a black state elected official in Louisiana about what is next for the Democratic Party there. They've got major issues. But more importantly, what I want to know is what the hell are they going to do to drive up black voter turnout? Because what they've done so far has been terrible. You're watching Roland Martin Unfiltered on the Blackstone Network. Peace, I'm Faraji Muhammad, host of The Culture. And brothers, we need to talk. There's been much discussion about the state of the black man in our community,

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And that's just one of the things we'll be covering on Everybody's Business from Bloomberg Businessweek. I'm Max Chavkin. And I'm Stacey Vanek-Smith. Every Friday, we will be diving into the biggest stories in business, taking a look at what's going on, why it matters, and how it shows up in our everyday lives. But guests like Business Week editor Brad Stone, sports reporter Randall Williams, and consumer spending expert Amanda Mull will take you inside the boardrooms, the backrooms, even the signal chats that make our economy tick.

Hey, I want to learn about VeChain. I want to buy some blockchain or whatever it is that they're doing. So listen to Everybody's Business on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. I know a lot of cops, and they get asked all the time, have you ever had to shoot your gun? Sometimes the answer is yes. But there's a company dedicated to a future where the answer will always be no. Across the country, cops called this taser the revolution.

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

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

No, uh-uh, no. Hello, I'm Paula J. Parker. Trudy Proud on The Proud Family. I am Tommy Davidson. I play Oscar on Proud Family, Louder and Proud. Hi, I'm Jo Marie Payton, voice of Sugar Mama on Disney's Louder and Prouder Disney+. And I'm with Roland Martin on Unfiltered. All right, folks, you just heard Robert Mann there talk about the poorest performance of Democrats in this year's election. Devontae Lewis is where he serves in Louisiana Public Service Commission,

third district. He joins us right now. Devontae, glad to have you here. So first and foremost, Sean Wilson was a Democratic nominee. He gets 27 percent, 26 percent of the vote. What the hell happened? Yeah, thank you, Roland, once for having me. I think one of the challenges that we saw is that Sean only ran about a five month campaign. He announced his candidacy for governor around late this spring and then decided to run. And so there are, quite frankly, a lot of black Louisianians who didn't know who Sean Wilson was because he did not have enough money to get on air, to do a ground game, to talk to voters.

And so I think that's a challenge here in Louisiana when we have candidates who want to run statewide, and we wait until the very last second to try to engage our people. Okay, so you said he waited. So then the question is, you talked about money. Okay. What did your party do to help raise money, to help do things? Did other candidates give to his campaign? What did other folks do? Because you have a Democrat who's sitting in the governor's mansion. Normally, if you have a Democratic who's the governor, you actually have an operation apparatus that helps folks run. Well, I mean, I think this has been

the problem. We have not had a party and party leaders of the state of Louisiana who saw interest in building an infrastructure outside of themselves. Why? So what the hell have they been doing? They've been self-grandizing. I mean, I'll be honest with you. When I ran this same party infrastructure, I spent countless amount of money. When I ran this same party infrastructure, I spent countless amount of money against me and my friend Gary Chambers because we were not part of their clique. And the challenge that we've seen here in Louisiana is, let's go back four years ago. You talked about the legislature, the supermajority. Our Democratic governor four years ago only endorsed one senatorial candidate to flip the Senate, and he was helping a Republican law school classmate keep his Republican seat who voted against all of our Democratic priorities,

but did not get involved in flipping a seat here in Baton Rouge, did not help us try to flip a seat down there in the Florida parishes. And so part of the problem is Democratic leaders here always make deals with the Republicans to protect themselves at the best interest of the people of Louisiana. All right. So that's party. One of the things that that I look at is the number of African-Americans that are in the state. Where is the black specific effort to mobilize and organize those voters. We saw what happened in Georgia.

We saw what happened with groups there, Stacey Abrams and others. Is there anything happening there in Louisiana off election years, things like 365, seven days a week? What's going on? You got a ton of black people. If you mobilize and organize them, you could literally run the table. Absolutely. And we have some amazing organizations who are doing that work. Ashley Shelton at the Power Coalition for Equity and Justice.

Norris Henderson at Voice of the Experience, an organization made up of formerly incarcerated people, mobilizing people around criminal justice and getting them involved in the system. We have these organizations, but what we see every step of the way is actually the black political establishment hurting their movement, going against them. Well, when we talk about it in the legislature, when we ask for them to fight for the issues

that matter to black Louisianians, we got black members who will join the Republican caucus and kill in our bills, not even voicing up concerns. Oh, so have y'all made those names known? And are folks going to run cannons against them? Yes, and that's what we're trying to do. That's the movement. That's what I did. I took out an 18-year incumbent, a black elected official

who I felt was too close to the Republican Party and too close to the establishment. And we beat him by 20 points in this state just last year. We've seen us do this work smartly in some of the legislative races. But we are building that movement. But what happens is instead of having black leaders join us in this movement, they fight against us. Bob talked about it. One of the most progressive members of the Louisiana legislature, they fight against us. Bob talked about it. One of the most progressive members of the Louisiana legislature, they spent over $200,000. Our sitting

congressman, our sitting governor, former members of the legislature and current members of the legislature did more work taking out a progressive who stood up for black issues than they did for the black candidate for governor. That's the problem. So this, I'm on the Louisiana Democrats website. This says our leaders. And so it says here you have Governor John Bel Edwards, you have Katie Bernhardt, who's the party chair, Congressman Troy Carter, Representative Sam Jenkins, then you have Senator Gerald Boudreau.

And so of those, obviously, Bale is leaving. So of those four, Bernhardt, Carter, Jenkins, Boudreaux, who do you want to see stay? Who do you want to see go? Well, I mean, I what I want to see is I want to see a new chair. I want to see Katie gone. I ran against Katie for first vice chair with a ticket with another candidate who was investing in voters and not self-grandizing. So that is one. Congressman Carter is our only Black congressman, but hopefully we will get the second district after the Fifth Circuit makes their ruling. Representative Jenkins will no longer be chairing the House Democratic Caucus. He's running for state Senate. And Senator Boudreau has successfully, I think, led the Senate Democrats. Who is replacing Representative Jenkins is Matt Willard,

a phenomenal young 33-year-old black legislator from New Orleans who has a solid record of mobilizing and engagement and I think will bring some life back into the House Democratic Caucus. So I'm confused. If you talk about leadership of the party and these are your five leaders and obviously Bill Edwards is leaving and then Bernhardt, by all descriptions, has been awful. Okay. Then what is Carter, Jenkins, and Boudreaux doing to lead this party out of the abyss?

And should they remain in leadership? I mean, I think that's a good question. I don't know. No, I'm asking you. I know it's a good question. I know it's a good question. I asked it. But I'm asking you.

What I'm telling you is that is the question when you have leaders who say one thing in public and do something private. No, no, no, no. I'm asking you. Do you, again, yes, no. I'm asking you. Do you, again, yes, you already laid out Carter's elected. You have

Jenkins is running for Jenkins is running for not going to be House leader. He's running for the Senate. I'm asking, but I'm asking you, are these three, are they doing enough to change the leadership? And if not, do they doing enough to change the leadership?

And if not, do they need to go? Oh, wait, I don't think they're doing enough. I'll be very blunt. I mean, we have not seen the type of engagement from our elected officials in terms of building and mobilizing and organizing. And that's been a challenge. I've been an advocate before I became elected, and I went to the Capitol every morning telling them we got to stop trying to make deals with the Republicans andist Republicans than they have been defending our issues. And so I think there is a message that we need to take. We want to see real leadership. And I don't want the control of the party.

I mean, I think that's been the challenge. When we had a sitting progressive young legislator named Ted James running for the party chair, former Congressman Richmond and Congressman Carter did not support him and they supported Katie Bernhardt. That's a problem and we need to talk about it. All right. So again, so that's that's that's party. If I go back to again, that black that that black plan that I'm talking about, you know, what you know, what is it going to take? Are you targeting, you know, what are the key to take? Are you targeting, you know, what are the key areas in Louisiana

that should be targeted? Because again, I'm speaking about black interests, which are not necessarily democratic interests. Now, it may mean electing Democrats, but those are two separate things. What I'm curious about is, what is the black plan for black people because i'm not just talking about governor or uh democratic leadership i'm talking about sheriff you got 63 sheriffs that ran 56 all of

them white 57 men uh some you have one guy who was a sheriff in a in a blue area had no democratic opposition what the hell you had problems with state troopers there in the Ronald Green case. I could go on and on and on. So it's not like, look, you got Cancer Alley. It's an abundance of issues. And so, what are black folks going to

do to mobilize and organize that state? I mean, you got black folks right... What's amazing to me is you got black people right now who are having more of an impact on the Mississippi governor's race than what just took place in Louisiana, and you had a black man

running for governor in Louisiana. You're absolutely right. And I mean, I think this is what I have been screaming about for years. And one of the things that we have to do is we got to stop getting in our way. And what I talk about, when you talk about, for instance, East Baton Rouge Parish, where I live and represent, and Sid Gautreau running unopposed, we had Black men stepping up to

challenge him. You know who bullied him out of the race? Black elected officials. They endorsed Sid Gautreau and said, we're not going to help you, and we're going to stick with him. And so when I talk about the Black political apparatus, I'm not just talking simply about we need black leaders. What we have to do is when we elect black individuals, they got to stop saying, hey, just vote, but then making deals with everybody else to protect themselves. We have groups on here doing the work. Like I said, Power Coalition and Vote are mobilizing and organizing every single day. They knocked on over a million phone doors, made multiple touches. But what we hear from black constituents and black residents is when they look at the elected leadership, they say, I don't see myself. I don't see anybody fighting for me. And I see my my elected officials more interested being friends with those who are trying to ban black history,

trying to incarcerate our children, taking our investments away. And so what we have to do as black leaders, get back to recognizing that we need to be building power for our people instead of interested in being people in power. And that's a challenge in Louisiana that has not been confronted in a while, which is why I rock the system with my election, right? I challenged the black establishment because I said, no one's speaking up for my district and cancer alley. No one's talking about these issues. And I go out there and we connect. And I think that's what we got to do.

We got to get back to the work of giving black voters a reason to turn out because what they look at when they see the black establishment, I'll tell you from looking at the legislator, there are times you can't tell a black member from a white Republican because they're voting on the same crappy things to harm our children that they would do because they are making backroom deals. So they're making backroom deals, but

are y'all calling them out? Are y'all publicizing their names? Are y'all specifically putting it out there on social media saying these black elected officials are doing harm to black people? Absolutely. When we were in the redistricting fight and we had black members of the legislative black caucus vote for a map that did not increase black representation to adequately represent the state of Louisiana, Power Coalition and Black Voters Matter, we put out flyers and social media target ads saying, look at these members. And one of those members was challenged

in his election and is now in a runoff and I think will probably lose his seat. So we are doing that work, but the challenge is we need people to help us invest in the state of Louisiana. But what we're seeing and what I'm talking about is when we are making those calls nationally, saying we are doing the work down here, we got leadership in Congress, black leaders, telling those same groups, don't invest in my state because it's not gonna happen. And so we're gonna call that out.

And I'm asking my other ones to be as blunt as me and saying, we can't keep hiding behind the fact that some of these people say one thing in the press and do something totally different when you're not looking, Roland. And that's the challenge that we're facing here in Louisiana. in New Orleans, in Baton Rouge, in Shreveport, in Monroe, in a lot of these places where you have large African-American population to begin the process of, I guess, building or rebuilding black political infrastructure in Louisiana? Absolutely. I would tell people stay connected with Louisiana Budget Project, Invest in Louisiana, Power Coalition for Equity and Justice, Vote.

We are organizations that have been on the ground doing this work, building these coalitions, having these town halls, and we are more committed now than ever. What we are asking for is the people that have been harming us and stopping our movement to get out of the way, because you can't complain one day that black voters didn't turn out and then you directly harm these same groups who are doing that on the ground mobilization at the same time. And so we're going to keep pushing that work. We've seen some of that success in New Orleans. We're pushing forward in the state. But what I'm saying is we got to have everybody at the table. And it's that old saying, it's that old church song my great grandmother used to say, if you ain't helping me get out of the way, please don't block me because we are trying to run this race. And that's what I'm saying. If you don't want to be part of the process of building black political power, get out of our way so we can keep doing that work. Well, look, there are many people have been fighting like crazy for the second black congressional district. And I dare say, folks, I'm going to be sitting here fighting if we're

going to see the kind of turnout that we saw on Saturday, lowest turnout overall of an election in Louisiana in a dozen years. All right. We'll be paying attention and watching. Thank you so much. Thanks a bunch. All right, folks, come back. We'll discuss this with my panel and also break down some other issues of the day. You're watching Roller Martin Unfiltered on the Black Star Network. YouTube folks, hit the like button, please. Also, support us in what we do. Join our Bring the Fuck

fan club. Your dollars absolutely matter. Folks, your check and money orders to PO Box 57196 Washington, D.C. 200-37-0196 Cash App, Dollar Sign, RM Unfiltered. PayPal, RM Unfiltered. Venmo, it's RM Unfiltered.

Zelle, Roland at RolandSMartin.com. Roland at RolandMartinUnfiltered.com. We'll be right back. A lot of times the big economic forces we hear about on the news show up in our lives in small ways. Three or four days a week, I would buy two cups of banana pudding, but the price has gone up, so now I only buy one. The demand curve in action, and that's just one of the things we'll be covering on Everybody's Business from Bloomberg Businessweek. I'm Max Chavkin.

And I'm Stacey Vanek-Smith. Every Friday, we will be diving into the biggest stories in business, taking a look at what's going on, why it matters, and how it shows up in our everyday lives. But guests like Businessweek editor Brad Stone, sports reporter Randall Williams, and consumer spending expert Amanda Mull will take you inside the boardrooms, the backrooms, even the signal chats that make our economy tick. Hey, I want to learn about VeChain. I want to buy some blockchain or whatever it is that they're doing. So listen to Everybody's Business on the iHeartRadio app,

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

From Lava for Good and the team that brought you Bone Valley comes a story about what happened when a multi-billion dollar company dedicated itself to one visionary mission. This is Absolute Season 1. Taser Incorporated. I get right back there and it's bad. It's really, really, really bad.

Listen to new episodes of Absolute Season 1. Taser Incorporated on the iHeartRadio app, It's really, really, really bad. Plus on Apple Podcasts. I'm Clayton English. I'm Greg Glod. And this is season two of the War on Drugs podcast. We are back. In a big way. In a very big way. Real people, real perspectives.

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

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

It makes it real. Listen to new episodes of the War on Drugs podcast season two on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. And to hear episodes one week early and ad-free with exclusive content, subscribe to Lava for Good Plus on Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts. And to hear episodes one week early and ad-free with exclusive content, subscribe to Lava for Good Plus on Apple Podcasts. On a next A Balanced Life with me, Dr. Jackie, being of service to others is one of the greatest

callings in life. But being there for someone else in their time of crisis is a whole new level, and you have to bring courage, commitment, and strength. On our next show, we meet two real-life angels who were thrust in the midst of caregiving and without warning. And he was looking strange and couldn't cut his meat. And it was very odd. And I said, well, what's wrong? And he says, I think I've had a stroke. And so, of course, it scared me. And we literally got in the car and he walked into the hospital on a Thursday. And by Saturday of that same week,

he lost all control of his left side. The blessings, the challenges, and the way they maintain their balance, all next on A Balanced Life on Blackstar Network. When you talk about blackness and what happens in black culture. We're about covering these things that matter to us, speaking to our issues and concerns. This is a genuine people-powered movement. A lot of stuff that we're not getting, you get it and you spread the word. We wish to plead our own cause to long have others spoken for us. We cannot tell our own story if we can't pay for it. This is about covering us. Invest in black-owned media. Your dollars matter. We don't have to keep asking them

to cover our stuff. So please support us in what we do, folks. We want to hit 2,000 people, $50 this month, raise $100,000. We're behind $100,000, so we want to hit that. Your money makes this possible. Check some money orders. Go to P.O. Box 57196, Washington, D.C., 20037-0196. The Cash App is Dollar Sign RM Unfiltered. PayPal is R. Martin Unfiltered. Venmo is RM Unfiltered. Zelle is Roland at RolandSMartin.com. Pull up a chair. Take your seat. the Black Tape.

With me, Dr. Greg Carr, here on the Black Star Network. Every week, we'll take a deeper dive into the world we're living in. Join the conversation only on the Black Star Network. Next on The Frequency with me, Dee Vons, d bonds actress writer and advocate ray don chong is here to discuss her childhood and break down her life in hollywood a show you don't want to miss well even at my peaky peak peak when i was getting a lot of stuff as soon as i was working a ton i heard people whispering oh we don't want to pay her because we're giving her a break. Only on The Frequency on the Blackstar Network. Hello, we're the Critter Fixers.

I'm Dr. Bernard Hodges. And I'm Dr. Terrence Ferguson. And you're tuning in to... Roland Martin Unfiltered. All right, folks, my panel, Dr. Mustafa Santiago Ali, former senior advisor for environmental justice at EPA out of D.C., Randy Bryant, DEI disruptor, she's out of D.C., Suzette Speaks attorney and host, the Suzette Speaks show out of Miami.

Glad to have all three of you here. Mustafa, I want to start with you. And this is something that I think people have to understand when I ask the question, what is the black plan, not the Democratic plan? Now, I'm also very clear in terms of politics. The reality is the issues that we often talk about that matter to us are likely going to get done through a Democrat and not a Republican.

And so I love it when all these yahoos out here, these simple Simons, like, oh, you're out here shilling for the Democrats. Fool. Them other folk don't give a damn about us. It's abundantly clear in the stuff that they actually support. So the question then becomes if we're going to support somebody, it's likely going to be a Dem.

But then the question then becomes, what type of Dem? What you saw there in Louisiana, I mean, beyond abysmal, go to my iPad. These are the total number of qualified voters in the state. OK. And so when you when you go, come on, guys, let's go switch. Thank you. Let's go. When you go, come on guys, let's go. Switch. Thank you. Let's go. Thank you. All right. Now, 2.97 million voters. White, 1.8

million. There were 927,577 eligible African Americans in the state. That's the number. Now, that represents 31.2% of the total electorate. Now, here are the actual vote numbers here in the gubernatorial race.

You're going to see right here, all right, 1,062,498 people voted. That was the total number. That means that little more than 800,000 people voted compared to the number of African-American voters in the state. Now, go back to my iPad. So you'll see here, Jeff Landry, he won with 547,827 votes. Sean Wilson, the leading Democratic vote-getter, he got 275,525 votes,

which means that if you look at that particular number right there, Mustafa, again, 927,000 African Americans, the black candidate gets 275,000. I say this all the time, and this is where I think a lot of these people, like, Roley, you're blaming black voters. No, I'm not. What I'm saying is when we do not exercise our power accordingly, we lose 927,000 African-Americans, which means if black people, if 50 percent of all eligible black people alone. Again, y'all listen to me clearly. If 50 percent of all eligible black people, just 50 percent voted in this election on Saturday,

that means you would have had, in terms of the number, 463,000 people who vote. Hmm, Landry got 547,000. That means if just 50% of black folks excise the right to vote, frankly, you pick up another hundred thousand. You win. This is an example of Mustafa. I talk about all the time how we as black folks, if we use our power, could literally win elections statewide. Yeah, it goes that old adage that my grandmother always shared that you have power unless you give it away. This is an example. Unfortunately, we just got to keep it real of us giving our power away.

It was an opportunity to flex and through flexing. We could have made sure that we had a governor in Louisiana or at least a runoff for governor in Louisiana, something that Louisiana hasn't had since 1873, when Governor Pitchback actually was governor for 35 days. That's a deeper story. But we had that opportunity right there, literally at our fingertips. So it's not about anybody giving us anything. It is about us understanding the opportunities that are in front of us and us actually taking advantage of those opportunities. Yeah. You know, if you have a Democratic governor who happens to be white, though, like you said, they'll probably do many of the right things. But there's still that that flavor that's missing when you don't have your own in those positions. And we had an opportunity

that we missed. Here's the thing right here, Randy. Again, go back to my iPad. There's a runoff for secretary of state. And you see all the different candidates here, Randy. Again, go back to my iPad. There's a runoff for Secretary of State. And you see all the different candidates here. So you had eight people who ran for Secretary of State. Gwen Collins Greenup, who is the African-American, she got 19%. This Nancy Landry got 19%. They were the two highest vote getters. Right there. Again, if just 50% of black people vote for the sister,

she crushes them. Crushes them. I can do this. So somebody on my YouTube channel just asked the question, how many states out there where black voters make the difference? A lot. If we maximize our numbers. Right. What I was going to say, the problem seems to be so much bigger in Louisiana and that we as a people are certainly disenfranchised, not engaged whatsoever in the system. And so there is a big problem there. Forget how we're voting, because I think that

that's not the problem, but why aren't we at all? And that means there's a lack of hope. To me, what I see is a lack of hope, a lack of that we don't feel as if our vote matters. And why is it? Why does that matter? Like we talked to the gentleman before about leadership, but it seems as if those people shouldn't be able to block what's happening. It should be that people get a grassroots effort and are going door to door and re-energize our people because we clearly are not feeling as if we have any power, which we could. Well, see, here's the thing, Suzette, that bothers me. I had somebody else over here, they posted and they said, you know, we've been voting, we ain't seen nothing change, so therefore we tired. You know,

it's a whole bunch of black folks for a long time who couldn't even vote. Like, just couldn't even vote. Had no power whatsoever. I think about where you are. Again, I go to numbers.

Everything comes down to numbers. When comes down to numbers. When Andrew Gillum ran for governor in 2018, lost about 30,000 votes. I remember the Tallahassee Democrat ran a story, and the story had a graph that showed the turnout in counties that year. I think you had to get to like the 11th or 12th spot before you saw a blue county.

It was Broward. I think was around 57 percent. Then you went lower. It was Miami Dade. The reality is if Miami Dade and Broward, two largest concentration of black folks in the state, if they go from 57 or lower to 65, he wins in a cakewalk. It's a number. 100% vote. So I'm tired of people. I'm tired of black people saying, we ain't got no power.

We're not sitting here. We're not seeing the results because your vote, your power is not being used. That's like me sitting here going, damn, I don't understand. This speaker not coming on. Have you plugged the shit in? You got to plug it in to connect to an electric source in order for it to turn on. It's the same thing. Yes, we actually have two Democratic party chairs of Broward County.

His name is Rick Hoy. He is a colleague of mine, as well as in Dade County. The party chair is an African-American, Robert Dempsey. So we do have two brothers who are leading up the efforts. But as you stated, as I look at the numbers and I crunch the numbers from Florida, Governor DeSantis only had a total of 4 million votes. Charlie Crist had 3.1 million in a state of 22 million people. So when people try to make the contention that this is a red state, I push back oftentimes because if the numbers, as you stated, of minorities do come out, we can swing the entire state legislature as well as the governor's office. Now, of course, we have gerrymandered districts as well that help keep Republicans in the majority in our state house, in our state senate. However,

when you look at local elections, which are the building blocks for getting Black leadership, trained up Black leadership, ready to fight, ready to go to Tallahassee and to take on congressional roles, et cetera. We have the numbers. I tell people all the time, although these districts are gerrymandered, when you look into them, there are a ton of blue voters sitting in what looks like a ruby red district on election night on the maps. We think of Florida as so-called being, you know, extremely red, but there are counties that have 40 percent Democrat, 45 percent Democrats, sometimes even split, just like our state legislature, where those voices are kind of being drowned out because of the gerrymandering issue. Nonetheless, we still can have an impactful movement if black folks have a reason to get out, if we put enough money

in from the national party, from our statewide party. I know Democratic—Florida Democratic Party Chair Dickie Freed has pledged $1 million, but we know in media markets as big as South Florida, that's not enough money to ensure that we reach our voters. So we're going to need the third party groups. We're going to need more support from the DNC. Money is a critical issue in terms of getting the message out to our voters. And as I said, giving them a reason to step forward and understand their power in the upcoming election, even in 2024.

But here's what I'm calling for, Mustafa, which is different. I don't I'm I'm not waiting on a damn party. I'm not waiting on a national party, a state party, a county party, a local party. I'm talking about black people. That's what I keep saying. If y'all want to if you say, hey, I like so-and-so candidate, do not send the money to the candidate. Send it to a black third-party group like Georgia Stand Up, Black Voters Matter, or other groups where we know the money

is going to go on the ground to pay people to knock on doors, to pass things out. That's my point. So what is happening is in these campaigns, let me be very clear, white media consultants are determining where the money goes. They want to dump it on television. They want to dump it to folks, not African-Americans. What I'm saying to black people, I need black people listening to me very clearly right now as we're looking towards 2024.

First of all, you've got gubernatorial race in Kentucky, gubernatorial race in Mississippi, and also then we begin to look at next year. I want black people to be discussing what is a black strategy. How are we asking African-Americans with means to be able to provide money to black efforts because that's where the turnout is. It is going to be boots on the ground, Mustafa. No, I agree with you 100%. We've got to remember nobody is coming to save our communities. You know, if somebody shows up as an authentic ally, that's great. But we can't count on that.

We have to do the work ourselves. We have to do the strategy ourselves. We've got to make sure that we are supporting and investing our organizations who are going to be authentic in the work. And if we don't do that, then we are going to be authentic in the work. And if we don't do that, then we're going to have these types of situations. And then people will justify by saying, well, see, there's no need for us to put money into your state campaigns because it's not going to yield a positive result. So we got to take matters into our own hands. So so everybody needs to understand something right here before I go to a break. And it's very simple. When we're talking about elections, you start with numbers. And when you start with numbers, you start with, okay, what's the available pool of people?

What did you hear me say last night at the town hall in Fredericksburg, Virginia? We can actually control elections. If I'm running, I'm looking at, okay, what happened not just in this congressional district or state district, what happened in these precincts? When I look at the precinct numbers, that's where my power is. If I look at this precinct and 800 people or 700 people were available voters in the precinct and only 80 voted, then I didn't know if they got 700 eligible voters, then guess what? I can go there and I'm trying to reach 620 people who didn't vote. 620 people across 10 precincts is 6,200 votes. In many places, that's the margin of victory.

And so it's not hard, but you need people to do it. And so everybody out here, I see y'all commenting, people email me all the time, oh man, what's gonna happen? This is very simple. You must tell all of these black organizations who I get sick and tired of meeting, what are they doing?

And when I say organizations, I'm talking about all of them. We must be far more aggressive and challenging if you are an alpha, a delta, a AKA, a kappa, a sigma, an omega, an iota, zeta phi beta, sigma gamma rho, if you lynx, eastern star, Prince Hall, Mason, if you Boulay, if you are any of the Knights of Peter Claver, June Knights of Peter Claver, if you are in ministry groups, all these different things. What are you actually doing?

I'm sick and tired of these BS. Hey, we got to get out to vote a flyer. No, no, no. How are you examining data and then turning people out? That's what I'm talking about. How are we mobilizing caravans of vehicles to drive folks to the polls?

I'm telling y'all right now, listen clearly, the hell that is going to be unleashed on black people, if the right wins next year, you do not want to deal with. I don't want to hear that, ah, black people, we done survived, they survived that. No, your black ass didn't. Your ancestors did. So every single one of y'all who say black people survived slavery, your sorry ass didn't

survive slavery. And guess what? The black people who did survive slavery, they're the ones who rustled together nickels and pennies to create schools. They're the ones who busted their ass to get the right to vote. They're the ones who showed up at marches. They're the ones who funded the lawyers in Texas to break the backs of the Texas Democratic

Party to get the right to vote. They're the ones who got the Brown vs. Board of Education. So every single one of y'all who come up with that bullshit of, oh, we survived slavery, you had better give credit to the ancestors who also did the work so your ass can have the right

to vote, but you choose to sit at home and not use it. And then go, oh my God, I just don't see things changing, so therefore... A lot of times the big economic forces we hear about on the news show up in our lives in small ways. Three or four days a week, I would buy two cups of banana pudding. But the price has gone up. So now I only buy one. The demand curve in action. And that's just one of the things we'll be covering on Everybody's Business from Bloomberg Businessweek. I'm Max Chavkin. And I'm Stacey

Vanek-Smith. Every Friday, we will be diving into the biggest stories in business, taking a look at what's going on, why it matters and how it shows up in our everyday lives. But guests like Business Week editor Brad Stone, sports reporter Randall Williams, and consumer spending expert Amanda Mull will take you inside the boardrooms, the backrooms, even the signal chats that make our economy tick. Hey, I want to learn about VeChain. I want to buy some blockchain or whatever it is that they're doing. So listen to everybody's business on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. I know a lot of cops and they get asked all the time, have you ever had to shoot your gun?

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

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

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

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

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

subscribe to Lava for Good Plus on Apple Podcasts. I'm dipping out. Don't you dare raise what they did and then today you do nothing. That is an abomination to the ancestors. I'll be back. I'm Deborah Owens, America's Wealth Coach and host of Get Wealthy. Let me hit you with a few numbers. African-Americans spend nine times the amount on ethnic beauty products and yet only own 1% of the beauty supply stores.

It's an $18 billion industry. On the next Get Wealthy, you're gonna learn and hear from a woman who's turning this obstacle into an opportunity. We literally take you from A to Z on all of the things, step by step, you need to have in place to open and run a very successful beauty supply store. That's right here with me, Deborah Owens, host of Get Wealthy, only on Blackstar Network. Hatred on the streets, a horrific scene, a white nationalist rally that descended into deadly violence. White people are losing their damn minds. There's an angry pro-Trump mob storm to

the U.S. Capitol. We're about to see the rise of what I call white minority resistance. We have seen white folks in this country who simply cannot tolerate black folks voting. I think what we're seeing is the inevitable result of violent denial. This is part of American history. Every time that people of color have made progress, whether real or symbolic, there has been what Carol Anderson at every university calls white rage as a backlash. This is the rise of the Proud Boys and the Boogaloo Boys. America, there's going to be more of this.

Here's all the Proud Boys, guys. This country is getting increasingly racist in its behaviors and its attitudes because of the fear of white people. The fear that they're taking our jobs, they're taking our resources, they're taking our women. This is white fear. Hey, what's up? It's Tammy Roman. Hey, it's John Murray, the executive producer of the new Sherri Shepherd Talk Show. It's me, Sherri Shepherd, and you know what you're watching, Roland Martin Unfiltered.

All right, folks, welcome back. I'm going to talk about with my next guest about his recent trip. He was in Israel. But before I get to that, I've got to bring in Pastor Kenneth Wainer III on the show. I saw you over there clapping when I was talking, Pastor. And I know we're on the same page on that. And I've got to show this here. Go to my iPad.

Because y'all just had an election in Memphis. Okay? And again, y'all, Memphis is black. Memphis is like black, black. All right? And look at these numbers. First of all, let me go ahead and say this. There's too many damn people running for mayor in Memphis.

Okay? I mean, look at all the people running. And I'm just going to go ahead and say it. Willie Harrington, stop running. You were the mayor before. You had your shot. I'm sick and tired. No, no.

Come. Let me just say it right now. No, come to me. Come to me. Come to me. Come to me. Willie Harrington, stop running for mayor. Okay?

You had your opportunity to lead Memphis. You had your shot a number of years. Man, go do something else. It's time for a new generation in Memphis. But every time there's an election, he's sitting here running with the same tired message. And, yeah, I said it. Time for new leaders to actually step up. But this is the thing we're talking about here, Kenneth, again, how we sit here and we're not maximizing black power.

And that's how you had a Strickland who became the mayor of Memphis because too many of us were trying to run and cancel everybody out. That's exactly right. But here's the good news. here's the good news here's the good news roland the candidate who won this time happens to be the best thing that could have ever happened for memphis and i think what paul young paul young they learned paul young yes uh i think what happened was and you know this you wrote the book on this all right right. The other candidates, Van Turner, Willie Harrington, Floyd Bonner, they split the vote that might have gone to a traditional civil rights candidate, but they were all fighting for the same vote. Paul Young put together, he did exactly what you were talking about earlier tonight, man. He had young people knocking on doors. People got tired of hearing about Paul Young. Man, Roland, this is his first political race. He's never

run for anything, Roland. And now he's the mayor of Memphis. And I believe it's going to be the best thing that ever happened for Memphis. Well, I'm just, I mean, what just drives me crazy, and I see this all around the country, where we have opportunities to maximize

black political power, to maximize things for black people, and we don't. And then everybody running around talking about, oh, Atlanta, Atlanta. Well, the folks in Atlanta figured out real fast if you keep power, you can wield power. Absolutely.

I think that's going to happen in Memphis, Roland. I really do. All right. Well, I'll be paying attention and I'll be watching. And then let me go ahead and say this here and that you already know this here. Everybody in Memphis, I am not coming back to Memphis for a commemoration

of Dr. King's assassination if we are not going to be talking about economic mobility, which is what he be talking about economic mobility, which is what he was talking about, which is why he came to Memphis. I'm sick and tired of the same thing for Selma. If we ain't talking about the money, I'm

not coming back to Selma for Bloody Sunday. I'm tired of these civil rights commemorations where all we do is remember what happened back then and we ain't talking about the money today. Well, black economic empowerment is what brought you and me together, Roland, 10, 20 years ago. And so I'm looking forward to it, man. Whenever you get ready to come down to Memphis and let's do the black economic empowerment symposium or whatever we're going to do, let's do it, man.

We started Buster Move Monday more than 20 years ago. And we're still the only black church that I know of that engages in supporting with real dollars black-owned business. Well, just folks understand, we come to Memphis around April 4th. It is going to be for an economic conversation. It's not going to be for the usual. We're going to commemorate Dr. King's life by focusing on what he was focused on when he got killed, the money. All right, let's talk about Israel, Gaza. President Biden is preparing to go to Israel on tomorrow. We saw today hospital was bombed. Anywhere from 300 to 500 people have been killed. The Palestinians

are blaming the Israelis. Israelis are saying that it wasn't them. A lot of confusion there. You were there. How recent were you there? I was there when the bombings occurred. I got there Monday of that week to see Cameron, my son, Cameron perform at Bruno Mars. I was there from Monday through Saturday afternoon. Wow. Give us a sense of what that was like being in the midst of all of that? Well, let me set the context. At Bruno Mars' concert on Wednesday night, Roland, there were 60,000 people. Did you hear me? 60,000 people in the audience in Tel Aviv. And it wasn't just Israelis. It was Palestinians as well. And there were probably, I'm just guessing, that there were probably some young Hamas members at the Bruno Mars concert with music being the universal language.

So that's the context for my experience. That was Wednesday night. We toured the Holy Land. You just showed some of the pictures. We toured the Holy Land Thursday and Friday, got up early Saturday morning to prepare to go to the airport. And the sirens started blaring about 6.45, 7 a.m. Tel Aviv time. And that's where it started. I can answer some more questions. Let me tell you, man,

our driver, as he was taking me to the airport, showed me on his iPhone a FaceTime video, just like you and I are doing right now. His wife was FaceTiming him, and I literally saw, I heard her screaming, and I saw a white pickup truck pull up in front of their home. About eight masked gunmen jumped out of the back of the pickup truck in front of my driver's home and pulled out their AR-15 type rifles and just started firing in a circular motion around the community in front of this man's house. That's where I was when everything started. This has been, it has been contentious. It has been, it has been just horrible to see the images, the dead bodies, on and on and on. But you also have this dichotomy happening.

Yesterday, we were down in Fredericksburg, Virginia, for a panel. There were Israelis protesting in front, there were Jewish Americans protesting in front of the White House, calling on the White House to demand a ceasefire. You have the State Department issuing language saying to the diplomats, don't use that type of language. You've got on college campuses, you've got donors who are saying they're going to be pulling their money from Harvard and Penn and from Columbia and other places because the presidents were not condemning students

who were blaming Israel and not Hamas. I mean, you have people who, I mean, Alicia Keys posted a photo, and somebody asked her, what's the one thing that you would like to do that you were scared of? She said paragliding, and people like Megyn Kelly and others were like, oh, look at her dressed in the Hamas colors. And we see what she's saying. She had to delete the post. And she said, oh, that's the question. It had nothing to do with this because that's how some of the Hamas folks attacked Israelis.

I mean, and so you literally have people who are saying, I can't win for losing, so I'm just not going to say anything. Well, I'm not a geopolitician, so there are some things I can't opan on. But I am a theologian, which is what all of us are when we think about God. And I'm telling you, Roland, the same hatred that existed between Esau and Jacob. Listen to me. It's the same hatred that still exists on the same soil that it existed between Esau and Jacob. And until we address that, until we do what I did, what Cameron and I did when we were in the Holy Land, right in the midst of the conflict, I fell on my face, man. I submitted myself to the presence of the power of God in that atmosphere. And as we teach that, when more people do that, then we'll see the situation tamp down. But, man, until we do deal with it, hatred is going to continue to move forward.

Yeah. And what I keep saying to people is death is death. And you have Israelis dying. You have Palestinians dying. Death is death. And so people say, well, you know, you can't. You know, it's like Israel has a right to retaliate. The folks, the Palestinians, Hamas, they're sitting here. They're tired of the oppression again. Dying is happening on both sides. And guess what? Neither side is at peace.

And absolutely right. And dying is happening in our streets. And this is Roland. This is what dawned on me as I was hunkering down in a shelter in the Tel Aviv airport while the sirens were blasting. I saw when I heard a radio report that a representative of Hamas said these attacks are in retaliation for the way we have been treated for centuries. And for some reason, Roland, my mind went to the streets of Memphis, where we've got 11-year-olds and 12-year-olds carjacking people and shooting and killing people. And it is the same sense of hopelessness and despair. Just like Hamas, they feel like they're not being heard. What we have to do, particularly those of us who have boots on the ground, as I heard you say earlier, those of us who are in the Christian

community. We have to reach out to our young people, pay attention to them and help them to move beyond the anger, which is justified, into a position of, I know that I am loved, because it's the same hatred, Roland. It's the same bullets and it's the same. A lot of times the big economic forces we hear about on the news show up in our lives in small ways. Three or four days a week, I would buy two cups of banana pudding, but the price has gone up. So now I only buy one. The demand curve in action. And that's just one of the things we'll be covering on Everybody's Business from Bloomberg Business Week. I'm Max Chavkin.

And I'm Stacey Vanek-Smith. Every Friday, we will be diving into the biggest stories in business, taking a look at what's going on, why it matters, and how it shows up in our everyday lives. But guests like Business Week editor Brad Stone, sports reporter Randall Williams, and consumer spending expert Amanda Mull will take you inside the boardrooms, the backrooms, even the signal chats that make our economy tick. Hey, I want to learn about VeChain. I want to buy some blockchain or whatever it is that they're doing. So listen to Everybody's Business on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. I know a lot of cops, and they get asked all the time,

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

From Lava for Good and the team that brought you Bone Valley comes a story about what happened when a multi-billion dollar company dedicated itself to one visionary mission. This is Absolute Season 1. Taser Incorporated. I get

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

And this is season two of the War on Drugs podcast. We are back. In a big way. In a very big way. Real people, real perspectives. This is kind of star-studded a little bit, man. We got Ricky Williams, NFL player,

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

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

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

on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. And to hear episodes one week early and ad-free with exclusive content, subscribe to Lava for Good Plus on Apple Podcasts. Somebody, I was having a conversation the other day, and I was asked this question. The question was, and it was an interesting conversation because there were Jewish folks, there were Arab folks, there were African-American, there was white, and so it was a very eclectic group there. And they said, how can we get this to stop?

And the hostages came up. You know, and the first thing I thought about, I said, I hate the fact that a Reverend Jackson has been so hit with Parkinson's disease. I thought about the hostages that he was able to negotiate and get freed all around the world. And part of the problem that we're facing right now, you literally do not have a world leader or somebody with the type of moral standing who, when they speak, can get multiple sides to listen? Well, you and Sheila, my wife

Sheila and I have talked about this before, the absence of someone with the moral rectitude and the ability to speak for many. But Roland, Roland, I believe that it is the black church that has reneged on its responsibility. I'm included. That has reneged on its responsibility. I'm included. That is reneged on our responsibility. I believe that as the black pastor goes, so go black people. And if individual black pastors will begin to just stand up in truth, begin to fall down in worship, begin to speak the truth, begin to come away from this deal of letting politicians come into your pulpit,

all this kind of thing, I believe we can be a united voice that speaks the truth, begin to come away from this deal of letting politicians come into your pulpit, all this kind of thing. I believe we can be a united voice that speaks the way Dr. King spoke, the way Reverend Jackson spoke at one time. I think that's possible, Roland, and I know you do, too. Well, what we're faced right now is a continuation of the deaths. Again, folks, the blame is going around right now. Who's responsible for this tragedy at this particular church? I'm looking at the front page of the New York Times right now.

Go to my iPad. Israelis and Palestinians blame each other for blasts at Gaza hospital that kill hundreds. Here's the reality. Hundreds are dead while they're blaming. No doubt. No doubt. Pastor Whalum, I appreciate it. Thanks a lot, brother.

Love you, Roland. Thanks a bunch. Tell the wife and the fam what's up. Real quick to my panel here. Randy, I'll start with you. This is one of the things that's happening right now, Randy, and corporations are on edge, universities. You've got Slack chats that are going crazy

because people are drawing lines. You've got billionaires like Bill Ackerman that are saying, oh, any student who signed on to any of these statements on the college campuses do not hire them for jobs. A law firm rescinded the rescinding job offers to some of these students. I mean, it's it's it's it's it's it's stunning to watch literally while that battle is going on in, I'll call it North Africa, other people call it Middle East, while that's happening, then, of course, you have the battles that are happening literally in the streets of the United States, protests and rallies, what's happening in corporations as well.

How does a corporate leader navigate this? It's a really good question. I have been watching, I've been getting lists of corporations that people should ban or protest on either side, depending on how you feel. They say, oh, this product, don't go to Starbucks because they are feeding money in to Israel. And, you know, and people don't seem to get that there is no win here. There is no win. And it is affecting everything from, you know, what people are posting on their social media because they're afraid of what to do. I think that what a corporation, where I advise in a corporation now as a DEI specialist, is that it would be very neutral and about just peace, something that serves everybody.

I don't believe that it's smart for any corporation to come in and draw a line about where they stand and particularly try to punish people for their own opinions. But they do have to just say to push peace and that... And offer services, you know, offer services, because there is a lot of stress that is going on within the workplace now. And so they have to say, how do we ensure that people are dealing with the emotional toll that this is that's taking place because it's affecting people. But to keep drawing

lines, like you said, death is death. People are dying on either side and that is not a win for anyone is a terrible choice for any corporation to me. But Suzette, the problem is folks are saying no, no, no, you can't be middle of the road.

You literally must be deciding one way or other. I'm seeing a lot of these celebrities who are getting in trouble, who haven't said anything. I mean, it's been unbelievable to watch the visceral reaction and you have

some companies and brands and others saying to entertainers, you better say something or else. You've got, again, this thing is just this battle that is going on where it's literally you are either on the Israeli side or if you're on the Palestinian side, depending on who's saying, that means, oh, you support Hamas. And so people

are saying you can't even be neutral. Yeah. At this point, you're damned if you do, if you're damned if you don't. And there's there's very little middle ground to tread lightly. I've been looking at polls rolling where there are more supporters even within the Democratic Party for the Palestinian cause than there has ever been. And it also is something that we have to be sensitive to, because there's a distinction between Hamas and terrorism and the civilians that live in Palestine, as well as Israeli civilians and the Israeli government. I think people have to provide space for one to be able to say

they reject Hamas or the terroristic acts and atrocities they committed, but do not support the Israeli government or don't completely agree with their action. I think there has been this kind of oversimplification that people are looking to, you know, choose sides where it's a lot of shades of gray. And so we have to, I think, allow for one another to be able to express their opinion. But because this is such a visceral topic, people are risking their brands. People are risking friendships and jobs and all the rest of it because the Israeli question is something that, again, has been in flux for some time. And again, this is just another iteration due to this recent attack and incursion that has brought back old demons that have been unresolved. We'll see if President Biden has an attempt in

the next coming days to go back to diplomacy. But it has been—the stakes have been ratcheted up now that you see the Israelis now—the Israeli government now amassing troops on the border. There is no escape for folks who have been living in an oppressive society without any means of their own self-determination. And yes, that has been ongoing even before this attack in the Gaza Strip. So there's multiple sides to this. I don't think one side is completely, especially when you're making a distinction between government and civilian, you know, completely right or completely wrong.

But people are not very nuanced for some reason when they're having these discussions. And I think that's something that we ought to be in a loud space for. This is video from yesterday. Four to six people were arrested outside of the White House for protests there. Mustafa, it is, again, it is a dire situation. And the Israelis are preparing for what they talked about is a ground surge into Gaza. They told the 1.1 million people who are in northern Gaza to head south. And so this is going to get worse before it gets better.

It most definitely is. And one of the reasons that it's going to get worse is because we fail to realize that both hate and evil are like cancer. You know, when you don't address it in the beginning, then it begins to move all throughout the body, whether it is a human body or it is a systems body. And Dr. King shared with us that the only way that you deal with hate is through love. So we have to figure out how we're going to get more focused on these core elements as a human that help us to move forward and in the positive direction. So you see that hate playing out not only in the Middle East but now you see it also finding its ways to get its talons

in people all across the planet. This is a moment when we need to embrace our humanity to understand that a Palestinian baby or Israeli baby that loses their life, they're of equal value and that we have to do everything that we can to protect life. Again, this is more video of yesterday's protest outside of the White House from various Jewish organizations. So that was also, I thought, was fascinating. You have Jewish groups who are saying, stop. You've got Palestinian groups. You've got people

who are saying, support Israelis, support Palestinians. I mean, this is just continuing. And so hopefully, with the president, and in fact, there's supposed to be a summit in Jordan, and the Jordan president called it off. Supposed to be with President Biden tomorrow. It's not going to be happening. All right, folks, got to go to a break. We come back. We're going to talk about the battle

over stand-your-ground law in Florida. Yep, the never-ending battle. It continues. You're watching Roland Martin Unfiltered right here on the Blackstar Network. All change is not growth. Right. But thoughtful change is real good fertilizer.

And that's what has been so beneficial to us. But you also were not afraid of the kid. Roland, I'm a black woman in business. Come on. I don't care how I dress up. I don't care who I'm speaking with. I don't care what part of the world I am in. I still am a black woman in business. Being afraid of the pivot, being fearful of change is not what got me here. Respectful of change. Respectful of pivot. Yeah. Fearful? No. Uh-uh. No. On a next A Balanced Life with me, Dr. Jackie. Being of service to others is

one of the greatest callings in life. But being there for someone else in their time of crisis is a whole new level. And you have to bring courage, commitment and strength. On our next show, we meet two real life angels who were thrust in the midst of caregiving and without warning. And he was looking strange and couldn't cut his meat. And it was very odd. And I said, well, what's wrong? And he says, I think I've had a stroke.

And so, of course, it scared me. And we literally got in the car, and he walked into the hospital on a Thursday. And by Saturday of that same week, he lost all control of his left side. The blessings, the challenges, and the way they maintain their balance, all next on A Balanced Life on Blackstar Network. Bruce Smith, creator and executive producer of Proud Family, Louder and Prouder. You're watching Roland Martin on I'm killed. All right, folks, Florida State, your ground law remains controversial as many think it's a get-out-of-jail-free card

when one can say they feared for their life. State Senator from Florida, Chevron Jones, was once again trying to overhaul this law. He joins us now. Glad to have you here, Senator Jones. So what's the deal here? Because at the end of the day, we've seen a lot of these stories, folks shoot and kill. They go, oh, I was fearful about life.

I'll stand on my ground. Well, first of all, it's always good to see you, Roland. I mean, and some people, they keep asking, Shev, you know, why are you filing this? A lot of times the big economic forces we hear about on the news show up in our lives in small ways. Three or four days a week, I would buy two cups of banana pudding. But the price has gone up, so now I only buy one.

The demand curve in action. And that's just one of the things we'll be covering on Everybody's Business from Bloomberg Business Week. I'm Max Chavkin. And I'm Stacey Vanek-Smith. Every Friday, we will be diving into the biggest stories in business, taking a look at what's going on, why it matters and how it shows up in our everyday lives. But guests like Businessweek editor Brad Stone, sports reporter Randall Williams, and consumer spending expert Amanda Mull will take you inside the boardrooms, the backrooms, even the signal chats that make our economy tick.

Hey, I want to learn about VeChain. I want to buy some blockchain or whatever it is that they're doing. So listen to Everybody's Business on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. I know a lot of cops, and they get asked all the time, have you ever had to shoot your gun? Sometimes the answer is yes. But there's a company dedicated to a future where the answer will always be no. Across the country, cops call this taser the revolution.

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

Listen to new episodes of Absolute Season 1, Taser Incorporated on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Binge episodes 1, 2, and 3 on May 21st and episodes 4, 5, and 6 on June 4th. Add free at Lava for Good Plus on Apple Podcasts. I'm Clayton English. I'm Greg Glod. And this is season two of the War on Drugs podcast. We are back.

In a big way. In a very big way. Real people, real perspectives. This is kind of star-studded a little bit, man. two of the war on drugs podcast we are back in a big way in a very big way real people real perspectives this is kind of star-studded a little bit man we got uh ricky williams nfl player hasman trophy winner it's just a compassionate choice to allow players all reasonable means to care for themselves music stars marcus king john osborne from brothers Osborne. We have this misunderstanding of what this quote-unquote drug man. Benny the Butcher. Brent Smith from Shinedown.

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

It makes it real. Listen to new episodes of the War on Drugs podcast season two on the iHeart radio app, Apple podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And to hear episodes one week early and ad free with exclusive content, subscribe to Lava for Good Plus on Apple Podcasts. Every year, first things first, is that me who represent the largest Black district in the state of Florida, it is the one thing that the African-American community that they continue to ask for is what is Florida going to do with staying around?

And we know that it's a losing battle within the state of Florida, but what we have to do is make sure that we continue to keep this at the top of mind to have a larger conversation when it comes to gun violence within our community. Whether it is creating a gun violence task force, which we have been asking for for the last three years, Roland, by mind you, has passed both chambers. But Governor DeSantis just truly won't sign it. In 2005, after the legislature passed Stand Your Ground, which basically expanded the scope, as you know, the scope of self-defense claim by totally eliminating the duty retreat, we know that to be a type of shoot first culture of violence. And that's what we know. And when we look at our community, it's more of us as African Americans

and marginalized community, we find ourselves on the other side of that gun when we're talking about standing around. Well, and the thing that that still gets me is and I think, frankly, those who are against this law should be constantly reminding. It's a bunch of law enforcement people, all the Republicans who love to claim all blue lies matter and and how they pro law enforcement, pro law and order. Most law enforcement folks, sheriffs and police chiefs are against this law. Absolutely. Absolutely. And listen, I was before before you were in the last segment, I was reading the Tampa Bay Times, and the Tampa Bay Times, they found that from 2005 to 2012, in cases where standing ground was used as a defense, 79% of those cases

where the claim for self-defense succeeded, the defendant, listen to this, but the defendant could have retreated to avoid confrontation, and in 68% of successful claims, the person killed was unarmed. That's the video from the Tampa Bay Times. So the statistics and the facts, the statistics and the facts stand on the side of repeal. But I think it's also important for us to point out to where most people are. When you talk about standing ground, I mean, on my Instagram, people are like, well, you're not taking my guns away from me.

First of all, no one is talking about taking your gun away from you. But what we are talking about in our community, how we are finding ourselves, your son, your daughter, your cousin, your niece, your nephew, are the ones who find themselves dead, and they cannot explain themselves why. Because an officer or individual has shot and killed them and claiming self-defense when it truly wasn't self-defense. Because truly, because of the biases that we deal with in our police department, I mean, that's what a lot of these police officers are claiming. And guess what? And they get off, and they win.

Suzette, question for Senator Jones. Yes, sir. Talk about the combination of the new legislation that came into being, Senator Jones, who is from my neck of the woods. Good to see you, fellow Miami brother, one of the hardest working men in the state Senate. Talk about the combination, sir,

of what we look like now in terms of maybe statistically speaking, the stand your ground dilemma combined with now Florida's laws, which have made it easier to carry. A lot of people saw what happened in the state legislature. We know that there is a super majority of Republicans, no matter what you do. I think in the Senate, what is it is 12 Democrats, 28 out of the House body of 40, 28 GOP. And in the House, it's 85 GOP to 35 Democrats. So no matter what you need, the other side's cooperation to pass anything. Talk about what it's like with those combination of laws

now in effect and how it will affect the black community. Yeah, Suzanne, always good to see you, sis, and I'm proud of you. Listen, it is no secret that the Democrats stand in the disadvantage in Florida, in the Senate and in the House. And when we look at standing on ground, now mixed with permanent carry, what was just passed this previous session, we are creating an unsafe environment for our residents. And of course, we know that that is unacceptable. But how do you think these mothers and fathers feel of those 68% of the individuals that I just spoke about

who were unarmed but still fell victim to gun violence when it could have been de-escalated and completely avoided. Yes, we are at a disadvantage. But what we cannot do, and I made it clear in Black Caucus, I made it clear to my Democratic colleagues, that we must continue to tell the story. Because if we continue to tell the stories from our district, we just can't lay and allow the Republicans to do what they do for the fact that because we're going to have the numbers to hell with that. I mean, fight the fight, file the legislation, raise your voices, build the coalitions, because there are elections that's coming up, as you all were just talking about a few minutes ago. People want to know, what are you actually doing? Forget the town hall meetings. Forget all of this talking. actionable items that are actually taking place, begin to move the agenda, like with permanent caring, when we move and start

having these conversations, having these town hall conversations, and what does safety look like, and how do we move the agenda that we're looking for? If it's following legislation that you know is not going to pass to be able to move agenda, fine. Let's build this coalition based off of what people

actually agree on, what can move people's hearts and minds until we get to the place where we need to be. And I'll end with this. Republicans did not get here by in one year, two years, it took them 22 years to take over the legislature. And the Democrats

have to figure out what that message is going to be in order to move it. I'm not saying Stania Brown is it, but we got to figure out what that message is of coalition building. Randy? I've been wondering, was there any movement, because there was a lot of talk after the

unfortunate murder of Trayvon Martin, you know, and they talk about this authorized violence. With the foundation and just the visibility it had, has that helped move the needle in any way? I can hear you, but I can't hear, I can't hear what she just made me do.

Randy, ask it again. I'm wondering if, you know, we talk about the tragic murder of Trayvon Martin and that put a lot of attention on stand your ground laws. And I also know that the Trayvon Martin, and that put a lot of attention on stand-your-ground laws. Um, and I also know that the Trayvon Martin Foundation is very active. Has there been any movement as we've seen very visible cases like Trayvon Martin or Ralph Dahl, where kids are actually, um,

in one instance murdered, in one instance, um, almost killed? Has that helped move the needle whatsoever, the visibility of these cases? I'll be honest with you. First of all, the Trayvon Martin Foundation, the Trayvon Martin Foundation, in the beginning, that was their main focus. They were really trying to move the needle when it came to the repealing of Stanley Brown. I will be extremely honest with you. Because they knew of the makeup of the House and the makeup of the Senate, they really began to expand their scope of what they were working towards, dealing with

gun violence within the community, working with the Kerry-McFaundation. So they moved away from the policy aspect and moved more closely to the coalition building. But you're absolutely right. I mean, not only does this law affect marginalized individuals at the alarming rate which you just mentioned, and as we see in these cases just like Trayvon Martin, it continues, and I repeat, it creates this culture of the shoot first, ask questions later. Yeah, and the last thing I'll say is these organizations that have rallied around and tried to push the needle when it comes to standing around on any type of gun legislation. The heart is, of course, within the legislature, but it's also with these gun rights groups like the NRA and these other groups that will, that avoids these types of things from moving forward in the

legislation. Mustafa? Yeah, well, Senator Jones, thank you for everything you're doing. You know, it's curious that there was a study that came out last year that talked about stand your ground, and we know that there's been about 11 percent increase in homicides since that came out last year that talked about stand your ground. And we know that there's been about 11% increase in homicides since it came out. About 700 more people are losing their lives each year. How do you use those types of statistics to move the needle, if you will? How can folks who are outside of Florida be best supportive of the work that you're doing? Mr. Alvarez, I appreciate the work that you're doing. Mr. I appreciate the work that you're doing. Also,

I'll be honest with you. I mean, my colleagues can give to, let me not say, let me not do that. I mean, keep it clean. They do not care.

So go ahead, Fred. They don't give a shit about numbers. You understand what I'm telling you? They can care less when it comes about numbers. They do what I'm telling you? They can care less when it comes about numbers. They do it because they can. And when you mix that in with Black folk, let's talk about what Black folk has suffered here in the state of Florida under Ron DeSantis. We're dealing with a community where the governor vetoed Black projects in Black communities as retaliation because

individuals were Democrat. We're dealing with a governor who, after the death of George Floyd, put forth legislation to avoid how we riot. We're dealing with a governor who came forth and made it clear how we can teach African-American studies. We're dealing with a governor who took African-American studies to this day. We'll not allow AP African-American studies to be taught here within the state of Florida, which is peer review, review by doctors and scientists and everything else. So I look for a fact, Mustafa, that statistics does not scare them because these individuals only do it because they can.

And we are on the brink of another legislative session and a governor who is running for president. Mix those two together. Watch on January 9th until March 8th. You're going to see a bunch of chaos in the legislature. And it's already started in week two of committees. All right. Senator Shepard Jones, we appreciate it, man.

Keep up the good fight. Thank you, Fred. All right. Take care. All right. Senator Sheffield-Jones, we appreciate it, man. Keep up the good fight. Thank you, Fred. All right, take care. All right, folks, we come back. Vice President Kamala Harris continues her tour of various colleges.

This time she stops in Arizona. We'll show you some of that. Also, another shooting at an HBCU homecoming leaves a young alpha dead. Jackson State speaks on the death of this young brother out of Chicago.

We'll show you what the interim president had to say. You're watching Roland Martin Unfiltered right here on the Black Star Network. Peace, I'm Faraji Muhammad, host of The Culture. And brothers, we need to talk. There's been much discussion about the state of the Black man in our community, whether it's in politics, education, or in the home. My brothers, we are struggling to lead the way, which is why The Culture will be hosting the Black Men's Summit, where we'll be redefining and celebrating Black manhood. This special series

will kick off on the 28th anniversary of the historic Million Man March on Monday, October the 16th at 4 p.m. Eastern Time. I'll be talking to some of Black America's most prolific, dynamic, thought-provoking Black men activists, scholars, and leaders about our role, our power, and our future. So tune in and join the conversation as an online culture crew member for the Culture's Black Men's Summit, redefining and celebrating Black manhood. Starting Monday, October 16th through Friday, October 20th,

4 p.m. Eastern time each day, right here, exclusively here on the Black Star Network. Pull up a chair, take your seat. The Black Tape with me, Dr. Greg Carr, here on the Black Star Network every week. A lot of times the big economic forces we hear about on the news show up in our lives in small ways. Three or four days a week, I would buy two cups of banana pudding. But the price has gone up, so now I only buy one. The demand curve in action.

And that's just one of the things we'll be covering on Everybody's Business from Bloomberg Businessweek. I'm Max Chavkin. And I'm Stacey Vanek-Smith. Every Friday, we will be diving into the biggest stories in business, taking a look at what's going on, why it matters, and how it shows up in our everyday lives. But guests like Business Week editor Brad Stone, sports reporter Randall Williams, and consumer spending expert Amanda Mull will take you inside the boardrooms, the backrooms, even the signal chats that make our economy tick. Hey, I want to learn about VeChain. I want to buy some blockchain or whatever it is that they're doing. So listen to Everybody's Business on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you

get your podcasts. I know a lot of cops and they get asked all the time, have you ever had to shoot your gun? Sometimes the answer is yes. But there's a company dedicated to a future where the answer will always be no. Across the country, cops called this taser the revolution. But not everyone was convinced it was that simple. Cops believed everything that taser told them. From Lava for Good and the team that brought you Bone Valley comes a story about what happened when a multibillion-dollar company dedicated itself to one visionary mission. This is Absolute Season 1, Taser Incorporated.

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

Plus on Apple Podcasts. I'm Clayton English. I'm Greg Lott. Add free at Lava for Good Plus on Apple Podcasts. Ricky Williams, NFL player, Heisman Trophy winner. It's just a compassionate choice to allow players all reasonable means to care for themselves. Music stars Marcus King, John Osborne from Brothers Osborne. We have this misunderstanding of what this quote-unquote drug ban is. Benny the Butcher. Brent Smith from Shinedown. We got B-Real from Cypress Hill. NHL enforcer Riley Cote. Marine Corvette. MMA fighter Liz Karamush.

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

subscribe to Lava for Good Plus on Apple Podcasts. Take a deeper dive into the world we're living in. Join the conversation only on the Black Star Network. Next on The Frequency with me, D. Vaughn's actress, writer, and advocate, Rae Dawn Chong is here to discuss her childhood and break down her life in Hollywood, a show you don't want to miss.

Well, even at my peaky peak peak when I was getting a lot of stuff, as soon as I was working a ton, I heard people whispering, oh, we don't want to pay her because we're giving her a break. Only on The Frequency on the Black Star Network. Hey, what's up, y'all? I'm Devon Franklin. It is always a pleasure to be in the house. You are watching Roland Martin Unfiltered. Stay right here. Folks, yesterday, Alpha Alpha Return Incorporated, my friend Mustafa as well, sent this out on social media. Jalen Burns, 21-year-old kid, turned 22 next month out of Chicago area, shot and killed at an apartment in Jackson, Mississippi.

It took place over a homecoming weekend. According to Channel 7 out of Chicago, Jalen actually went with the frat brother to his ex-girlfriend's house to get his things out. Jalen was simply helping his brother. Well, the girlfriend invited some other people over to the apartment. Fight breaks out. Jalen is trying to break up the fight. He gets shot and killed.

We've had, this is the third shooting that's taken place at the HBCU homecoming in the last couple of weeks. So the shooting in Morgan State, the shooting at Bowie State as well. Interim president of Jackson State University issued this statement today. Greetings, JSU family, alumni, and community.

I believe most of you have heard by now that we experienced the tragic passing of student Jalen Burns. Jalen was a Chicago native and an industrial technology major with a brilliant future ahead of him. a Chicago native and an industrial technology major with a brilliant future ahead of him. This loss is devastating and unfathomable to the JSU community.

It does not represent who we are as a Tiger family or a place in higher education. It further undercuts our mission to cultivate an environment where students come to learn and to evolve as individuals and free thinkers. We are committed to uplifting Jaylon's memory and using it to propel us forward in love and unity. This matter is still under investigation. If you have further information, please contact the Jackson State University

Office of Public Safety. Together, we are still JSU Strong. Again, he's supposed to turn 22 next month. Randy, I can't imagine if you're from a Chicago area, we talk about the violence that happens there all the time. You raise a son, you send him off to college, and you send him to an HBCU, and he's returning home in a coffin? It's-it's unfathomable.

It is-it is heartbreaking, you know, as a mother who has two sons that go to an HBCU, uh, one has graduated. Um, I can't imagine. You know, you feel such joy when your children enter into college that you have made it, that you've gotten them out, and you don't even imagine that something like this can happen. Our schools need to band together and figure out some real tough plans to prevent this from going on. There was also a shooting at my alma mater, Tuskegee University, recently,

well, you know, on outside the grounds, but still. And so we're having issues. I mean, we just have to be very honest about these issues and become very, you know, work on our security, you know, talk to the students about, you know, how to protect themselves. You know, I mean, it's sad, but we really do need to, we can't just feel sad. We have to have, we have to take some action. So this will not continue anymore. I mean, this is the thing, Mustafa, that we're dealing with. We're dealing with people who are walking around who, who, who believe that carrying guns and pulling them out is the way to solve disputes. Yeah. It's become a part of the culture now. I know folks don't ever want to talk about that.

You know, we live in a country with 400 million guns. 26,000 people have been killed so far this year, been murdered by firearms. And we also know inside of our community that, you know, we've got some self-hate that's going on. And, oftentimes, instead of just taking a moment and thinking about a situation, folks will react. Folks will react. The young lady who invited people over when she knew other folks were coming over probably should have thought differently. We have just got to be smart as young men also about the places that we go. And that is not to put any blame on the brothers who were there, but we have to be smart because we no longer live in a society where people

are valuing each other. So one, we've got to change the dynamics around how many guns are out there. And two, we've got to begin to find ways of better loving ourselves inside of our community. Absolutely. Suzette, your thoughts? Yeah, I just look at this in the greater context of what's going on in America, right? We know that the mass shooting phenomenon is a countrywide problem, not just one that is reflected in the Black community, as we are a part of this great experiment. We too are affected by that culture. As of September 17th, I think we were just passing 500 mass shootings for the entire country. So looking at these succession of shootings at Black colleges and universities, it's just very disheartening and quite ironic that you send your

child away, as you talked about, with a sense of pride and promise to a college and university and for something as tragic as this to happen is unfathomable. So my heart goes out to these families. I do admonish the administration to look at their security measures during homecoming because it's not just students, everybody's on campus. People come from near and far who are both alumni

and non-alumni to enjoy these events. This one specifically was a kind of interpersonal issue, but in general, looking at what happened in the other two shootings, I think we also have to look again at campus safety, revisit that issue. And then as Mustafa just pointed out, that interpersonal violence, we need to really talk about that within our communities and within our culture, other ways to resolve disputes so that we don't turn to gun violence and things don't end as tragically as they have for this family. All right, folks.

Vice President Kamala Harris, she was today on the college campus in Arizona, continuing her tour, speaking to the various issues of the day. Here's what she had to say. Madam Vice President, to begin, I must thank you for being a true champion of young voices. As you know, I was studying a little bit of film on a couple of the campuses he visited, and one thing that stayed consistent was to never silence our voices and so i thank you thank you jonathan and i want you as well to honor that today as a proud chicano aspiring educator i must ask a question that relates to the lives and experiences of my students this administration has continued to deport

children and their families while simultaneously building the wall. Children continue to die at the wall because of this country's inhumane policies, much like the policies, crimes, and committed, funded against those in Palestine. 47 families in Gaza have been completely removed from the civil registry since the bombing began, meaning genocide. These families don't exist anymore. A UN school was bombed last week by Israel, killing 30 students and 11 UN staff. Just today, I know y'all saw the news. Today, Israel bombed the last Christian hospital in Gaza killing over 500 doctors, children, and refugees. You know, my grandpa Arnold Otero, who is in the audience today, told me one thing growing up as an educator, and that is that no one can ever take away your right

to education. And so I ask you today, Madam Vice President Harris, as an educator, why take away the life of the children in Gaza and at the border, which ultimately takes away the fundamental right of education. Thank you. So you brought up a lot of issues, and there's a lot to unpack. Let us start with this. I absolutely understand, and it is my lived experience with the first subject that you raised, to know that this is a nation that was founded by immigrants.

I am the child of a mother who came to the United States by herself when she was 19 years old. And I sit here as Vice President of the United States. I am acutely aware of the connection between immigrants and who we are as a country. And I feel very strongly about the importance of always recognizing America's history and current responsibility to acknowledge that. I will also say that it is important that we have a safe, orderly, and fair immigration system. When Joe Biden and I came into office, the first piece of legislation, I think it was the day after our inauguration, that we proposed was pathway to citizenship. And Republicans in Congress have purposely not picked it up because they have decided it is in their political best interest to create an issue in a way that they can then politicize and play games

with and play games with the lives of people, many of whom are fleeing or have fled harm or just a basic inability to take care of themselves and their families. And part of our immigration system has always recognized the importance of being a place where people who have a legitimate fear of harm can receive and seek at the very least asylum. So that's how I feel on the issue of immigration. On the issue of what is happening in the Middle East, I believe that Israelis and Palestinians both deserve peace, deserve self-determination, and deserve safety. I am deeply, deeply affected, as I think we all are, by what we have seen in terms of the loss of life and the violence that has occurred when, first of all, a terrorist organization, Hamas, struck Israel in the way that

it did. I think it is important to recognize also the distinction between a terrorist organization, Hamas, and the Palestinian people and civilians, and they should not be conflated. And we must have a response to that in a way that we understand as humans that this suffering that is happening is something we must take seriously. So I appreciate you raising the subject and I appreciate your leadership. Folks, if you missed that, we live streamed

that right here on the Black Star Network so go to our app or YouTube channel to check it all out. Don't forget you can also watch our 24-hour 7-day-a-week streaming channel for events like this on Plex TV. Be sure to check it out. You can also go to Amazon News.

Simply go to Amazon Fire, and then go to Amazon News. Tell Alexa, play news from the Black Star Network. You can also now watch us on Amazon Freebie, as well as Amazon's Prime Video on their live TV. Live TV, agreed. All right, folks, we come back. A marketplace segment, a black-owned detergent company. That's right.

We'll talk to them next right here on Raw. A lot of times the big economic forces we hear about on the news show up in our lives in small ways. Three or four days a week, I would buy two cups of banana pudding. But the price has gone up, so now I only buy one. The demand curve in action. And that's just one of the things we'll be covering on Everybody's Business from Bloomberg Businessweek.

I'm Max Chavkin. And I'm Stacey Vanek-Smith. Every Friday, we will be diving into the biggest stories in business, taking a look at what's going on, why it matters, and how it shows up in our everyday lives. But guests like Business Week editor Brad Stone, sports reporter Randall Williams, and consumer spending expert Amanda Mull will take you inside the boardrooms, the backrooms, even the signal chats that make our economy tick. Hey, I want to learn about VeChain. I want to buy some blockchain or whatever it is that they're doing. So listen to Everybody's Business on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

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

This is Absolute Season 1, Taser Incorporated. I get right back there and it's bad. It's really, really, really bad. Listen to new episodes of Absolute Season 1, Taser Incorporated on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Binge episodes 1, 2, and 3 on May 21st, and episodes 4, 5, and 6 on June 4th. Ad And this is season two of the War on Drugs podcast. We are back.

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

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

What we're doing now isn't working and we need to change things Stories matter and it brings a face to them It makes it real It really does, it makes it real Listen to new episodes of the War on Drugs podcast Season 2 on the iHeartRadio app Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts And to hear episodes one week early

And ad free with exclusive content Subscribe to Lava for Good Plus on Apple Podcasts. I'm Martin Unfiltered on the Black, a horrific scene, a white nationalist rally that descended into deadly violence. On that soil, you will not regret. White people are losing their damn lives. There's an angry pro-Trump mob storm to the U.S. Capitol. We're about to see the rise of what I call white minority resistance. We have seen white folks in this country who simply cannot tolerate black folks voting.

I think what we're seeing is the inevitable result of violent denial. This is part of American history. Every time that people of color have made progress, whether real or symbolic, there has been what Carol Anderson at Emory University calls white rage as a backlash. This is the wrath of the Proud Boys and the Boogaloo Boys. America, there's going to be more of this. Here's all the Proud Boys guys. This country is getting increasingly racist in its behaviors and its attitudes

because of the fear of white people. The fear that they're taking our jobs, they're taking our resources, they're taking our women. This is Whitefield. Pull up a chair. Take your seat. The Black Tape. With me, Dr. Greg Carr, here on the Black Star Network. Every week, we'll take a deeper dive into the world we're living in. Join the conversation only on the Black Star Network.

Next on The Frequency with me, the bonds actress, writer, and advocate, Rae Dawn Chong, is here to discuss her childhood and break down her life in Hollywood. A show you don't want to miss. Even at my peaky peak peak when I was getting a lot of stuff as soon as I was working a ton I heard people whispering, oh we don't want to pay her because we're giving her a break.

Only on The Frequency on the Blackstar Network. Hey what's up? Keith Turino, place to be. Got kicked out your mama's university. Creator and executive producer

of Fat Tuesdays, an air hip-hop comedy. But right now, I'm rolling with Roland Martin. Unfiltered, uncut, unplugged, and undamned believable. You hear me? All right, folks, our marketplace segment,

we're always talking about different products that African Americans own and control. Well, our next guest, guess what? They do black-owned detergent. That's right. It's not black detergent. It's black-owned detergent. Out of Atlanta. It is a veteran-owned company. They handle what's called True Products.

Since 2012, they have been cleaning clothes, 18 various states, other countries as well. Joining us from College Park, Georgia, True Products CEO Malik Saleem and CFO Rahim Abdul-Shaheed. Hey, folks, how you doing?

First of all, do we have, because it was supposed to be three of y'all, but it's two of y'all. So who's with us again? Ali and Rahim. Got it. Okay, cool. Got it. Ali and Rahim, so the CFO and the marketing manager. All right. So how did this thing start? Where did the idea come from to have cleaning products? Well, I like to start off with saying, Roland, we're honored to be talking

with you. Your service has been outstanding for our families in the community. This started with my blood brother. He is a research chemist, and he worked in the corporate world with Dow Chemical. And he always had a passion to do for self. We came under the teaching of Elijah Muhammad in 1967, 68. I came in and brought him in, and that really helped us to stay into the business world and manufacture. I haven't punched a clock since 1968. The formula came from the scientists. We call them the George Washington Carver

of the 21st century. We put this product out in Atlanta. It first started with a container look like this. And the content is the power, what's inside the bottle. We sold it in Atlanta, a tractor trailer load, over 6,000 pieces. We sold it as a guaranteed product, and we still sell it as a guaranteed product to our people and all people. You said it right. We're more on a mission,

not so much just to make money. We're trying to make a difference in the black community. We know we spend more money than anybody in the world, but we spend it with other people. Yep. We believe that this is the best time it ever been in the history for African-American to be financially free. But we know we have a lot of leaders in the religious world and

in politics and the academic. They don't spend time on academic. I sent three of my daughters to college. They still don't know how to save money and invest money. Okay. Well, here's what I'm looking here again. So we're going to go to the tight shot here. So we got free and clear. This one here, free of fragrances and dyes. This is heavy duty right here.

And then we have this one here, fabric softer. And also these are the dryer sheets. And so are these the only products or do you have other products as well? Okay, those are the products that we have now, right? But our goal is to have an entire line of household product. For instance, like that free and clear, it has no fragrance, no color. The one in the purple with the fragrance and color. Right here.

And the softener. We came out with the fabric softener because we researched and found out that most fabric softener had chemicals in it that cause learning disabilities. So we came out with a fabric softener that does not. It's made from 97% cotton seed. And everything we make, you only need one ounce.

That's the benefit. One of the great benefits in it, right? Because if you buy 101 ounces from us, you get 101 loads. Just this? Wait a minute. So you're saying this little cup, this little right here, you can wash a whole load just with this one, this

right here? Two of those right there equal an ounce. That's all you need. Everything that you buy, you can use. Wow. See, on most detergents, you may buy 100 ounces and you look on the back, you only get 64 or 48 loads.

Our goal is that everything you buy, you should be able to use. That's it with us. That's a great benefit. It saves money, saves on the environment because the more detergent you put in your machine, you put pressure on clean water. Got it. All right. Questions from our panel. Mustafa, you're first. you made because I see that you have an eco-friendly product, which is incredibly important because of the impacts it places both on our water bodies and actually air pollution as

well sometimes. Can you talk a little bit about why you made the choice to create an eco-friendly product instead of following the model that many others have followed? Well, the reason why is this right here, right? I think as human beings, right? Knowing that we are over the planet, right? We should not only think about how we can make money, right? But we should think about how we're going to leave the environment for the next generation. So we have to tie all of that in to making money,

is that, hey, is this safe for the, first of all, is it safe for the family? Is it safe as the chemicals you use is safe for the family? Number two then is that after the packages are being used, right, is it going to create a pressure on the environment so that it's going to cause havoc in the next generation? So all of those are things that we think about because we're on a mission to create an entire line of household products with all of those principles in mind. Suzette? Yes, I'm here on Amazon, gentlemen, actually shopping, trying to see your distinctions between what is already on the market. I know that you have this environmental component. I want to know, especially for the free and clear, because

that's something that is important to me because I'm allergic to dyes, et cetera. Is it a more highly concentrated formula? I'm looking at the price point differential from an all free and clear. The very large bottle that I bought yesterday was about $20. Can you talk about your comparative pricing

and what you're getting for your book if it's a little bit more so here's the deal it's not more right it's less and the reason why it's less is yes it's less right see what you have to do is look on the back of the other ones that you're getting and see how many loads are you getting and then you price it according to how many loads so if you if you look at ours 101 loads and divide that into whatever the price you're paying, right, and then take the other ones and do that, right, you're going to find out.

Or if you just say you don't even have to do the math. So if you get 100 ounces free and clear from somebody else and they say you're only going to get 48 loads, right, and I tell you for 101 ounces hours you're going to get 101 loads, you don't even need to do the math. That's it. That tells you right now you can make more money. Yeah, the 94 loads, but don't even need to do demand. That's it. You can make more money. Yeah, the 94 loads, but I understand your point. I'm grateful and congratulations

on entering such a highly competitive marketplace. And are you getting help in terms of your distribution, in terms of how are you marketing it? How are you gaining market share primarily? We're going to both answer.

Ali, you're going to go first. I'm coming after you. Okay. We started out with distributors in the black community. We want people to be financially free too and save money. We have affiliators that pick up money every month and we have the distributors selling it all over America and earning money. The other way we sell on the internet and it's been phenomenal where people have been praying.

Every year our business increase and that's what's been so exciting, to see that African American people are beginning to understand what group economic means. If you have your own, why you want to spend your money with someone else? We employ people that came from the prison. We teaching young people in the summer, 15, 16 years old, about business, how to sell in the streets, door to door, and really to the supermarkets, too. We are in some top supermarkets now. So it's been a challenge, but we love challenge. And we love setbacks.

And we know how to turn it into success. Okay. And the other thing is like right now, like we have what we would call an air attack and a ground attack. Our air attack is to get the product known across the internet, right? That sets us up so that we create brand awareness, right?

As you create brand awareness, then you start going into the supermarkets, right? Because most people who go into stores, they already know what they want to get before they go in there. So you can't go in there before your brand is known and people know that they can buy it there, right? For instance, like right now, we're in three Ace Hardwares in Atlanta. Our next step is to go across the board. And now that we're in three Ace Hardwares,

we can present our product to Ace Hardwares all over the country. And that could be our first breakthrough for the national nationwide stores to go in. That's how we're planning it right now. So we have a lot of supermarkets right here in Atlanta. If you were to go on thus2products.com and look up Locator, you can find all these different places where we sell. And we have distributors, like Ali said, we have distributors that buy from said, we have distributors that buy from us wholesale, and they distribute in that area. We just picked up a distributor

in Philadelphia who has it in one of the major stores there now. So folks, do this here if you actually want to support. We'll give it in a second. Randall, did you ask your question?

I already used the product. Well, since you already used it, tell us about it. I think it's fantastic. I haven't used the fabric free, but it makes sense to me. You know, we talk about building a black economy and using our dollars.

You know, buying a product that's actually very good, smells good, is effective and cost effective, why wouldn't I put it in the Black economy? You know, I'm all about that. So I'm already a fan and just wondering, I'm just hoping that we see your product where we go in these major stores that I've bought online. I was just wondering, does it make a difference if the everyday person just goes into a store and says, hey, we want you to carry this product? Like if I were just to go on my local Walmart or Target, is that helpful if there is a push from the customers in that way? Could we help? Yes, ma'am.

That's a big help. Big help. Okay. All right. So, folks, you all know what you do. All right. So, pull up the promo code. So, for all the folks who are watching Roller Martin Unfiltered,

if you want to buy direct, the promo code is right there on the screen. So, you should see it. And, again, promo code is ROLAND15, ROLAND15. So go to thetrueproducts.com, thetrueproducts.com, and you can actually check it out. And so, again, they're on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. So you see their handles. They're on YouTube as well.

So, again, if you want to buy this black cone detergent go to the true products dot com use the promo code Roland 15 so and everybody who's watching do understand we've had other companies we've featured

other companies and I understand something y'all and see I had somebody ask me this question because they asked me, they said, I was somewhere and a person came to me and they said, you know, what do you charge for your marketplace segment? And I said, I don't. Then I had somebody else who said, hey, you should be charging people because this is free advertising. And I said, well, I said, my hope is that those folks who are featured will give back to the show. And so that's folk. So folk need to understand when we're deciding who to feature, this is not somebody who's paying us to be on

the segments we're choosing based upon the products, based upon the interest of the audience. And so we've been doing this since we launched the show. And so we've featured all kinds of different companies. I mean, companies that make pots and cookware, folks that make hats and body wash, you name it. And so we do this every single Tuesday. And so, again, y'all can check out True Products right here, folks. You see the products right here. Again, this is the free and clear.

This is free and clear, right? This is free and clear right here. This is the heavy-duty liquid long detergent right here. And then this is the fabric softener with the lavender scent. Then they also have the, you know, I see folks always use the Bounce. Well, they've got the True dryer sheets as well right here. So all the washing you do. And again, and I'm still blown away, just two of these, one ounce,

and then boom, right there, 101 loads out of one bag. That's what you can do right there. And so let me thank both of our guests for being here. Ali, Raheem, thanks a bunch. Good luck. Thank you. Thank you. Always great to lock home with a freedom fighter.

Appreciate it. Thank you so very much. All right, Suzette, Randy, and Mustafa, thanks a bunch for y'all being on the show. I appreciate y'all being here. Suzette, your first time, right? It is. Greetings, everybody, from Miami.

All right. So, yeah, we didn't haze you too bad. So it was all good. It was all good. All right. Glad to have all three of y'all here. Oh, somebody in the comment asked about my outfit. This is one of the fabrics that they gave me last year in Liberia.

And so I had my homeboy here design it for me, and so that's what I'm rocking today. Yes, I'm rocking the black and gold. Y'all know how we do it. Mustafa knows being an alpha brother. All right, y'all. That's it. Don't forget us.

Support us in what we do, please. First and foremost, your dollars are critically important. Please join our Bring the Funk fan club. The goal is to get 20,000 of our fans contributing on average. 50 bucks each. That's $4.19 a month, 13 cents a day. Folks, you know, we don't charge a subscription for this here. I purposely wanted to make the show, have the show free and available to everybody.

But your resources, trust me, they absolutely matter for us as we cover the news all across the country. So, do me a favor. If you're checking money, order the PO Box 57196, Washington, D.C. 20037-0196. Cash app is dollar sign RM unfiltered. PayPal or Martin unfiltered. Venmo is RM unfiltered. Zelle, Roland at Roland S. Martin dot com. Roland at Roland MartininFilter.com. So please support us there. You can also download the Black Sun Network app, Apple phone, Android phone, Apple TV, Android TV, Roku, Amazon Fire TV, Xbox One, Samsung Smart TV. And of course, if you're on YouTube, hit the like button. We always want to try to hit at least 2,000 likes every single day.

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as well as if you're on Prime Video, click Live TV. You can check out our news channel right next to all the other channels that are on there as well. So be sure to check us out there as well. I'll see y'all tomorrow right here on Roland Martin Unfiltered on the Blackstar Network. Holla!

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

All momentum we have now, we have to keep this going. The video looks phenomenal. See, there's a difference between Black Star Network and Black-owned media and something like CNN. You can't be Black-owned media and be scared. It's time to be smart. Bring your eyeballs home. You dig? Thanks for watching! A lot of times, big economic forces show up in our lives in small ways. Four days a week, I would buy two cups of banana pudding.

But the price has gone up, so now I only buy one. Small but important ways. From tech billionaires to the bond market to, yeah, banana pudding. If it's happening in business, our new podcast is on it. I'm Max Chastin. And I'm Stacey Vanek-Smith. So listen to Everybody's Business on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. I know a lot of cops.

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

on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts. I'm Clayton English. I'm Greg Lott. And this is Season 2 of the War on Drugs podcast. Last year, a lot of the problems of the drug war. This year, a lot of the biggest names in music and sports. This kind

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

on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. This is an iHeart podcast.