#RolandMartinUnfiltered - May Jobs & U.S. Economy, Uvalde Funerals, Protect Our Kids Act, Buffalo 911 Dispatcher Fired

Episode Date: June 4, 2022

6.3.2022 #rolandmartinunfiltered: May Jobs & U.S. Economy, Uvalde Funerals, Protect Our Kids Act, Buffalo 911 Dispatcher Fired Despite fears of a slowing economy, the U.S. added 390,000 new jobs in May, and Biden praises his administration for reviving the economy. But is it revived for everyone? We'll take a look at the number with an economist. And talk about Biden's plan to tackle inflation. The state of Maryland is three days into its ghost gun ban, and the mayor of Baltimore is suing a ghost gun manufacturer. The Protect Our Kids Act aimed and stricter gun laws will be heading to the house floor sometime next week. Two more funerals today in Uvalde, Texas. Ya'll remember that Buffalo, New York, 9-1-1 dispatcher who hung up on a Tops employee calling for help during the mass shooting? Well, that dispatcher no longer has a job.   A white South Carolina man randomly shoots at passing cars, killing a black 8-year-old from New Hampshire on vacation with his family. Justice Department's Civil Rights Division has been busy getting indictments and working out plea deals. We'll tell you about DOJ's latest victories. In our Education Matters segment, a California organization want to increase the number of black men heading to college, staying in, and graduating. Support #RolandMartinUnfiltered and #BlackStarNetwork via the Cash App ☛ https://cash.app/$rmunfiltered PayPal ☛ https://www.paypal.me/rmartinunfiltered Venmo ☛https://venmo.com/rmunfiltered Zelle ☛ [e-mail] Annual or monthly recurring #BringTheFunk Fan Club membership via paypal ☛ https://rolandsmartin.com/rmu-paypal/ Download the #BlackStarNetwork app on iOS, AppleTV, Android, Android TV, Roku, FireTV, SamsungTV and XBox 👉🏾 http://www.blackstarnetwork.com #RolandMartinUnfiltered and the #BlackStarNetwork are news reporting platforms covered under Copyright Disclaimer Under Section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976, allowance is made for "fair use" for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This is an iHeart Podcast. revolutionary right now. I'm proud. Support this man, Black Media. He makes sure that our stories are told. I 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 scape.

It's time to be smart. Bring your eyeballs home. You dig? You can't be black on media and be scared. It's time to be smart. Bring your eyeballs home. You dig? You dig? សូវបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបា� Să ne urmăm. The Thank you. Martin! Today is Friday, June 3rd, 2022. Coming up on Roland Martin Unfiltered, streaming live on the Black Star Network. Great job numbers for the month of May. President Joe Biden touts those numbers. We'll tell you about it. Plus, we'll talk with a black economist about what do they mean for African Americans. You know,

I cannot stand cowards, and there is no party more cowardly than the Republican Party. How is it that a Republican representing a suburb in Buffalo chooses to support the ban on assault weapons after 10 black people are gunned down in a supermarket. But because Republicans in New York are outraged by his position, he chooses not to run for re-election. I've got a few words about cowards like him. Phone lines are going to be open. You can share your thoughts with regards to gun control or any other topic on today's show, plus our Education Matters segment. It is time to bring the funk and roll the mark on the filter

on the Black Star Network. Let's go. He's got it. Whatever the mess, he's on it. Whatever it is, he's got the scoop, the fact, the find And when it breaks, he's right on time And it's rolling Best belief he's knowing

Putting it down from sports to news to politics With entertainment just for kicks He's rolling It's on go-go-royale It's rolling, Martin, yeah It's Uncle Roro, yo Yeah, yeah It's Rollin' Marten Yeah, yeah Rollin' with Rollin' now

Yeah, yeah He's broke, he's fresh, he's real The best you know, he's Rollin' Marten now Ah! Martez! Ah, many people said that the economy was slowing down, we're headed to a recession, yet the May job reports came out today and it shows how we continue, continue to have an improving economy. Hmm. The tale of two stories. Unemployment rate has dropped to 3.6 percent. Of course, that is a drop from last month. In addition to that, 390,000 jobs were added in the month of May.

We also see that the unemployment rate among black and Hispanic women more than 20, over 20 years old, though, increased to 5.9 percent and 4.7 percent, respectively, up from 5 percent and 3.8 percent in April. President Biden, of course, there for the weekend in Delaware, spoke about today's report this morning. The job market is as strong as it's been since just after World War II. We've got more evidence of that today. We learned in May the economy had 80,000 new jobs, bringing the total since I took office to 8.7 million new jobs, an all-time record. We learned that more Americans entered the labor force in May. In fact,

working-age people have come back into the workforce at a faster rate in this recovery than at any point in the last 40 years. That means that the unemployment rate is near historic lows, and the number of Americans on unemployment benefits has gone from record highs to historic lows. And the number of Americans on unemployment benefits has gone from record highs to record lows, with millions of Americans moving up to better jobs with better pay. Dr. Patrick Mason, professor of economics at Florida State University, joins us right now. Doc, glad to have you on the show. So unpack these numbers for us in terms of the unemployment rate state, the same, but obviously concerned about those numbers of black and Latino women. But you hear people keep saying the economy is awful. Things are so bad.

But the jobs report showing something totally different. Yeah, the job. I mean, I wouldn't say things are totally bad. In fact, compared to last year, this time, compared to two years ago, they're much, much better. I mean, the unemployment rate for African Americans about a year ago was 9 percent. So we're down to 6.2 percent today. Now, that's better, but it's still not where I would like to see the numbers, especially for African Americans.

I mean, a 6 percent unemployment rate is a recession-level number for white Americans. So I think we need to get the unemployment rate lower. And it's sort of bothersome to hear some discuss the issue of lowering inflation without worrying so much about what happens to unemployment. All right, let's talk about inflation, because people keep bringing that up, and you've got the critics, Republicans, who are saying the Biden administration, it's awful, they're the cause for inflation. Even you look at gas prices. But one of the things that happened was that last two years, Americans were not driving.

We had a massive surplus of gasoline. So what happened? Folks stopped producing oil. Well, then all of a sudden, when it shifted, then there was a demand for gas. Now you have to ramp up production. So how in the hell can... Then, of course, you got Russia invading Ukraine.

That has an impact as well on the markets, correct? That is correct. You're doing a great—you'd be a great economist. Yeah, I mean, so people weren't driving as much. There was a lot of savings, a lot of savings that people had from not driving, not spending. I mean, people were at home. So there's a huge amount of savings. A lot of that has gone into purchasing new houses.

The home prices have gone up. People are starting to drive again. But as you say, production, you know, you have the war going on, so gas prices shoot up. That's not unusual. I mean, gas prices go up and they come back down. So and we've had these bottlenecks in the supply chain, which are still there. We import a lot of things from China, from other places that are still having economic problems, so it's difficult getting some things.

I mean, I go to stores and a lot of things that I want to purchase, I want to purchase an item I was told it wouldn't be available until November. But when you have those kinds of shortages, you have inflation. That's not the fault of the president. The better the job the administration does of getting people back to work, making sure that money is in people's pockets. So you increase in demand, but you still have problems getting supply to grow as fast. But eventually that problem will work itself out. President Biden did speak about the inflation issue. This is what he said today. And I'll get your response when we come back.

Today, I'd like to address the two additional elements of my plan to tackle inflation. One, bringing down the cost of everyday goods for families. And two, bringing down the federal deficit at the same time. Bringing down the cost, here's where we stand. The two challenges on the minds of most working families are prices at the pump and prices at the grocery store. Both of these challenges have been directly exacerbated by Putin's war in Ukraine. The price of gas is up $1.40 since the beginning of the year when Putin began amassing troops at the Ukrainian border. This is a Putin price hike.

Putin's war has raised the price of food because Ukraine and Russia are two of the world's major bread baskets for wheat and corn, the basic product for so many foods around the world. Ukraine has 20 million tons of grain in storage right now. It's been in storage since the last harvest. Normally, that would have already been exported into the world market. But because of Putin's invasion and blockade of the port on which they could take that grain out for the rest of the world, it's not. It's not. And look, I understand that families who are struggling

probably don't care why the prices are up. They just want them to go down. Joe, what are you going to do to bring them down? But it's important that we understand the root of the problem so we can take steps to solve it. The administration is having problems getting at the breakthrough. Frankly, I think it's weak messaging. What more do you think they can do to better explain and get people to understand what is happening as opposed to going up? It's Joe's fault. It's Biden's fault. It's the White House fault. It's Democrats fault. Yeah, well, you have to spend more time, as you say, getting out the message of exactly what causes inflation and which prices are going

up most rapidly, who's hurt. Of course, inflation, you know, for some people might make them slightly better off. If you have a student loan, the actual value of your debt has gone down. If you own a house, the value of your home has increased. If you have a mortgage, the value of your mortgage has gone down with inflation. So some people are hurt, some people are worse off, and the administration has to do a continuous job of just getting out the message of all the different things that have gone into causing the current inflation. And, you know, predictions about, economic predictions about the future are always tricky, but try to give some better prediction on when they think that this inflation might be brought under control. And the numbers did ease down a little bit. Report I saw last week.

All right, then. Well, again, I think that if you're someone who is looking for employment, the opportunities are there. And people just simply can't discount what happened over the last two years as if COVID had no impact on everything dealing with our world economy. And that but unfortunately, it's people prefer the bumper sticker sticker perspective when it comes to blaming someone for the problems with this economy. Yeah, I mean, and so the blame game, I mean, I guess a lot of that is political. Inflation, nobody likes higher prices. Nobody likes prices going up. But at the same time, when we look at the employment numbers and we look at things like employment to population ratio, that's just the probability of having a job. Those numbers are close to where they were pre-COVID.

And that, to me, is a more important indicator where we are economically than what the inflation rate has to be, is at the moment. It's like what fraction of people actually have a job? The overwhelming majority of individuals and families depend upon wage income. And if they're not working, they don't have any income. And so those numbers look good. That story has to be told, emphasized again and again and again, and at the same time

let the public know what's being done to fight inflation. I do want to ask you this. There was an economist with the Department of Labor. I was looking at her tweets earlier, and she posted something about this very issue that I thought was interesting. We were trying to get her on the show, but were not able to do it.

And she was showing a particular graph. And so go ahead and pull that up, please, so I want to talk about that. Because she was talking about black male employment. And if you see that chart there, you see where you've had this growth with black male employment. Talk about that particular chart

and what we have seen over the last several months. OK, I can't see. OK, yeah. All right. Yeah, that's the is that total employment? I can't see the left side of that. But in any case, the employment numbers for black men, the employment population ratio, again, that's the probability of having a job, a fraction of black men with a job, has been increasing over the last year. That is a very good thing because otherwise it creates enormous social problems, it creates economic problems, creates a lot of disillusionment. So it means that individuals are going back to work. The numbers for black women have also been increasing and we want to see those numbers continue to increase. Like I said, my worry is that we will get so caught up

into fighting inflation that we might go overboard and hurt the. And I think that that should always be number one. That we should worry about whether or not people have a job, whether or not they're getting a paycheck, whether or not they can feed families, whether or not individuals can live their lives with a decent debt. All right, Doc.

We certainly appreciate it. Thanks a lot for joining us to discuss the May Giles Report. Thank you. I appreciate it. All right, then. I'm going to go to our panel now. Kela Bethea, communications strategist. Michael Imhotep, host of the African history network show. Matt Manning, civil rights attorney. Glad to have all three of you here.

Kelly, I'll start with you. I'm just, again, what I don't understand is I don't understand what this White House is doing when it comes to how you make the argument. Look, people out there are frustrated with what they're seeing. And so it's sort of like, OK, Biden comes out, he lays this out and then, OK, that's it. That's it. I was reading a story today where a lot of his White House aides were talking about how they should be doing more town halls, being out there. But then they go back and forth, and then they scrap them. And then they don't do it.

And I'm sitting here going, okay, you've got all of this positive economic information. And if you don't know how to convey that, well, then, yeah, I can see why poll numbers are as low as they are. And I can see why people are actually confused and allowing them to accept the blame. I literally have no idea what the hell they're doing and why it's so hard to articulate what the issue is. Your guess is as good as mine on that point. But it is confusing from a communication standpoint because on the one hand, like you said, there is good news in that numbers are going up as far as jobs are concerned. But on the other hand, the pain at the pump is very real. The fact that there's a baby formula shortage is very real. The fact that it costs almost $7 for a box of cream of wheat in Baltimore City, that is very real right now. So I don't want to say it doesn't matter that the jobs report was good, but for everyday people who already have a job, who are already making money, it kind of doesn't matter that other people are getting jobs. How are they going to spend the money that they have now from the jobs that they have right now

in such a way that it can sustain the way that they are used to living? And right now, the answer to that question is they don't know, because around them, everything just seems to be, you know, going up in flames between gas prices and food prices and everything else going on in the world right now that is, you know, in their face, so to speak. It can be incredibly overwhelming in a negative way. So what the Biden administration needs to do,

obviously, they need to, you know, promote the good news as much as they can, but they also need to reconcile the bad news, so to speak, to let the American people know exactly what they're going to do about inflation, because it's not enough saying that, oh, the experts are saying it's going to tailor off, because they've been saying that for almost a year at this point. We need actual answers as to how the Biden administration is going to rectify this issue, because it can't keep going at this rate and expect the votes that they need come November. But the point that I'm making here, Michael, that is still confusing to me, when you're able to say, hey, folks, to me, it has to be repeated over and over again.

Hey, this is what the price of gas was in January before Putin went into Ukraine. Gas has gone up $1.40. Now, the reality is Biden can't stop that. Congress can't stop that. And I think part of this problem is that we have a bunch of simple Simons in this country who somehow don't understand that we literally are living in a global economy. And what the hell happens on the other side of the world has a direct impact on price of gasoline in the United States. Well, you're absolutely correct. The European Union,

it just came out, 8.1% inflation year over year. So what happens on the other side of the world impacts what happens here in the U.S. So, yes, Biden and the White House, they need to have town hall meetings.

They need to communicate the message over and over and over again. Also, they really need to hire some social media experts who can break this information down, disseminate this information to people who don't follow this on a daily basis, to Generation Z, to millennials, et cetera. They have good numbers, just like, you know, I think a week before last, because we went on last Friday for Memorial Day, a week before last, I talked about this 19

page document at WhiteHouse.gov that breaks down how the Biden-Harris administration policies are helping the African-American community. You would think that they would have that on the front page of WhiteHouse.gov. Okay? I know about it because I research things like that.

But a lot of people don't know this stuff exists. If people just Google how have the policies of the Biden-Harris administration helped African Americans... But they're not! Okay, but Michael, that's the point. The average person's not gonna Google it. So you have to say it. It has to be consistent. You gotta be flooding

the zone. You gotta be pushing people out there, driving the messaging, and I'm sorry. That's what they're not doing, and it's confusing to me why they're not. I mean, look, you mentioned social media. The story that I saw today, they got 70 people working at the White House dealing with social media.

What the hell? What are they doing, though? I have no idea what the hell they're doing. Yeah, I don't know. So, see, there's a one... You can have people working on social media, What the hell? What are they doing, though? I have no idea what the hell they're doing. Yeah, I don't know. So, see, there's a one, there's, you can have people working on social media, but they're not effective in working in social media. So, I'm like, what are they doing? So, this is the other thing.

So, you have to, and, you know, some of this may have to do with Biden being from a generation that, you know, most of the time when Biden was in the Senate, for instance, right, this was before social media really got big. Yes, we know he was in the in the White House with Obama. But it's like if you have somebody say, for instance, just give an example, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, she's much better with using social media to communicate with people than Biden is, all right, and the White House is. So they have to—they got to get it together. Otherwise, they're going to get killed in midterm elections. You know, now Republicans don't have plans to deal with inflation. Republicans don't have plans to deal with the baby formula shortage. We know a couple of weeks ago when the bill came up in the House of Representatives to address the baby formula shortage issue, 192

Republicans voted against the bill. They don't have plans to deal with it, but they're going to just complain about it and galvanize their white supremacist base along with critical race theory and all these other bills, voter suppression, to take back the House and the Senate. So we have to fight against that also.

Bottom line here, Matt, you have strong economic numbers. Yes, you have inflation. Yes, you have to fight against that also. Bottom line here, Matt, you have strong economic numbers. Yes, you have inflation. Yes, you have an increase in gas prices. But you got to be able to better articulate what you're doing. You got to show people. And I think that's what they're not doing. They are not doing an effective job in showing people. It's just sort of this. Yes, you have people who are operating in an analog world when you live in a digital world. That's exactly right. And right now, it's more important than ever, not only to piggyback what both Kelly and Michael have said, but to disseminate that information and to make it digestible, because to Kelly's earlier point, I think the American citizenry right now is scared.

I mean, there's so much going on. There are so many things that are having a measurable effect on their lives. So I think it's important for the Biden administration to counter that by saying, look, there is some good going on, and that good hopefully will translate to a better life for you. And here's how we anticipate that will happen. So for them to not be harnessing the power of social media particularly is concerning, but I think you're exactly right. It's a generational divide. But the thing about it is he's been around long enough and his administration has been around long enough to know that that's how the vast majority of Americans are getting their news these days and are being met with information. So for them to not harness it is purely negligence

at this point. It makes no sense to me whatsoever. All right, folks, phone lines are open. If you want to share your thoughts about the subjects we're discussing today, you can give us a call 202-890- 1199, 202- 890-1199. If you, of course, are a member of our Bring the Funk fan club, you have an opportunity to call

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We are a new unsettling force and we are powerful. A new unsettling force and we are here. We're rising up to demonstrate the compelling power that we poor and low-income people have to reconstruct society from the bottom up. And we need to do it with the loudest voices possible, the biggest actions possible. Because we know that there is no scarcity in this land. The only scarcity is the moral will to do what's right. Hold on just a little while longer.

We are those with sub-minimum wage jobs who can't afford sky-high rent. People with disabilities are the fastest-growing minority group. It's crazy to me that in 2021, it's still legal for workplaces to pay a sub-minimum wage to people with disabilities. There are still so much trial and tribulations that we go through as indigenous people. We can't get a decent wage to sustain ourselves, nor can we get adequate housing. Veterans across this nation say enough is enough. We can't pat essential

workers on the back on one day and then cut their health care the next day. Health is a political choice. What more do I need to do to prove that my voice is just as valuable as anyone else's? There are still forces in denial that would try to slow walk our transition to a clean economy and a just future for us all. We have an immoral system run by immoral people. But together we walk and we walk and we fight. It's time for a change! Reconstruyamos esta gran nación! See, we are people of resilience

as we fight these interlocking injustices together. When we work together, mobilize together, and rise together, we become a voice for the voiceless, and we become an agent of change in a time where great change is needed. We need the third reconstruction to ensure that deaf people, people with disabilities, and all people can have the right to live and to thrive.

We know what they are doing, but the question is, what are we going to do? Reconstruction begins when we change our mentality and say, it's time for you to get your foot off of my neck. I know justice is coming soon. I'm Deborah Owens, America's Wealth Coach and host of Get Wealthy. On the next Get Wealthy, here's the good news.

Black women are the fastest growing segment of business owners. The not so good news, the average business by black women is only earning revenues of $45,000 or less. On the next Get Wealthy, you're gonna hear from a woman who went from her kitchen table to cat tables, growing her business to over a million dollars. You should start a business because your product is needed in the world, not because you hate the person that you work with. If you hate your job

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Right here. Let's go. Folks, the mayor of Baltimore plans to sue a major gun manufacturer, the nation's largest manufacturer of ghost guns, Polymer 80. Brandon Scott says that the gun company, quote, intentionally undermines federal and state firearms laws by designing, manufacturing, selling and providing ghost gun kits and parts to buyers who do not undergo a background check. Also, there's a new law in Maryland requiring ghost gun owners to register their guns with a serial or PIN number. Ghost guns cannot be sold or transferred without proper identification. Aisha Braveboy, she is the Prince George's County State's Attorney.

She joins us right now to talk about this ghost gun ban in Maryland. Glad to have you back on the show. So walk folks through who don't even know what a ghost gun is. Sure. A ghost gun is typically purchased online. It's purchased in a kit, so it doesn't come fully assembled, which is how it gets around some states some states laws, which, of course, Maryland now has taken steps to ensure that these ghost guns fall under what we call our firearms safety laws, which would require them to be held to the same standards of it as any other gun manufacturer or distributor in the state or those who sell to people in our state. But I can tell you that

Maryland is banning the sale of ghost guns starting on June 1st. So there should be no new sales or transfer of ghost guns in the state of Maryland. What Maryland did do was allow individuals who had lawfully purchased ghost guns prior to June 1st to be able to. Looks like we lost Attorney Brayboy. I'm going to try to get her back. Lost a connection right there. So we'll work on that, folks. I'm going to go ahead and talk about the bill and the connection right there. We'll work on that, folks.

First of all, do understand last night the house judiciary committee actually passed out of committee, no Republicans voted for this. Of course, the focus of actually advancing, advancing this bill to protect our kids.

It was a bill that was, of course, pushed by Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee and others. It is called the Protect Our Kids Act. It's going to do a number of different things, which includes raise the age for purchasing a semi-automatic centerfire rifle from 18 to 21, restrict large capacity magazines, establish requirements regulating the safe storage of firearms, expand ban on bump stocks, gun modifications, and restrict access to ghost guns. Do we have a state's attorney back? All right, then. Glad to have you back. When we talk about how significant these ghost guns are, I mean, how major is it? How have they expanded in terms of the last several years in popularity?

Well, I can tell you back in about 2016, 2017. All right, so guys, do me this here. So her video is freezing. Get her on audio, please. Let's simply get her on audio so we actually can have her. Here's the deal, folks. I told you about the committee hearing that took place and how utterly crazy it was last night. Do we have her back? Okay, I think she's, do we have her back? Okay, go ahead and bring her up, please. Go ahead and bring her up. All right, we got you back. So

talk about, again, how expansive, how this has changed significantly, these ghost guns. Sure. Back in 2016, 2017, there may have been a handful or less of ghost gun sees here in Prince George's County. By 2021, that number had risen to close to 300 ghost gun sees on the streets of Prince George's County. And that is the trend that we're seeing all across the state of Maryland. And that's why Maryland took the step to ban any new sale of ghost guns. As of June 1st of this year, no new ghost gun sales or transfers can take place in the state of Maryland. For those individuals who have purchased illegally ghost guns prior to that date, they will be able to get their guns serialized by March of 2023. If they don't, after March of 2023, those guns become illegal and they can be

arrested and prosecuted. And so this bill that was passed by the committee last night, it deals with the issue of ghost guns. But also one of the things that President Biden talked about in his speech last night is that this how Congress literally protects the gun manufacturers from being sued. I mean, that is just crazy that this one industry has the ability that they were able to get this passed where no one can sue them. Well, I can tell you here in the state of Maryland, the ban on the sale and transfer of ghost guns is not only for the people who might be acquiring them,

it's for also the seller. So if someone is trying to attempt to sell a ghost gun here in Maryland, we will go after them criminally. And so your thoughts on, again, what is now, the bill that's now going through Congress, you hear the president laid out last night his agenda. But that's going to take a lot of heavy lifting to convince folks to step up because, unfortunately, you're not seeing that from many of these Republicans. Well, let me tell you how critical this is. We had a young man here in Prince George's County and one in our neighboring jurisdiction in Montgomery County, both who are underage in high school, who purchased ghost guns

themselves and brought those weapons to school. One of them used the weapon to shoot another student. That happened in Montgomery County and Prince George's County. Fortunately, the young person did not know how to assemble the gun, so brought parts of the gun to school. So the reality is these manufacturers are selling to people who are underage and who would not otherwise be lawfully able to own or purchase a gun. These are common sense measures. To say that someone who should not own a gun can't purchase your gun kit makes a lot of sense. And it is really a travesty that our Congress can't get it together to protect lives and protect people really from themselves, because a lot of these folks have no idea the tragedy that they can cause by the use of these guns, or they're taking them to places like schools, which they should not be doing.

Some of these individuals have mental health issues. Some of them could not pass a background check, but yet they're able to purchase assault weapons and guns that can kill people and also they could hurt themselves. So this is a huge issue. And really, Congress just has to get it right. This is common sense stuff. This is not rocket science. We need to save lives. Well, Senator Tony Brayboy, we appreciate, of course, the work that you're doing, and we're going to keep doing our best to push this issue as well. Thank you.

All right. Folks, to our panel and to the people who are watching and going to be calling in, I want to give you all an example when we talk about cowards. If you saw last night any of the testimony that took place, I mean, there were a whole bunch of cowards who were on that committee, individuals who really don't care about children, individuals who seriously are not interested in dealing with these the issues that we are talking about. Congressman Mondaire Jones was one of the individuals who was advancing the bill last night on the committee. And he talked about where we must stand in this battle, where we must stand when it comes to fighting Republicans who are not willing to be serious about this issue. And I want to play for you what he said, because it really is important for you to hear what he said,

because it is, how can I put this here? It is beyond problematic for me to see what these folks are doing and how they are responding to this critical issue. Listen to what he said. And I'm proud to support it today in committee. As the youngest member of this committee, I need to address my Republican colleagues on behalf of the generations of young people whom Republicans have condemned to grow up in fear that they will be gunned down at school. When I was just 11 years old, something that then seemed unthinkable happened.

Two students killed a teacher and 12 of their classmates at Columbine High School. I was afraid. All of us were. But still I had hope that by the time I was in high school, nothing like the shooting at Columbine would ever happen again. I had faith that adults would step up. I never imagined that mass shootings, let alone school shootings, would become our new normal. Yet that is exactly what has happened. What was once unthinkable has come to feel, for many Americans, unstoppable. Since Columbine, more than 311,000 children have experienced gun violence at school. There were more school shootings last year than in any year since 1999, the year of Columbine.

And there have been more than 200 mass shootings this year already. The leading cause of death of American children is now gun violence. Behind every one of those statistics is the story of a person, often a child, who mattered. Before we even had time to grieve for the ten people murdered by a white supremacist in Buffalo, New York, my home state, another gunman killed 19 children and two adults in Uvalde, Texas. Four children are orphans because their mother made the ultimate sacrifice, not on the battlefront in Iraq or in Eastern Europe, but in the classroom.

And their grieving father died. I want to show y'all what a coward looks like. And some of you may say, man, Roland, that's kind of cold. But this is what a Republican coward looks like. I want you to go to my iPad. So Congressman Chris Jacobs is in his first year in Congress. He represents a suburban district. A suburban district of Buffalo. Listen to me say it again.

He represents a suburban district in buffalo after the 10 black people you see right here after these people were gunned down in the tops grocery store this republican go back to the new york story, Congressman Chris Jacobs, he decided to come out in support of a federal ban on assault weapons and the limit of high-capacity magazines. This is what he said. I can't in good conscience sit back and say I didn't try to do something. Next paragraph says, it took only seven days for political forces to catch up with him. What happened? The state chair of the Republican Party came out with him. What happened?

The state chair of the Republican Party came out against him. Donald Trump Jr. came out against him. And then Jacobs announces he's not running for re-election. He's not running for re-election. He then says, we have a problem in our country in terms of both our major parties. If you stray from a party position, you are annihilated. For the Republicans, it became pretty apparent to me over the last week that that issue is gun control, any gun control. It's seven days earlier. I can't in good conscience sit back and say I didn't try to do something

so here's my problem my problem is instead of Congressman Jacobs looking his party in the eye and saying to the Republicans if any of you are against me, fine. If I lose re-election, fine. But I'm not going to stand here as a member of Congress and do nothing.

I'm going to support my position. Well, that's not what happened. He cut and ran. He did the exact same thing that Arizona Senator Jeff Flake did when he chose not to run for re-election because he was opposing Donald Trump. What they didn't do was what Senator Ben Sasse did, where he was critical of Trump. Then he went quiet because he was afraid that they would run somebody against him, and he sucked up to Trump.

Then after he won, then he went back to criticize them. Republican after Republican, afraid to stand up and take a position, they would rather not run for re-election. What I don't understand is, how can you say, quote, I can't in good conscience sit back and say I didn't try to do something and I'll come back when you're really a coward. You don't have any conscience. You don't have any principles. You don't have any morals and values. You're afraid. Those who aren't afraid would say, come on.

Those who aren't afraid would say, y'all want to run against me? Bring it. I would rather go down swinging than cut and run. That's the fundamental problem you have. Now, let me tell y'all something. It's a whole bunch of progressives out there who are upset because Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi and whip Congressman Jim Clyburn and others

traveled to Texas to support Congressman Henry Qualar in his primary. And Henry Qualar was running against a progressive, I believe her name was Jessica Cisneros, and she lost to him narrowly twice before, and he barely beat her in the primary. I think it may have come down

to a couple of hundred votes. I'm going to pull it up. We're talking about a few hundred votes. Yeah. 177 votes. 177. Now, Cuellar could have said, I don't know.

I'm running against a progressive. I might not win, so let me just not run for re-election. He said, no. He said, bring it. And you got progressives who are upset because how dare y'all support Cuellar because he's pro-gun, he's anti-abortion. But he ran and said, you want this? You got to beat me.

What we must understand is that Republicans in America, when it comes to this issue of gun control, they are cowards. They are not patriots. They are cowards. Those who support them are cowards. When I look at conservative media folks like Joe Paglia-Rulo, I know Joe, Dana Lash, or Dana, go after Senator John Cornyn saying, oh, come on our show and discuss this because they're so ardently opposed to guns. They're cowards, too.

Yes, I said it. You're cowards, too. I don't know who that fool was in Congress who said, oh, he supported the AR-15s because he had a problem with raccoons attacking his chickens. If your ass need an AR-15 to shoot a damn raccoon, your ass should move. If you need an AR-15 to shoot a raccoon, you suck as a marksman. Folks, they're cowards. They don't care about any of these children. They don't care about any of these children. They don't care if any of these children had Republican parents.

They don't care about the black folks in Buffalo. They would rather sleep with and be intimate with their guns than care about Ruth Whitfield. Sleep with and be intimate with their guns. They didn't care about Ruth Whitfield. Aaron Salter Jr., former cop. They don't give a damn about Pearl Young. They don't care that Roberta Drury, what she was doing in her community. Celestine Chaney, uh-uh, they don't care about her. They don't care that Hayward Patterson was a deacon.

Don't mean nothing to them. Andre McNeil, they're like, whatever. They don't care that Catherine Kat Massey was an activist nope Geraldine Chapman Talley they're like whatever Margus Morrison whatever they don't care

about none of these black people but if we replace the images of all these black people with a 9mm and an AR-15 and a whole host of guns, oh, they would have an orgasmic moment. Because that's all they care about. They are cowards. And Matt, when you are facing a coward, you have got to understand that a coward with no conscience and no principles and no morals and no values, that thoughts and prayers mean nothing, which means you are going to have to go aggressively against them because these are the same Republicans who love talking about cops, but most

people don't even realize that most police unions oppose these weapons being on the streets. Matt, go ahead. I just think, Roland, that this should be what revolutions are made of. I think Steve Kerr said it perfectly. I mean, the fact that there are 500 people in Washington, D.C., that have all the power and are choosing not to exercise that power, a small subset of them, is what should undergird a revolution, if we're being honest? I mean, it's absurd that three hours west of me, 19 children and two teachers died in the most horrible, tragic way.

And Republicans are still coming out and parroting these talking points and talking about, if you notice, all the dog whistling talking about law-abiding citizens and trying to accuse Democrats of co-opting this moment. We should all be offended. If you're a person who has any moral values and you're on the right side of the aisle, you should be incensed that your Republican senators and House members are finding a way to make this about anything other than protecting kids. And part of the problem is not only cowardice, it's consequences. They're making a political bet that they're not going to have any consequences when it comes time for the midterm. And we talk about it on this show all the time, voting,

and that's the way to hold, keep people accountable. But I don't know what needs to be done beyond that, because the fact that we as a country cannot come together and say, we gave you those jobs for you to be able to act in precisely this position, and you're telling us not only you're not going to act, but that you're going to continue a cozy relationship with the people whose products are responsible for this.

I mean, I don't know what can be done beyond taking a stronger stance than just saying it's voting. I mean, I don't know what can be done beyond taking a stronger stance than just saying it's voting. I mean, it has to be something more than that, because you shouldn't be able to co-opt an entire country's safety. At the very least, government should exist to keep its citizens safe. And it cannot do that. And not only can it not do that, they are flatly refusing to take any measurable step to do that. That should be cause for revolution. Here's what I find to be just ridiculous, Kelly.

In this New York Times story, Congressman Jacobs, citing the thousands of gun permits he had issued as Erie County clerk, Mr. Jacobs emphasized that he was a supporter of the Second Amendment and said he wanted... This is the one. Come on, go to my iPad, and said he wanted to avoid the brutal intraparty fight that would have been inevitable had he stayed in a race. How in the hell can you be afraid of an intrap-party fight when they are dead? How?

So I'm sorry. So you missed the Second Amendment. In fact, the week before, he was endorsed by the NRA. He comes from a rich, one of Buffalo's richest families. Ain't you scared? How your ass scared, but you want

to embrace a gun? I thought y'all tough with the guns. Cowards. We are facing gun waving, gun tooting cowards, Kelly. There's no other word for them except coward at this point. Their entire being is cowardly. But you're asking how he can be afraid of intra-fighting, so to speak.

It's because they don't know how to fight outside of being right behind a gun. And for me, it's not so much a Second Amendment thing so much as it is cowardice. Because there has to be a happy medium between making sure that people can exercise their Second Amendment right, and the other side being everybody else exercising their right to live. You know what I mean? Like, it's not... The two can coexist,

especially when you look at the history of the Second Amendment being that it was never meant to go this far. The Second Amendment, and I'm sure Michael knows way more about this historical fact than I do, it was never meant for people to just have the right to weapons of mass destruction. It was so that you can reinforce the right to defend yourself against enemies, foreign and domestic. So for me, it really has to come to the, we have to reconcile being able to defend ourselves and being able to live. But more importantly, life outside the womb has to live because that's the thing with Republicans right now. You're pro-life so long as the child, meaning the conglomerate of blood and skin cells, because it's not viable outside

the womb, you're more worried about something that is inside my body than the 19 children outside my body who just died a week ago because an 18-year-old was able to buy a weapon of mass destruction without a background check, without any type of screening, without any type of protocol or process. He was just able to buy it. And as a result, we have a generation of children gone. We don't know what they could have become because we don't have the correct structure for the Second Amendment to be exercised as healthily as possible. And the people, the powers that be who can do something about it refuse to because a private institution

has them by the balls. It is absolutely ridiculous. Michael, again, for people who need to understand what is going on here, this is what we're up against. And here's what's really bothering me. So last night, President Biden gives this primetime address. And when it's over, it takes Air Force One to Delaware.

Today, I didn't see the flooding of the zone. I didn't see administration officials, all of the morning shows, the midday shows. The emails that I got today were offering us up a couple of people to talk about blacks in the economy. I appreciate that. Congress is back in session on Monday. Where's the full court press? Is this administration going to be pushing their people to Sunday shows? So you gave address last night.

How are you building national momentum? The polling numbers are in your favor. Two tragedies in the last month. Last night, two people gunned down in an Iowa church parking lot. Shooter turns the gun on himself. Brother is being buried in Wisconsin, shooting at the funeral. Five shot.

Grandmother killed at a graduation at Xavier University. All of that in the past three weeks and administration gave a speech, we're good. No! It has to be constant. Constant. Constant. Call your member of Congress. Send them an email.

Put the pressure on them. Call moms and dads to D.C. to come in the halls of Congress. That is what is required to make change happen. And for this weak, impotent, pathetic, sorry excuse of a Republican from the suburbs of Buffalo. You actually have the audacity and the unmitigated gall. I wanted to avoid an intraparty fight. Coward.

That's Congressman Jacobs, Michael. Yesterday, you saw some of the cowards showing their guns and bragging about their guns also. Because these are cowards. That's why they want guns, and that's why they want big guns as well, and that's why they want to brag and show them off. That vote was 25-19. It was upon party lines.

Republicans voted against the Protecting Our Kids Act because they don't care about protecting kids, not even white children. They really don't care about protecting white children either. These are prostitutes of the National Rifle Association. That's exactly what they are. They're prostitutes of the National Rifle Association. This is why we need to go to congress.gov, look up these bills, and look and see who voted against these bills, because what you vote for shows me what you value, not what you say on MSNBC, not what you say on Fox News, but how you actually vote. OK, so and when you look at some of the statements from them, whether it's Representative Jim Jordan of Ohio, whether it was dumbass Louie Gohmert out of Texas, who's, you know, I'm sorry, he's from Texas, Roland. Yeah, dumbass like Louie Gohmert, things like this. Republicans, generally speaking, are not even offering reasonable bills to address this issue.

Louie Gohmert wanted to blame Democrats in cities that had high crime rates and gun shootings and things like this. He said, oh, those are all cities controlled by Democrats. OK, he didn't want to deal with the fact that, well, like in Chicago, Chicago's in the state of Indiana. I mean, Illinois, state of Illinois. Well, Indiana has lacked gun laws, and a lot of those guns that come into Chicago come from Indiana, okay, because the gun laws in Indiana are different than the ones in Illinois. So this is why we have to vote these people out of office and understand. And the other thing is, going to what Matt said, what else can we do besides vote? Go to FEC.gov, Federal Elections Commission.

Look and see who are the corporations that finance a lot of these people who keep blocking these bills and launch economic withdrawal strategies, economic boycotts against four or five of these top corporations, and put a price, put a penalty on these corporations

for financing these people who keep voting against our own interests. Redistribute the pain, as Dr. King said on April 3, 1968, in his last speech, where I've been to the mountaintop. And just so people understand what we're dealing with,

Ohio is literally on the verge, y'all, of letting teachers carry guns after just 24 hours of training. Right. Yep. Now, y'all know this ain't nothing but a recipe for disaster. Yeah. You already know what that is.

And by the way, for all of y'all who are wondering, again, we talk about who, you know, because, and this is where, I'm sorry, Joe Biden needs to stop with the bullshit. He needs to stop sitting here talking and acting as if he's dealing with reasonable Republicans. He made a comment about dealing with McConnell and John Cornyn. They're not reasonable. If you don't believe me, watch this here. Dana Lash, who had a show on the NRA's channel, this is what she sent out. For the past two weeks, we've asked John Cornyn to join the broadcast and discuss the Senate's pending gun control legislation. For two weeks, they've said next week, in the past,

his staff reached out to us to inquire about having him join. This is what he said. Dana, nothing pending now. Happy to come on if something develops. This is the man who's supposed to be leading the Republican side on gun legislation. But just so y'all understand, he ain't trying to sit here and do nothing about guns, y'all. Because he literally sent out a tweet early, let me find it, where he basically said, nah, I ain't trying to sit here and deal with that.

We gonna deal with the mental health stuff. Y'all, they're not, here it is right here. Here it is right here. This is where the tweet the first came in Any deal on guns will need John corner support in an interview He said quote it will be embarrassing if the Senate can't agree on a deal after the Evaldi shootings It would feed the narrative that we can't get things done in the public interest. This is how he responded to the tweet. He's, I'm not talking about restricting the rights of law-abiding citizens under the Second Amendment.

I'm talking about identifying people with criminal and mental health problems that already threaten themselves and others. Y'all, they ain't doing nothing. Sit in the corner. Since you so happily to go on Dana Lashley's show, come on, roll the mark on the filter. Unlike Dana, who moved to Texas, I'm a native Texan. I still vote there. So I'm a constituent as well. Why don't you come and have the conversation with us? If you're not scared.

Don't run to Fox News. Don't run to OAN. Don't run to Newsmax. Don't run to the Blaze. Don't run to conservative radio. Come talk to black people. Let's have that conversation. Folks, speaking of conversation, here's a phone number if you think it was a was a call you want to

give share your thoughts 202-202-890-1199 202-890-1199 love for you to give us a call uh to share your thoughts uh with regards uh to uh this issue uh and so many others uh folks uh speaking of issue of guns new york lawmakers passed a deal that's going to raise the minimum age to buy a semi-automatic rifle from 18 to 21. It also includes measures allowing law enforcement to seize guns for people who could be at extreme risk to themselves or

others. It awaits the signature of Governor Kathy Hochul. Also, folks, more people are laid to rest in Uvalde who was shot and killed, of course, in that tragic accident there. Just, again, so sad that we still are having to bury people because we have cowards in state legislatures and Congress who do not want to actually deal with the issue of guns in this country. And so, folks, it's just one after another, one after another. But you need leaders.

You need leaders to step up. You need leaders to do something. And that's what we're hoping actually gets done. And so, yeah, these, pull them up, please. These two young ladies here, laid to rest. Pull it up, please. Laid to rest, y'all. Won't be able to go to middle school, high school, graduate,

no college, none of that, because they were gunned down in a classroom. We also know that based upon a Texas state senator, the police chief of the Uvalde district arrived on the scene, folks, without his police radio. He is the commander on the scene with no radio to communicate with other cops. I can't even say how utterly ridiculous what happened there in Uvalde.

A complete, a complete failure by law enforcement. Got to go to break. You're watching Roland Martin Unfiltered on the Black Star Network. I'm Dr. Greg Carr, and coming up on the next Black Table,

we're speaking with Dr. Lucius T. Outlaw Jr., master teacher and philosopher. He takes us on his journey to discover and celebrate Black philosophy. From my undergraduate years at Fisk all the way through my PhD, I was never in a philosophy class where I had a professor who was a person of African descent, nor a sign of touch written

by a person of African descent, ever. How he pushed back at those who said there was no such thing and got us all thinking about what it means to be black that's on the next black table exclusively on the black star network we're all impacted by the culture whether we know it or not from politics to music and entertainment it's a huge part of our lives and we're going to talk about it every day right here on the culture with me barraji muhammad only on the black star network i'm deborah owens america's wealth coach and host of get wealthy on the next get wealthy here's the good news black women are the fastest growing segment of business

owners. The not so good news, the average business by black women is only earning revenues of $45,000 or less. On the next Get Wealthy, you're going to hear from a woman who went from her kitchen table to cat tables, growing her business to over a million dollars. You should start a business because your product is needed in the world, not because you hate the person that you work with. If you hate your job and you hate your manager, go find a new job, a place that makes you feel comfortable. And I say that because starting a business is truly a labor of love and service.

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at Roland Martin Unfiltered and the Black Star Network. You know, he brought his own sound, so when you have an artist that creates his own sound, like Earth, Wind & Fire, Stevie, you know, they come in the Beatles, they create their own sound. He kept reinventing himself. He wasn't afraid to change instrumentations

or not use drums or not use bass or use the Linn machine or use use drums or not use bass or use the Linn machine or use real drums or use pots and pans. It didn't matter. It's just like he wasn't afraid to... The sound was different every time he did an album, completely different. And the things that he wrote about, it was things that he felt he needed to speak about. So a lot of honesty, you know, whether he would admit to it or not. It was a lot of honesty and a lot of things that were real to him.

When he gave, he gave. You know, he, I think for me, he is my favorite, my number one favorite guitar player in the world. He was. He played with, I mean, and especially I loved times me playing drums with him. He and I playing together. When I played drums, it was a whole nother thing. And I just think that he reached people in a way as an artist that he reached you because he was, again, honest in a way that he wasn't, he even, he said it a

million times, but he wasn't trying to write the next Purple Rain. That was already what it was. Right. I can write that. That was that one time. Right. But it's never going to happen again. So why would I write that again? Then it's not special anymore. My name is Charlie Wilson. Hi, I'm Sally Richardson-Whitfield. And I'm Dodger Whitfield. Hey, everybody, this is your man Fred Hammond, and you're watching Roland Martin, my man, unfiltered. Kamara Bowie has been missing since yesterday from Gettysburg, Maryland. The 15-year-old is 5 feet 3 inches tall, weighs 140 pounds, with black hair and brown eyes.

Kimora was last seen wearing a Hollister hoodie, a red T-shirt, jeans, white Air Force sneakers with beads, and carrying a tan tote bag. Anyone with information on Kimora Bowie should call the Montgomery County Maryland Police Department at 301-279-8000. 301-279-8000. All right, y'all. Time for us to go to the phone lines. Folks have been saying, man, bring the phone calls back. I was like, all right, we're going to do that. So let's get ready.

Mark Peters, you're on Roland Martin Unfiltered. What's your comment, your question? Mark, you there? All right. Mark's you there? All right. Mark's not there? All right, y'all. Tell me what's up. Mark, are you there?

All right. Mark, are you there? All right, folks. Let's put Mark on hold. Let's go to Carlo Wilson. Is it Carlo Wilson? Carlo, are you there? All right. Y'all tell me what's up with the audio, please. So we're going to get that fixed. Y'all let me know where we are with the audio so I can go to the callers there.

So we can go and take their phone calls. And so let's get that audio straight. I do want to read this story here, folks. Remember we told you the story out of Buffalo where one of the women who was in the store, she called 911 and a woman hung up on her? So remember she told her story? Play that video when she called into the television station and she literally said she's trying to call the cops.

She calls 911 and the woman get an attitude with her. The 911 dispatcher, she's been fired. Remember, she was put on leave. The woman who was in the store, Leticia Rogers, said that she was grossly disrespected by this woman when she called 911, and the woman hung up on her. That's right, the dispatcher was, again, fired. Thursday, Erie County Police Service oversees the 911 center for the state terminator. That employee said that she simply

had to go. That's a perfect example. It's too late to play the video, y'all, because you didn't have it ready. Here's the whole deal here, Michael. She should have been fired. She should have been fired. I mean, how do you hang up on somebody who's in a store in a mass shooting? Of assistant manager Letitia Rogers, when she called in, I read statements. I heard the audio of her talking about calling. I heard it when she called into the TV news station.

And I also read statements that she made as well. And it seemed like an insensitivity from the dispatcher based upon everything that I read. Letitia did say that she dropped the phone. She was probably nervous or something like that. And she picked the phone back up and the dispatcher was gone. So she assumed the dispatcher had hung up. But, yeah, you know, with Buffalo, you know, there was there was some things very, very wrong with Buffalo. And then when we go look at some of these things, we see signs leading up to the attack. But then we see how people calling for help. It's just like the children in Uvalde who were calling for help from the police. And you had 19 officers out in the

federal offices, actually out in the hallway. And they were being told to stand down from the, we know it was the public school police force who was in charge. But they're told to stand down, okay? And there was a discrepancy over whether it was an active shooter or a barricaded gunman. We just see mistake after mistake after mistake in some of these instances. Now, some instances are handled better than others. But Buffalo and New York, I mean, Buffalo and Uvalde, we see some mistakes here.

I don't understand how in the hell, if you in Buffalo, you call 911 to hang up on you, and then when you in Uvalde, Matt, they call 911, kids are calling, and nobody tells the person on the scene, hey, kids are calling us from the room. Mm-hmm. I think both this dispatcher and these officers

all need to be prosecuted. I don't think there's anything that can happen short of that, that should happen short of that, especially as much as we hear, you know, all of these accolades trumpeted for first responders all the time. Their express job is to run into danger because your average citizen doesn't have the training for that. So if you're standing outside and somebody's holed up in the time, their express job is to run into danger because your average citizen doesn't have the training for that.

So if you're standing outside and somebody's holed up in the school shooting and killing kids, once we find out that you did not run into danger, everybody should be prosecuted, period. I mean, that's dereliction of duty at its basic, at its finest. And for this lady to hang up on somebody who's calling and to take her to task and say, why are you whispering? I mean, it's absurd. So I'm hoping that there are actual criminal prosecutions, whether it be under New York and Texas state law or the Department of Justice or whomever, because that's the only way that this should be handled.

I mean, frankly, there's absolutely no excuse. And as much as we give law enforcement deference and as much as we give them weapons and all of these things, if they're not going to do the job that they are there to do, then they need to be held accountable when it counts the most. And Kelly, it's amazing how these folks have just run from because they were just praising law enforcement. They real quiet now. Yep. I mean, the ready to connect. Click to show now is. Yep. I mean, the accountability or lack thereof is just absolutely just, at least the ones that Governor of Texas was talking about, how, you know, a Border Patrol officer went in and got the person and all these things and made it sound like some, you know, wild, and it sounded like, you know, like Hero went in and saved the day, only to find out that, ironically, 19 children died, but 19 officers were outside the door listening to 19 children die. And now, all of a sudden, no one has anything to say about that. Anybody who is in this line of

work, similar to what Matt was saying, if you are in this line of work and you can't handle it, then you just need to quit, because the stakes are way too high right now. Whether or not there's a mass shooter, just as far as public safety is concerned in this country, between gun laws being lax and Summert's on its way, which is, you know, historically, where you see an uptick in mass shootings, we cannot afford any cowards on the front lines.

So if you find yourself teetering on between whether you're going to be a hero or a coward, like the fact that you're teetering at all, you need to quit, because we can't have people out there like you in any way, in any shape or form, in a position to protect our babies, to protect us, and to protect themselves. Like, you got to go. You need to find another job. Oh, absolutely. All right.

Are we going to a break? Are we going to have phone calls when we come back? Yes. Good. Folks, we're going to take your phone calls when we come back. Finally got it straight. I shouldn't have to be asking three times.

All right. Number to call, 202-809-1199, 890. 202-890-1199. You can be taking your phone calls when we come back on Rolling Mark and Unfiltered on the Black Star Network. On a next A Balanced Life with Dr. Jackie, we're talking all things mental health and how helping others can help you.

We all have moments where we have struggles and on this week's show, our guests demonstrate how helping others can also help you. Why you should never stop giving and serving others on a next A Balanced Life here on Black Star Network. I'm Dr. Greg Carr and coming up on The Next Black Table, we're speaking with Dr. Lucius T. Outlaw Jr., master teacher and philosopher. He takes us on his journey to discover and celebrate Black philosophy. From my undergraduate years at Fisk all the way through my Ph.D., I was never in a philosophy class where I had a professor who was a person of African descent, nor a sign of touch written by a person of African descent ever. How he pushed back at those who said there was no such thing and got us all thinking about what it means to be Black. That's on the next Black Table,

exclusively on the Black Star Network. Hi, how's it doing? It's your favorite funny girl, Amanda Seals. Hi, I'm Anthony Brown from Anthony Brown and Group Therapy. What up, Lana Well? And you are watching Rolling Martin Unfiltered. All right, to the phone lines. DeCarlo, you're on Rolling Martin Unfiltered on the Black Star Network. What's your question or comment? Roland, just had a couple quick questions.

I'm wondering, like, with what's going on with us and the ethnic hatred towards us, why is it that black people are so averted from getting any kind of weapons to protect themselves? I mean, they realize that the police aren't going to do it, but yet I don't hear a lot of black people advocating for people to get protection first. And then secondly, I'm wondering when you're going to talk about this situation with this retired federal officer up in Buffalo, New York, that was actually talking to the person, that animal that shot those people in Buffalo, and then afterwards, I mean, before, 30 minutes before, and then he had also recommended the guns for this man. Because one, the second question, that has not been verified.

That's the second part. Now, we see reports that he was possibly discussing that it's not been verified. And so, I don't report stuff until it's been verified. That's first. On the second point, Matt, why don't you take that particular issue and that question of black

people getting guns. Again, if you look at a lot of these mass shootings, you can have guns, but if you're happening in school, a gun ain't helping you. Matt, go ahead have guns, but if you're happening in school, a gun ain't helping you. Matt, go ahead. Well, I'm not talking about in school. I'm not talking about in school, though. I'm talking about why is it, like, for residential, for, you know, personal,

because those are the things that are going to protect us. Because remember, just like you had mentioned earlier with Tulsa, they had weapons to fight back because if they didn't, it would have been even worse. So I don't understand why we as black people aren't telling our black people look get a permit get yourself something

no no no here's the deal there are people who are doing that you have seen a great increase in black gun clubs over the last number of years those things are happening me personally I have no interest in guns never gun clubs over the last number of years. Those things are happening. Me, personally, I have no interest in guns.

Never. A gun was never in our house. No, no, no. I'm just simply explaining to you. For me. But Matt, go ahead and take that because you want to comment on that. I was going to say I'm glad somebody asked this question because Rob Williams was advocated for this

in the 1960s, telling black people to go get guns before he defected to Cuba because he became, you know, a political pariah and people were out to get him. I mean, the point is there's precedent for that, and there are a lot of people who would say that. In fact, a friend of mine from college has a booming business in Virginia where he teaches people how to not only arm themselves but how to properly use weapons. So there are Black people that are doing that arm themselves, but how to properly use weapons. So there are Black people that are doing that. Now, I think the corollary question to that is what's going to be the societal response, and we already know the answer,

if Black people in droves start arming themselves. I guarantee you gun control will come much faster, and it will be much more robust when you have, you know, a large percentage of Black people arming themselves. But to answer your question, there are percentage of black people arming themselves. But to answer your question, there are a lot of people who already say that and who are already proponents of that. But what I do, what I do want, if people are going to be out there and they're going to be getting guns, please, what cannot happen is what we saw the other day, where a

black woman was passing her purse across somebody, gun goes off, and shoot someone there. Folks have got to, if you're going to go get guns, take classes, have gun safety, have locks in your homes that require your fingerprint or a code to actually get your gun. I know there was a prominent black photographer in Detroit. Her now deceased husband, he was a big time UAW official, was cleaning his gun. Guess what?

Gun fires hits her. She almost got killed. So if people are going to get guns, practice gun safety. Because the stories of children and adults being killed by people mishandling guns or thinking that no bullets are in them. So here's the deal.

If you're going to do it, be safe in doing it. That's what you got to do. I appreciate you saying that, but I wanted to say one last thing. Remember this. In 1680, they had the enslavement codes. But before they put that in place, the first thing they did is they said you couldn't have a weapon. Before they took away any kind of rights, the first thing they said for black people is you can't have a weapon. And the weapons back then were for hunting. That was to sustain yourself. So always remember, have a weapon because at some

time they may come for it and you want to make sure that you have something. If that's what you desire. I appreciate it. Thank you so very much for your phone call. Let's go to Frank. Frank from Chicago. Hey, Frank, how you doing?

You're on Roland Martin Unfiltered. Hey, brother Roland. How you doing? I'm from West Side of Chicago. All right. So I ain't from the suburbs. I heard your show. I listen every day.

Hey, brother Roland, you know what I'm saying? I'm with my chance to say how great we are. Grateful for you and all your panels. But listen, if Joeiden don't stop i love the speech again yesterday i was with it and i'm ready to start pointing out the republicans are blocking and they are do nothing roosevelt had this same problem but what he did he let the people know on a consistent basis that you got to get rid of this do-nothing Congress, okay? And they came on game of clean sweep.

Joe Biden got to stop being as weak as Jimmy Carter and stop being as strong as President Roosevelt and get to turn out, I mean, from here to election time and get rid of these do-nothing Republicans out of these seats. He also needs to point out the Democrats, the two that are blocking us from going around the Republicans. I would love to have heard him do that. So my point, my question with you, Roland, you know what I'm saying, out of great respect, is the way he rolled Nancy Pelosi. And I stopped donating her behalf, but I just heard her rise. Until you go and roll the Martin show, I'm not donating no more on your behalf, Ms. Pelosi. I still love you, but I donate annually and regularly every month.

But what about Joe Biden himself, Roland, and Kamala Harris? Because the stuff you land out is great what you land out, and you can be spot on, but how good is our message in getting to the top, okay? President Obama went on, he did interviews on shows,

okay? Are you having a hard time getting Joe Biden? I mean, just ride him, or Kamala Harris, come on your show, Roland, so we can talk to them. Because is our message good enough to reach these people, to reach the top? Yeah, Kelly, I think he may. First of all, thanks for your phone call. I appreciate it. Kelly, he makes a great point. The story that I read earlier today, it was quite interesting, Kelly, because it said that, oh, Biden had done a couple of interviews with, uh,

digital, uh, creators in the last two months. Two? In two months? Might want to do a little bit more than that. Yeah, I mean, this goes back to, uh, our conversation earlier about the Biden administration's communications team as a whole just going all in when it comes to communicating with the people. Like right now, it feels like they're resting on their laurels and kind of expecting people to understand and just know by osmosis or something that all the good work that they're doing. But if you're not out in the community by way of grassroots, digital, social, what have you,

if you are not in people's faces with the information that you want people to know, we're not going to know it. And that's really what you're seeing out there in the marketplace right now. We don't know about the jobs, uh, the good news about jobs and the good news about what you're doing with baby formula and trying to get things back to normal again. We know that gas prices are astronomically high. We know that I cannot afford groceries

at the same rate that I did two months ago that I can today. I know that, you know, my paycheck is not going as far as it used to. And there's no recourse for that from the Biden administration. At least that's what it's looking like in their communication scheme, right? So until they fix that, it is going to be a tough road to November as far as getting people, galvanizing people to the polls to make sure that this administration not only stays in, but they have the help that they need via Congress, because that's really the election base, we're going to keep having this issue until there's another president or another major crisis that will polarize the country yet again. All right, folks, let's go to Buffalo. Marty Davis is calling from Buffalo, New York. Marty, you're on Roland Martin Unfiltered.

Good evening, Roland. I just wanted to give you a perspective from a person that lives on the east side of Buffalo, about a mile from where the shooting happened. And I wanted to give you a perspective from a person that lives on the east side of Buffalo, about a mile from where the shooting happened. And I wanted to give you some updates. First and foremost, thank you for the breakdown about the charges of Peyton Grendon. John Flynn came out yesterday. He was arraigned in court. And John Flynn came out yesterday, and he explained everything that he did. And you were 100 percent on the nose. He said that that one first degree murder charge could have stuck for all of the shootings. But out of respect and dignity for each individual person, he named

them all on the arraignment. So that that's the first thing. So that was a good thing. Also, with the Chris Jacobs situation, you are 100 percent right with that. And now there's talk of Carl Palladino taking his seat, and he's Buffalo's version of Donald Trump. They're besties. So he said some awful stuff about the Obamas when they were in office and had to resign or step down from running for governor. So that's a real poo-poo show. And the third thing I wanted to say to you, too, was on May 25th, because I reinstated my subscription to the Buffalo News with the digital version. What hurt my heart and struck me was for the first time in my life, I saw laid out on the

newspaper in the digital form, not just scrolling through with the articles. We had Uvalde and the funeral, a write-up about laying Celestine Cheney to rest. Then they talked about how cops, even though, you know, the shooting happened and how the East Side is struggling. The whole front page was about the two mass shootings. I've never seen them overlap in my life. That just broke me into pieces. So when I went to Twitter that day, every time a Republican tried the, oh, Joe Biden energy crisis, I hurried up and tweeted that front page to them.

They didn't say a word. There you go. And that's how we have to respond every single time. Marty, we appreciate it. It's been a while since I've been in Buffalo, but certainly give my thoughts and prayers to all the folks there in Buffalo.

Thank you very much. And also, we've been trying, I mean, and just so you know, Marty, we have been trying for the last two and a half, three weeks to get your mayor on the show. We've been texting and emailing his communications director. He has not, Carol, has he responded one time? He has not responded one time. Well, you know, that doesn't surprise me because remember when you had India Walton on the show? And she was like this up-and-comer? Well, guess who our mayor aligned himself with that got him back into office?

They played dirty with her on so many levels. That was, I look at Mayor Brown, he's kind of Republican. Let's just put it this way. His soul is sold forever because of the stuff he pulled with her. The Palladino, they became buddies during that time. That's how he ended up getting back in. When have you ever known for ballots to be pre-stamped? Yep.

You know what? You know what? I'm just going to do this here right now. Hold on one second. See, I'm just, again, you know, I try to be as patient as I possibly can. But, you know, we've sat sat here and I'm talking about, and his name is Mike DeGeorge. He's the director of communications for the mayor. When I say hasn't even responded, hasn't even responded, like we've texted and one of Reverend

Jackson's, one of his folks said the mayor wants to come on. We've been hitting Mike DeGeorge. So all y'all in Buffalo, please tell the mayor that his direct communications is not responding to black-owned media, even when he says he wants to do it. You know what? I will tweet him right now. Not that he's going to listen to me. I didn't vote for him anyway because I had an issue with my garbage can

Tweet him right now. I say, you know what? Roland trying to get in touch with you Yes And feel free and say and say that he and his producer have email and text Mike DeGeorge for the last three weeks and he hasn't responded one time I'm on it right now. I'll tweet him, I'll tweet you, and I'll tweet Mike DeGeorge and say, you know, what's up?

Sounds good. Black media wants to talk to Buffalo. I appreciate it. I'll do it right now, Roland. Good to talk to you. Thank you very much. I appreciate it. Thank you so very much.

Let's see here. Thank you so very much. Hey, YouTube, y'all got to be doing better. Hit the doggone like button, okay? We got 705. We should easily be at 1,000. I shouldn't be having to ask y'all to do this here. So by the time I finish this next caller, damn it, we should be over 1,000. Don't let me have to start cussing. Jay, Jay, how you doing? You have Roland Martin unfiltered. Hey, Roland. Great to be on. Great to hear you. I've been watching you since you was on TV1, and I'm thankful for the pandemic in this way that I was able to get back with you with your channel here, and I'm glad to be on appreciate that what's your comment uh comment a couple things um you know the first thing is i'm a familiar marine and you know there's procedures and things that you follow uh in certain situations that incident by um commander and you bobby uh he just needs to

sit down i don't know as far as about, you know, prosecution, but definitely stepping down the situation in Buffalo with the 911 call dispatcher definitely should be fired. I feel they heard that should mean the suspicion or administrative rule, whatever they call that. Um, so that those are the things now as far as everybody getting guns, that's point number two. I don't know about everybody getting guns. I do. I have guns myself, but it's for self-defense. And I think if you're doing that well, you should do that with the other people.

Everybody should get guns. There should definitely be some type of training in getting guns. I don't think that, you know, AI for tears and things like that should be something that everybody should definitely get. Once again, I'm a Marine. Most of those weapons are for mass destruction and war and battles and things like that. So that's my personal view on that.

And finally, I think we... All this information, of course, is a heart issue, is a sea issue, and I think we're doing a great job rolling speaking truth to power. And right there, what you got right there is the pulpit and speak truth to power. I know you're going to be scared. So go ahead and do your thing, man. Love you, man. Continue doing your job. I appreciate it. Thank you so very much. That is funny you call it the pulpit. When, you know, a

few years ago, I had some folks who was, they were like, man, you really should be in the pulpit. I were like, man, you really should be in the pulpit. I'm like, no, God told me I can speak to more people in five minutes of radio than some preachers were preached to in the entire year. And so people have to understand you use your gifting where you are. And so, in fact, I was talking with Greg Carr last night, and I'm about to completely blow some of y'all away because

you need to rethink this. Literally, if you look at the number of people that we are talking to right now live, 95% of all churches in America don't speak to that many people on Sunday. See, now you need to understand the power and the impact of media. I'm going to take one more phone call before I go to a break. Let's see here. Victoria, Victoria, you're on Roland Martin Unfiltered. Victoria, what's your comment? Yes.

How you doing, Roland? Doing great. Good, good. I love your show. I love educating, hearing the education for our people. I was very disappointed concerning Biden's speech last night. Okay. Even, you know, because it wasn't enough power behind it.

You know, it wasn't urgency because it was too laid back and it was lackadaisical. It was almost like it was just a nonchalant speech. I really feel that we need to be more involved in getting the weapons off the street, but also allowing our people to be educated because I'm a licensed carrier as well, but I've been trained to carry. So I truly believe that it does take somebody that is educated about their weapon and to understand that a weapon is not to be played with. So I just wanted to express my feeling. And I heard the young man say that he was impressed. I was not impressed. Maybe I'm by myself. But the speech

just sounded just bland. Well, I'll say this here. First of all, thanks for your phone call. Here's the thing here that I think is different. Kelly, Biden is a speaker

who is about empathy in terms of how he speaks. It's not his natural. I mean, he's not going to speak like Obama. He's not going to speak like Clinton. He's not going to speak. And so they're just simply different styles. That's just the nature of who of who he is. What was missing. And I agree that call to action. And what was interesting, I was reading a story today, and it talked about how his White House is so careful when it comes to the Hatch Act that they don't want to run afoul of that.

And I texted some other people, and I said, look, y'all, part of the problem you're dealing with here, Republicans, they don't give a damn about the Hatch Act. They didn't care about power ticking. Their whole deal is we'll ignore that. And so part of this deal is this. Democrats, they want to do things the right way, the proper way, how it should be done. And I'm like, look, you playing against the cats. They ain't playing by rules.

Yeah, that's exactly right. And it's unfortunate, because I feel like Biden at his core, like, as a person, he definitely has a lot more fire to him. But because we came from such a catastrophe of an administration being 45, his entire administration is really about rectifying all of that and reconciling all of that and restoring some semblance of balance and decorum to the White House. Not just, you know, fixing America, but the reputation of the presidency was shattered in just four years.

And I feel like the Biden administration as a whole feels like it is their responsibility to try and repair that. And to an extent it is, but to a large extent it's not. Because if our reputation is as strong as we portray it to the world. All of that isn't really necessary. You just need to do your job. And right now your job is to give us a call to action so that we can at least see you as president looking like you're doing something, not saying that you're not doing anything, but without a call to action, everything you do sounds passive and appears passive to the American people. So you're right. The speech that I saw last night, I think, yeah, last night, you know, it was very typical Biden. Considering that we had a void of empathy for four or five years, it is still, unfortunately, refreshing to see a president who cares. But right now, not only do we need a president who cares, we need a president who has some fight in him.

We need that scrappy boy from Scranton to get some things done, at least appear to get things done, because right now, it's the image that we need from our president. But, Matt, here's the whole deal. Biden kept talking about after Trump, how the Republicans were going.

That is gone. We never hear the phrase, the loss of innocence. That America is gone. That is gone. There is no Republican Party of 1990 or 2000. There is no compassionate conservatism of President George W. Bush. It's gone.

And it ain't coming back. It's not. Nor is the adherence to any kind of value or moral system. And I didn't get a chance to watch the speech last night. But I think Ms. Miles hit the nail on the head because I think the urgency that we hear from the president and that we hear from the powers that be has to be commensurate with the issue that we're facing. And even if that's his style, we're past the point of trying to communicate empathy. I mean, when 19 kids get murdered in a school tragically and the whole world watches it basically in real time, that's the time when you come out

and you beat the bully pulpit. So, you know, we're at the point where we can't have the niceties anymore. And I know he was a senator for a million years and an erstwhile age, but in the current day, you need some, you need fire and brimstone because that's what we're facing. We're facing a public health crisis where

our impotent Congress, to use your word, is not doing anything and is telling us they're not going to do anything, at least a good portion of them. So we're past the point. That's not America anymore, and the America now demands that you beat the bully pulpit and let us know what you're going to do

to fix this problem that endangers us. It ain't coming back. Got to go to break. We come back. Education Matters segment. We'll still take more of your phone calls on the flip side as well. And so we're going to get to those. You're watching Roland Martin on Filters on the Black Star Network. Don't forget to download the Black Star Network app on all labeled platforms. We want to hit 50,000 downloads, Apple phone, Android phone, Apple TV, Android TV, Roku, Amazon Fire TV, Xbox One, Samsung Smart TV. And please, your resources

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and we appreciate every single dollar in doing so. Send a check or money order to P.O. Box 57196, Washington, D.C., 20037-0196. Cash app is Dallas Sign, RM Unfiltered. PayPal is RM Martin Unfiltered. Venmo is RM Unfiltered. Zelle is Roland at RolandSMartin.com.

Roland at RolandMartinUnfiltered.com. We'll be right back. On a next A Balanced Life with Dr. Jackie, we're talking all things mental health and how helping others can help you. We all have moments where we have struggles, and on this week's show, our guests demonstrate how helping others can also help you. Why you should never stop giving and serving others on a next A Balanced Life here on Blackstar Network. The blues form the foundation of contemporary American music, influencing African- Americans' cultural and social lives. Geographically diverse incarnations of the blues arose in various regions, including the Mississippi Delta, Memphis, Chicago, and southern Texas. Country blues artists like Brian Lemon Jefferson and Charlie Patton are among the first of many popular singers who recorded their music at the beginning of the country blues genre.

Virginia Liston, Ma Rainey, Basie Smith, and Eltha Waters were instrumental in spreading the popularity of blues across the southern U.S. in the style of vaudeville blues. Blues is an ever-expensive genre of music that includes electric blues, Chicago blues, pre-war blues, jump blues, barrel house blues, and Texas blues, just to name a few. Hey, I'm Donnie Simpson. What's up? I'm Lance Gross, and you're watching Roland Martin Unfiltered. According to the census, just 26% of black men hold a college degree. My next guest, they want to actually change that. The group is called AMEN, the African American Male Education Network. They want to develop young men to ensure they're successful while attending California's community colleges.

Dr. Edward Bush is the co-founder of AMEND. He joins me from Portland, Oregon. Doc, glad to have you here. First of all, how long has AMEND been around and how many young men have gone through your program? It's great to be on your show Roland. Much respect to the work that you are doing. A man has been in existence to 2006 and we're already more than a program. We touch students at a variety of levels.

So since our inception, we have touched thousands of African-American men who are navigating the California community college system on their way to going directly into the workforce are transferring to a four-year university. And so what exactly is your program? And so is it a summer program? Is it all year round? So just explain exactly what is it? Yeah, great question. So we operate at three levels around a really simple idea of accountability and support. So on that first level, as college administrators who have ascended to a variety of levels of influence within the California community college system, system. The first thing we do is to hold ourselves accountable that in our various roles, that we make sure that we operate within the best interest of African-American students,

faculty, administrators, and classified professionals. At the second level, we hold institutions, the colleges themselves, the system itself accountable to do right by African-American males, right? So we look at their data and we do professional development. We hold trainings for other community college presidents to make sure that the system that wrap around African-American men, whether or not they are engaged in our program or not, are able to walk onto that college campus and to fill the necessary support in order for them to be successful. Then, at the third level, for the students in which our program touch, we hold them to be accountable and then provide support. We hold them accountable to be excellent when

they show up inside of the classroom, to make sure that they are ready and prepared to learn, in spite of the conditions that surround them that perhaps suggest that they should not even be on a college campus. So with that, we do conferences that average over 1,000 students. I don't know if you recall, Roland, I think around 2015, you were one of our speakers and you joined Angela Rye on stage. Oh, yeah. If you recall that, we run a mentorship program where we touch hundreds of students that are paired up with African-American males in the community college system. And we have what's called our student charters, our men's student charters that exist at 26 institutions across the state. I'm happy to report that the governor included us

in the state budget for $1.1 million to increase the number of charters from 26 to 50 throughout the California community college system. And our charters average 30 students in each of our 26 charters. Also, we have a study abroad program, and we take an average of 10 students every year free of charge to the continent of Africa. This July, we're taking a group of students to Kenya and Tanzania. So we operate with the express unapologetic intention of increasing outcomes for African-American students. And we do whatever we can through our scholarship and our work to make sure that that happens. Yeah, that was actually 2018 because I was actually working on MLK 50. And folks in my office kind of messed up and got the dates screwed up.

That wasn't going to go in all of that. No, no, it's all good. People need to understand there's accountability. That person don't work for me anymore. But I'm always trying to explain to folk why you've got to handle your business. Therefore, you may have no business. You talked about, again, how we reach folks. Just a couple of weeks ago, I was at Clemson University for their Men of Color National Summit.

And this was I think this is the second time I've been there. The brother who created that program, he used to be in Akron and I was there. Now he's gone to University of Louisville and he said, don't be surprised if I call you again. And this particular conference, I actually titled my speech, Just Us. And I built it around the new song of Pastor William Murphy. And what I said to them gathered there, and folks, if y'all missed it, just go to our YouTube channel, go to Black Star Network. You don't want to miss what I had to say in this 45-minute speech. And what I said is, hey, ain't no Calvary coming to save us. And so it's just us. It's going to

take black men, Latino men, it's going to take men of color to actually deal with this because the reality is this here. Black women are meeting. They're gathering. They're raising money. They're supporting. They're going to community colleges. They're going to four-year institutions. They're not waiting on anybody else. And so programs like this are critically important

for black men to say, we have to be the ones to reach other Black men. Absolutely, Ronan. You talk about program, but you're also really talking about a type of leadership approach or a mindset that Black men have to have. So the 16 board members of AMEND got together, really fundamentally asking the question,

if not us, then who? If not now, then when? And so we make sure that we push each other to be in position to best support Black men in our institution. And we can't expect anyone else to do it unless we're willing to this work unapologetically, right? That Black men who are in position of influence and power to make a difference for other Black people has to be the norm and not the exception. And that if we're not taking up that mantra, or if we're not doing that work, then we don't need to be in those positions in the first place. We say this all the time, that in our positions, we're not there based on our own merit.

We are there because someone paid the price. Someone made the sacrifice. And the only thing that they want in return for that sacrifice is to make the situations and circumstances better for their babies and grandbabies and great-grandbabies. And the men is committed to doing that personally as board members, then from there, the work gets manifested or it emanates from that spirit of making sure that we repay that debt, starting with us holding ourselves accountable. Then we're able to place a level of expectation of excellence for every young man that we come in contact with. Androlling, these young men are thriving. Many of our students come to us formerly incarcerated.

Absent of having a high school degree, earning their GEDs while enrolled in community college, given the support and mentorship of someone telling them that they can be excellent and expect that for them, our students are transferring to UCLA, Berkeley. We have a student that just graduated for the Harvard Divinity School with honors, with his master's degree, right? These are the stories that are happening

based on our work that we need people to hear, not to shine light on the men, but for folks to know what is possible when Black men step up to this responsibility and say, I got you. Questions from our panel. Michael, I'll start with you. All right. Well, look, Dr. Bush, this is great what you're doing, man. I really appreciate this. So I just had two quick questions. One, I've done a lot of work with community colleges in the past. What are some of the majors or certificate programs that are very popular with your students in this program? And then also, what role does

African history, African American history play in trying to combat the negative stereotypical images that a lot of African-American teenagers and young adults have that are projected to us by the media? How do you combat that as well? California Community College is an open access institution. The California Community College is the largest system of post-secondary education in the nation at 1.8 million students pre-pandemic. It was 2.1 million students. And so with the fact that it's open access, students come to us for a lot of different educational goals. And so because of that, you will see students spread out through a variety of whether career, technical education, or general education, and our students are across the board. Also, one of the things that is

important to note, and why community college is so central in terms of African Americans have the ability to earn bachelor's degrees is that 75 percent of all African American men that are enrolled in public post-secondary education in the state of California is enrolled in the California Community College. So if the California Community College fails to successfully educate African-American men, that means African-American men in the state of California will not go on to earn bachelor degrees. It is that critical. California just recently in its K-12 education passed mandatory ethnic studies as a graduation requirement. The CSU system has done the same. And because we are a transfer institution, the community colleges now

are offering ethnic studies as part of its graduation requirement. That's an important step in the state of California that affirms learning about yourself and, in fact, learning about other cultures is essential, right? A skill set that you need to function in a modern day society. For a man, cultural efficacy is everything. We put African, being African at the center of our work. That's why we're committed to taking our students to Africa. That's why we are co-sponsoring the All African Educators Summit in Cape Coast, Ghana, with the University of Cape Coast this September. Because we believe that oftentimes the stereotypes that you mentioned of African-American men are projected on us based on other folks defining who we are. So at the Essence, we are helping Black men create a real definition of who we are that's rooted in a legacy and history that goes well before enslavement.

Matt? Yeah, Dr. Bush, I want to commend you as well, brother, on this program and what you're doing. I also have two quick questions. The first is, I know that there's been some talk from this administration about making community college free. So while I commend you on the scholarships, my question is, what, if any, plans for expansion do you have? Should that come to fruition with community colleges becoming free, number one? And the second thing is, as a Black male who's been blessed to get an education, how do I volunteer with you, even if I'm not in the state of California? Yeah, absolutely. So this is the work of 16 brothers.

I'm just so blessed that they allow me to be the spokesperson on this show today. So it's a collective work. So I applaud them for their effort because it comes with a great deal of sacrifice. We do this on top of our jobs of being college presidents, of being chancellors, being counselors, deans, and vice presidents. Within California, you have to know that the community college system is basically free for the majority of our students. And so pre-pandemic, we saw that result in enrollment growth. But now since the pandemic, African-American men are experiencing the largest decline in enrollment than any other subgroup. And so we have to talk about what is going to be the long-term impact of the declining enrollment of Black men in the

California community college system. If those who are interested in being a part of the, learning more about the organization, volunteering for that, go onto our website, A2MEND.org, that's A2MEND.org. You will see information about volunteering. One of the things that we lunch in this year is called the Statewide Student Mentorship Program. And we partner with a Black-owned software company called Mentoring and Match that is going to allow us to take mentoring at scale.

What I mean by scale is that we have set a goal that every Black male enrolled in the California community college system, if they want to have a mentor, they will be mentored. And so we need folks to go on, if you have a.edu email, you could sign up to be a mentor because literally there are thousands, thousands of Black men enrolled in the California community college system. And so we need folks to go on, sign up to be a mentor. So when we lunch, that there's mentors available for these black men who are navigating this system of education. Kelly. Yes. Can you just expound upon just how beneficial community college is, especially if you are... if you want to go to a four-year college,

meaning not only is it cost-efficient, but can you expound upon the fact that it actually builds experience so that you can have a better experience in a four-year college? Yeah, the community college system is a great tool for those who want to continue their education and to transfer to get a four-year

degree. One of the major benefits of community colleges is that it's close to your community, so you're going to save a tremendous amount of costs. The fee structure is extremely low, so oftentimes students are able to complete two or three years without going into debt, which we know the student loan debt is a huge issue. Students still have the ability, if it's their goal, to get a bachelor's degree within four years from whatever institution. That is still possible to do that by starting their first two years within a community college system. But I also think it's important to say that the community college system has an enormous

potential. But there's also some enormous problems that exist within the community college system. And that's why a man exists. African-Americans, when you look at all of the major student outcome indicators, find themselves at the bottom of the numbers of the percentage of students who transfer, at the bottom of the number of students who graduate or receive certificates, often takes Black students longer to earn a two-year degree, taking as long as four to six years for students to complete. Based on how the system is structured, they're less likely to encounter a faculty member that looks like them.

So the community college has the potential to be a great tool. And many community college students have potential to be a great tool. And many community college students have gone on to successfully navigate. But for Black male students, it's often in spite of as opposed to because of. And even though I'm a college president, I do everything I can to make sure that our Black students have the experience and support necessary to navigate, but I also would be disingenuous and say that the structure needs to be held accountable and that we have to look at the community college system and how they are treating African-American students the same way we monitor in the K-12 system.

All right, then. Well, look, we certainly appreciate the work that y'all are doing. It is critically important. And so I look forward to being back on the West Coast talking to those young men. Dr. Edward Bush, if people want to know, go learn more about a man. Where should they go? Go to the Web site, a two men dot org. That's a the number two M-E-N-D.org. All right, then. Thanks very much. We certainly appreciate it. Thank you so very much.

All right, folks, when we come back, some breaking news that we'll share with you that we're just getting in, and we'll share that as soon as we come back right here on Roller Martin Unfiltered on the Black Star Network. I'm Dr. Greg Carr, and coming up on The Next Black Table, we're speaking with Dr. Lucius T. Outlaw Jr., master teacher and philosopher.

He takes us on his journey to discover and celebrate Black philosophy. From my undergraduate years at Fisk all the way through my PhD, I was never in a philosophy class where I had a professor who was a person of African descent, nor a sign or text written by a person of African descent, ever. How he pushed back at those who said there was no such thing and got us all thinking about what it means to be Black. That's on the next Black Table, exclusively on the Black Star Network. You know, he brought his own sound, so when you have an artist that creates his own sound, like Earth, Wind & Fire, Stevie, you know,

they come in the Beatles, they create their own sound. He kept reinventing himself. He wasn't afraid to change instrumentations or not use drums or not use bass or use the limb machine or use real drums or use, you know, pots and pans. It didn't matter. It's just like he wasn't afraid to...

The sound was different every time he did an album. Completely different, you know? And the things that he wrote about, it was things that he felt he needed to speak about. So a lot of honesty, whether he would admit to it or not, there was a lot of honesty and a lot of things that were real to him. When he gave, he gave. I think for me, he is my favorite, my number one favorite guitar player in the world.

He was. He played with, I mean, and especially, I loved times me playing drums with him. He and I playing together. When I played drums, it was a whole other thing. And I just think that he reached people in a way, as an artist, that he reached you because he was, again, honest in a way that an artist that, he reached you because he was again, honest in a way that he wasn't,

he even, he said it a million times, but he wasn't trying to write the next Purple Rain. That was already what it was. I can write that, that was that one time, but it's never gonna happen again. So why would I write that again? Then it's not special anymore. This is DeOlla Riddle.

What's up, y'all? I'm Will Packer. I'm Chrisette Michelle. Hi, I'm Chaley Rose, and you're watching Roland Martin Unfiltered. Folks, we've got some breaking news to report that is actually some sad news. The dean of the North Carolina Central University Law School, Dr. Brown C. Lewis, was found dead in her hotel room Thursday in Colorado. She was attending a conference there. She was about to celebrate her second year anniversary there. This is the statement that came from the chancellor of North Carolina Central Johnson, Akile Akile.

He said her vision was clear from day one and leading the school is one that provides unique opportunities for diverse, talented future attorneys to be practice ready practitioners. analysis when we were covering the Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson confirmation hearings. This is what she had to say when she was on the show. The thing about the pornography and the fact that she is being penalized for doing her job. Had she done something different, she'd have been penalized for not doing that. And I think she handled it with so much grace. She controlled her face. Because as black women, we speak not just with our voices, but with our faces, with our hands, especially our hands. And I think that she did a wonderful job of working within a system.

You're right, recognizing that she couldn't say exactly what she thought, she couldn't show what she thought, because she has an objective, and that's to get on the Supreme Court to maybe make a difference and maybe make things better for people who look like her. So I really appreciated her calmness, her posture, her temperament, and that she really did not go there with them. And she was polite, even when they were impolite. So I really, really appreciate that. But it goes to your point, what we're saying is that she's reacting to the world in which we still live, where we always on, I always have to prove ourselves. I would have to be careful not to become that angry black woman to sustain

and control our emotions in such a way. And not necessarily fair, but it was just what it is and what we are now. This was a part of the statement that came from the university chancellor based upon something that she wrote in March of last year. The key value I want to imprint on the law school is overcoming the impossible through hard work, perseverance, and tenacity.

It is important to overcome adversity and realize that you can accomplish any goal even if you do it in bite-sized pieces. I'm one of 12 children from a family in a small country town in Louisiana. I grew up knowing that you have to persevere, overcome adversity, and keep pushing forward. Likewise, NCCU School of Law is one of only six HBCU law schools in the country. We're the underdog pushing forward. And this is the image that they actually posted there of Dean Brown Lewis. I had an opportunity, Matt, when I was traveling through North Carolina,

we were covering the primaries, an opportunity to drop by the law school to, to drop by the school. I was interviewing some people and had opportunity to meet her, take a picture with her. That's why I got her business card and we put her on the show. And because of the law, of the six HBCU law schools in the country, several are led by women. And again, it was great having her on the show, giving her analysis when she was on. And so it is certainly shocking to hear of her passing. Indeed, and I send my condolences to all the students and faculty and everyone connected with NCCU. It is so important for me as a Black lawyer, it was

when I was in law school and even before then, to see luminaries like her at the helm of institutions and always giving of themselves and giving of their insight. So this is a big loss. I didn't have the pleasure of knowing her, but I think something like 6% of attorneys in the country are Black people. And I think a smaller percentage of that is Black men. With that being said, you know, I really commend her efforts and I hope that NCCU, everyone connected to her, finds peace. But I appreciate her efforts and appreciate her analysis when she was here on the show. Again, the university has not provided any additional details

with regards to her passing. And so we certainly will provide more of that, folks, when we find out. Again, the dean of the North Carolina Central University School of Law, Dr. Dean Brown C. Lewis, was found dead yesterday in her hotel room in Colorado where she was attending a legal conference. And again, one of several women who, you know, leading law schools across the country.

And so we will share more details about you and certainly our thoughts and prayers go out to the North Carolina Central Law School family as well as the university at large. Folks, that is it for us. I want to thank Kelly, Matt, and Michael as well to the callers. We're going to be doing more calls next week, so I cannot get to all of you. But certainly news changes, and that's how it happens all the time in this business.

So, again, thank you to our panel. Thank you so very much. Let me also thank the folks who have been supporting us during this show. There have been people who have actually been giving while we've been live on the air. And so I want to thank those folks to do so. Daisy Mack, Victoria Miles, Anthony Mosley, Tommy Williams, Fayetta Sawyers, Rendo Chambly, and let's see here, there have been a couple of more I saw. I know I missed one of them. So I want to thank all of them for giving. Of course, every Friday, we also list our donors to the show. There are more

names that we're adding. I've got some of your emails. Some folks have sent checks. We're adding those names as well. If you do not see your name, please simply shoot us an email at info at RolandSmartin.com, and we will certainly add it to that list. So thank you so very much for watching. I will see you on Monday right here on Roland Martin Unfiltered. Check out social media this weekend. I'll be traveling to Las Vegas tomorrow. Anita Baker, of course, she's on her farewell concert tour.

It's been going on for like three years. So I'll be in Vegas with Miss Anita Baker tomorrow. So I'll be sharing some images from her concert tomorrow. So I'll see you guys on Monday right here on Roland Martin Unfiltered on the Black Star Network. Howl! tomorrow. So I'll see you guys on Monday right here on Roland Martin on Filtered on the Black Star Network. Să ne urmăm în următoarea mea rețetă. The Să ne urmăm în următoarea mea rețetă. The this is an iHeart podcast