#RolandMartinUnfiltered - Missing Black Women Crisis, Layoff Wave Looms, MD Reparations Push, Kennedy Center Trump Lawsuit

Episode Date: December 24, 2025

12.23.2025 #RolandMartinUnfiltered: Missing Black Women Crisis, Layoff Wave Looms, MD Reparations Push, Kennedy Center Trump Lawsuit A Wisconsin state representative is pushing for a task force on missing and murdered Black women, as the state faces some of the highest violence rates in the country. She joins us to talk about why this issue can't wait. Across corporate America, big companies are bracing for pain. Mass layoffs are expected to hit in January, with tech, manufacturing, and logistics companies slashing thousands of jobs amid growing economic uncertainty. In Maryland, lawmakers defy their own governor, overriding Wes Moore's veto to move forward with a study on slavery reparations. We'll talk to one activist about the goals of the Maryland Reparations Committee And in Washington, the Kennedy Center is now facing legal action after Donald Trump's name was added to the building. Congresswoman Joyce Beatty is suing, saying her vote was silenced. She joins us live. #BlackStarNetwork partner: Fanbasehttps://www.startengine.com/offering/fanbase This Reg A+ offering is made available through StartEngine Primary, LLC, member FINRA/SIPC.  This investment is speculative, illiquid, and involves a high degree of risk, including the possible loss of your entire investment. You should read the Offering Circular (https://bit.ly/3VDPKjD) and Risks (https://bit.ly/3ZQzHl0) related to this offering before investing. Download the Black Star Network app at http://www.blackstarnetwork.com! We're on iOS, AppleTV, Android, AndroidTV, Roku, FireTV, XBox and SamsungTV. The #BlackStarNetwork is a news reporting platform covered under Copyright Disclaimer Under Section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976, allowance is made for "fair use" for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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a real revolutionary right now. I support this man, black media. He makes sure that our stories are told. Thank you for being the voice of Black America rolling. I love y'all. All momentum we have now. We have to keep this going. The video looks phenomenal.

See, this is between Black Star Network and Black own media and something like CNN. Hey, be black on media and be skate. It's time to be smart. Bring your eyeballs home. You dig? 23rd, 2025, a pretty noble sitting in for Roland who's on a much-needed vacation.

Here's what's coming up today on Roland Martin unfiltered streaming line from the Blacks are network. Wisconsin, Representative Sheila's Tubbs is pushing for a task force on missing and murdered black women. as the state faces some of the highest violence rates in the country, which would join us to talk about why this issue can't wait. And across corporate America, big companies are bracing for pain. Mass layoffs are expected to hit in January with tech, manufacturing, and logistics companies slashing thousands of jobs amid growing economic uncertainty. And in Maryland, lawmakers defy their own governor, overriding West Moors veto to move forward with a study on slavery reparations. The Bond Love, director of public policy at leaders of a beautiful struggle, will join us to break it all down. And in Washington, the Kennedy Center is now facing legal action after Donald Trump's name was added to the building.

Congresswoman Joyce Beatty is suing, saying her vote was silence and she will join us live tonight. It's time to bring the funk on Roland Martin Unfiltered, streaming live on the Black Star Network. Let's go. Once led the nation in homicides of black women, and now a Wisconsin state representative, Sheila Subs, is not giving up on a bill to create a task force on missing and murdered African-American girls. The assembly passed the measure last year, but it stalled in the Senate, so Subs is back at the Capitol pushing the proposal for a third time. The 17-member task force would bring together law enforcement, legal, and victim advocates and families to collect better data. examine what black women face the highest rates of violence in the state and recommend ways to prevent it. Joining us now is Sheila Stubbs, Representative Sheila Stubbs, to discuss the bill. Thank you for joining us.

Thank you for interviewing me. And again, thank you to Mr. Martin for allowing me this precious opportunity to talk about policy that's been very near dear to my heart. I just want to say that I appreciate the opportunity to discuss that I have introduced this legislation, missing and murdered African American women and girls, task boards legislation three times. I've had three sessions. And in Wisconsin State Legislature, this bill number is 392 in the Assembly and bill number 404 in the Senate. The first time I introduced this bill was January 21st of 2022. The second time I introduced this bill was October 31st, 2023. And this is my third time I introduced the bill July 25th of 2025.

Now they tell me the third time is a charm. Let's see if that works. Well, I know you've been doing a lot of work. You guys have been having meetings. Tell me about Sharday Robinson and how you were able to share her story. Absolutely. Let me start by seeing that in 2020. there were 90,33 black women and girls that were filed missing, according to the National Crime Information Center.

That number rose from 97,924 in 2022 and to 97,57777 in 2024, according to the National Crime Information Center. In 2020, according to the Guardian, there are five black women a day that's murdered across the our country. Let me say this. I was honored to meet Machina Scarborough, the mother of the late Charday Robinson, a young lady that deserved to be living right now. But unfortunately, she was murdered attending her first date and her body was dismembered across the city of Milwaukee

and her arm washed up in the city of Illinois in Waikagan, Illinois. I am here to say that enough is enough how many more black women and girls must come missing in the state of wisconsin before we do something as a legislator i cannot sit here and do absolutely nothing i'm a representative of the community i'm a pastor i'm a former county board supervisor but most important it is my job by policy and let me tell you this i will not stop fighting for this legislation until it is becoming law in the state of Wisconsin. Break it down to us, how would this bill really protect black women and girls?

Yeah, I'm really glad that you asked me about that because I think that's really important is making sure that we have the right individuals a part of this bill. Having 17 member, sounds like a church member, but it's technically not. It is making sure that we have law enforcement present. That is so important because it's It starts with a simple phone call. I will share this that after I've met with many victims' families, one of the issues they've had is just getting law enforcement to take the report.

Sometimes they've been told words like the child, that one of the girls is a runaway. For example, Janaya Walker, who has been missing here in Wisconsin, when her mother tried to do the report, they considered her a delinquent. No one wanted to look for. So it took six months. So let me just say first and foremost, what this task force is going to do is give us data.

What's been really difficult to gather is the data across the state of Wisconsin. I've had to go to a national level to get specifics across the state of Wisconsin and what's been done. Number two, it's going to be a voice for our victims and their families. They need to be on a platform so they can keep advocating for what's important. Their voice is the loudest voice, the most sincere voice and the voice that we need to get it done. We're going to have representatives that are law makers that's going to be a part of the task force. It's important to have Democrat and Republicans as part of this legislation. So as I understand, the assembly passed the bill, but it stalled in the Senate.

Any idea about the pushback? Yeah, so I'll be very honest. It was the former senator Dewey Strobel, who did not believe in diversity. equity, nor inclusion. We can even add the word accountability or sensibility. He did not believe in it. And he said that if you do it for one, you need to do it for everyone.

Well, guess what? We can do. I'm supportive of diversity, equity, and inclusion. So it was not a problem for me, but it was very clear it was a problem for him. When the bill was sent to his committee, he would not even give this bill a hearing. That's the least he could do.

And so I advocated. I ask all my partners and friends across the, country to reach out to his office and we advocated and something happened let me share it with you we were able because of our grassroots effort to get that bill removed from his committee and it was reassigned to the substance abuse committee that it should have been sent to with families and we had a hearing we had an executive there the hearing passed in the senate but he blocked the bill from being heard in the senate floor i'm here to share some good news he's no longer in the state of wisconsin I'm going to keep fighting.

And this is really important for me. I would be a voice for every black woman and girl across the state of Wisconsin, these families that have to go through the shame and agony and nightmare, not knowing where their child is or knowing like Charterne Robinson. She was killed. I think this is a good time to bring in our panel tonight. We have Dr. Mustafa Santiago Ali, former senior advisor for environmental justice, CPA. We also have Dr. Larry J. Walker, an associate professor from the University of Central Florida joining us tonight. Thank you, gentlemen, for your time. Any questions for you?

Yeah, I can go first. First, our representative stuff, congratulations on your hard work and advocacy. Mustafa Nopo, work on public policy issues. We know how hard it is when an important issue, particularly relates to needs of black people, is ignored. I think my question is, can you name one or two things when you talked about advocates? What are they saying? The more you listen to your kids, the closer you'll be. So we asked kids, what do you want your parents to hear? I feel sometimes that I'm not listened to. I would just want you to listen to me more often and evaluate situations with me

and lead me towards success. Listening is a form of love. Find resources to help you support your kids and their emotional well-being at soundedouttogether.org. That's sounded outtogether.org. Brought to you by the Ad Council and Pivotal. The social media trend that's landing some Gen Z ears in jail. The progressive media darling whose public meltdown got her fired.

I'm going to take Francesco off the network entirely. The massive TikTok boycott against Target that makes no actual sense. I will continue getting stuff from Target and I will continue to not pay for it. And the MAGA influencers whose trip to the White House ended in embarrassment. So refreshing to have the press secretary after the last few years who's both intelligent and articulate. You won't hear about these online stories in the mainstream media, but you can keep up with them and all the other entertaining and outrageous things happening online in media and in politics with the Brad versus Everyone podcast,

hosted by me, Brad Palumbo. Every day of the week, I bring you on a wild ride through the most delulu takes on the internet, criticizing the extremes of both sides from an independent perspective. Join in on the insanity and listen to the Brad versus Everyone podcast on the Iheart radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. guests. And the winner of the IHeart Podcast Award is you can decide who takes home the 26 IHeart Podcast Awards Podcast of the year by voting at IHeart Podcast Awards.com now through February 22nd. See all the nominees and place your vote at IHeart Podcast Awards.com.

Audible is a proud sponsor of the Audible Audio Pioneer Award. Explore the best selection of audiobooks, podcasts, and originals all in one easy app. Audible. There's more to imagine when you Listen, sign up for a free trial at audible.com. One of the two challenges is it relates to addressing the issue of when black women and girls go missing and, you know, when comes to interaction with law enforcement or other agencies in terms of figuring out how we can take this more seriously. Well, we know for, and thank you so much for your comment, Dr. Walker. And I applaud you.

Thank you for your support and thank you for your questions. I'll start out by answering the question this way. as I spoke with Lashiki Hill mom, Ms. Georgia Hill, her issue was they wouldn't even take the report. Lashiki Hill became missing in Racine, Wisconsin. It's been over two years now. And they said everything like maybe she's in jail. Maybe she's a prostitute. Maybe she's out with her friends. Maybe she's been drinking and driving. They said everything to diminish simply taking the report. That is problem number one that I would say. Problem number two is. follow-up. Many of these families have shared with me getting law enforcement to simply continue to stay in contact with them and make sure that they know what's happening within the

investigation. Our former chief of police, Dr. Sean Barnes, who is now the chief of police in Seattle, Washington, did a lot of research. And in Wisconsin, there was a cold case that they saw 50 years ago. And he said something with me that I didn't know. He said, an investigator is always assigned to a case. Well, if they're assigned, why are these families not getting communication? So I would say that with problem number one. The second issue that I would say is media. Media, we know for sure, is four times less likely to cover a missing and murdered African-American woman and girl. And so media has a huge accountability. What I can share with you is with this legislation, I have been able to get media to support me. It's because I have given

in the stats. So I would say those are the two issues that I would hear from these victims and their families. Dr. Ali. So much for everything you're doing. This hits home for me. My grandmother's sister actually disappeared years ago and we could, you know, they never could get anybody to help them. But I remember, you know, the words of Malcolm X is ringing in my ears right now. He once said that the most disrespected, the most unprotected, and the most neglected person in America is the black woman. I'm wondering what additional things that we need to do around education to help our community to understand the significance of this problem, the magnitude of this problem, and how to best get engaged to help support you and others

who are trying to make sure that our black women and girls are protected. Thank you so much. And my heart goes out to you and your family. I couldn't even imagine what that feels like. I often start my conversations with the families. My prayers are always with them. And I want them to know somebody is listening and somebody is fighting. There are days that I'm literally crying in my office

and who else could I ask for? Having this platform with Mr. Martin is huge because you have an audience I haven't reached. I think number two is one of the processes that I've started is going to the churches, speaking to the sororities and the fraternities, black organizations, getting letters of support from the NAACP. Anyone that I come in contact with on my website, I have missing Monday. So I am always sharing data about missing and murdered African American women and girls. This is my passion piece of legislation that I'm not going to accept no. One of the factors that have been so hard for me is why is it difficult that we can't even track

or collect the data on the violence or the policies, institutions, and the effects of violence and our communities? Why? Why can't these families get the support that they need? doing a really traumatic time, and I'll share with you what they say. It's a nightmare. It's hard to wake up from. Some of them have lost jobs. They can't go to work. They're not saying mental health counselors. Families have been pulled apart. Ms. George Hale is raising Lashiki Hill's son. She's a grandmother. She said, I have to start all the way back over.

Ms. Sheena Scarborough, the mama Sharday Robinson, just physically and mentally her body, his jazz falling apart, Ms. Tanisha Howard. She's like, I'm now in counseling. But how long does it take from 2022 to 24 with people to get the supports that they need?

And so I'm leaning on as many organizations, national organizations. Anyone wants to listen to me. I've listened to, you know, I'm media. I'm just trying to get this message out. And as I talk to groups, I tell them about

human trafficking has everything to do their misnomerate women and girls. Social media has everything to do with it. But what I must say is the state of Wisconsin must take responsibility. It's not a black community issue. It is the state of Wisconsin issue. Representative Sheila Stubbs from Wisconsin, we appreciate your time and all the work that you're doing to protect black women and black girls. You're leading the across this country and we just thank you for sharing their stories and the work that you do. Thank you and I need you all to please help me get the word out. Our office will stay in contact with you, whoever you think I should talk to or whatever platforms given me this opportunity

is huge in the state of Wisconsin. I like to keep you updated as this bill go through. I feel I'm a woman of prayer and I know God has to pull this through for us. We have to. Absolutely. Please keep us updated. We would like to continue to follow up. God bless you all. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year's. Bless you and happy holidays to you as well. We have so much more coming up tonight's on Roland Martin unfiltered on the other side of the spring. Stay with us. Are you ready for the holidays? This week on a balanced life with Dr. Jackie, we're talking about all things anxiety and the holidays, whether it's performance anxiety, presence versus present. making certain that everybody in your space understands the boundaries and how to respect your home.

This week, we're talking about those things that will allow you to have a peaceful holiday season. It really is not about perfection. It's really about, you know, the house feeling warm and cozy and peaceful. You don't have to like everybody, but what you can do is be cordial in those environments. That's all this week on A Balance Life

with Dr. Jackie here on Black Star Network. They said the quiet part out loud. Black votes are a threat. So they erased them. After the Supreme Court gutted the Voting Rights Act in 2013, Republican legislatures moved fast. New voter ID laws, polling place shutdowns, purges of black voters from the rolls. Trump's Justice Department didn't stop it, they joined in. In 2018, his DOJ backed Ohio's voter purge system, a scheme that disproportionately erased black voters,

Their goal, erase black votes and political power. Yeah, that happened. These are the kinds of stories that we cover every day on Roland Martin unfiltered. Subscribe on YouTube and download the Black Star Network app. Support fact-based independent journalism that centers African Americans and the issues that matter to our community. In this country right now, you have people get up in the morning, and the only thing they can think about is how many people they can hurt,

and they got the power, that's the time for mourning. For better or worse, what makes America special, it's that legal system that's supposed to protect minorities from the tyranny of the majority. We are at a point of a moral emergency. We must raise a voice of outrage. We must raise a voice of compassion. And we must raise a voice of unity.

We are not in a crisis, of party versus party. We are in a crisis of civilization, a human rights crisis, and a crisis of democracy itself. And guess what? You've been chosen to make sure that those that would destroy, those that would hate, don't have the final say, and they don't ultimately win. Well, the Justice Department has released yet another massive batch of files tied to Jeffrey Epstein, more than 11,000 documents and pictures connected to investigations into a sex trafficking network. The release is part of the Epstein Files Transparency Act, signed into law by Donald Trump, and it includes everything from grand jury transcripts and internal government emails to

pictures of Epstein's homes, well-known figures, and even details about how authorities planned his 2019 arrest, including a fake passport that he was carrying. And now a lot of material is still heavily redacted. Some pages are completely blacked out. And while the law sets a December 19th deadline, the Justice Department says the sheer scale of the records, hundreds of thousands of pages overall made that impossible. So the files are being released in stages.

Let's bring our panel in tonight so we can discuss this. The latest release, I'm reading 29,000. pages, so many redactions here. What are your thoughts about that, Dr. Ali? It's about power and privilege. You know, when you have power and privilege, it protects folks in many instances from the law, from being held accountable. You know, it's amazing that we've had all these years to pass. We have all these women and girls that have been, you know, hurt and impacted in such a significant way. and only two people were ever prosecuted. So this is an opportunity to actually help for healing.

It's an opportunity for healing for the victims. It's an opportunity for healing for the country to make sure that when we're dealing with sex trafficking, when we're dealing with these types of individuals, that justice can actually become a reality. So, yeah, we have a huge amount of documents not only in this moment that folks are going through and, you know, there's so much more that will come forward. But at the end of the day, someone has to be held accountable or some ones have to be held accountable for what they did. Dr. Walker, who's benefiting from all of the redactions?

Well, I think, you know, Mustafa talked about it. This is a long-running history, not just United States, but throughout world history, those in powerful positions who take care, who take advantage of vulnerable individuals, but find a way most nine times out of ten. to navigate it without being, you know, being hurt, impacted financially or serving jail time. So, you know, this is, it speaks to the challenges in the justice system and how we just had the conversation in the last segment in terms of ensuring we're protecting victims, those who don't have power and wealth from, you know, for being mistreated or in some circumstances, situations,

murdered. But this is just another example of how we failed, society has failed, those individuals who we need to protect most young girls in particular. And I think the other thing to keep in mind is they've had these documents. This is not like they have to throw all these documents together the last minute. They've had this information. And, you know, this is part of the politics of the slow release of this information to make it as difficult as possible, sort through. Now, let's also highlight, certainly if you're redacting information, it's important to protect, you know, those individuals who are victimized and also maybe some individuals who are, you know, working with the state of federal government. But beyond that, all that information

should be made available with individuals throughout society, and they should have an opportunity to determine if we're talking of policymakers or individuals in business or others who should be held accountable. I mean, you're right. If the government had this level of detail, grand jury, transcripts, internal emails, pictures. Does it make you wonder how Epstein was able to operate for so long? No, it doesn't. I mean, I see Mustafa laugh. And like I said, listen, this is not, this is not new. And we should note that politicians for a long time have been caught up in various scandals. You know, this is not new in terms of, you know, like I said, we've, we've known some policymakers who've been involved in these kind of through the scandals throughout history.

And so it's not new. You know, what has to be new is that Americans have to believe that there is an opportunity here to change course and make sure we protect those who are vulnerable. Well, I want to thank you both for weighing in your thoughts on that. And of course, we will have so much more coming up on Roland Martin Unfiltered. We'll be right back after the break. Coming up on the next black tape,

A conversation with Professor Howard W. French on his new book, Born in Blackness, covering 600 years of global African history and helping us understand how the world we know today is a gift from Black people. There could have been no West without Africa and Africa. That's on the next black table with me, Greg Carr, only on the Black Star Network. If in this country right now, you have people get up in the morning and the only thing they can think about, is how many people they can hurt, and they've got the power. That's the time for mourning. For better or worse, what makes America special, it's that legal system that's supposed to protect minorities

from the tyranny of the majority. We are at a point of a moral emergency. We must raise a voice of outrage. We must raise a voice of compassion. And we must raise a voice of unity. We are not in a crisis of party versus party. We are in a crisis of civilization, a human rights crisis, and a crisis of democracy itself.

And guess what? You've been chosen to make sure that those that would destroy, those that would hate, don't have the final say, and they don't ultimately win. I'm Risa Colbert, and you're watching the Black Star Network. Welcome back. Maryland lawmakers have just cleared the way for a new commission to study reparations for slavery, and they did it by overriding Governor Westmore's veto with overmelving votes in both the House and Senate.

The move creates the Maryland Reparations Committee, which will take a deep dive into who should qualify for reparations and what they could actually look like, everything from formal apologies and direct payments to property tax relief, help with home down payment, and even college tuition waivers. Governor Westmore, the nation's only black governor opposed the bill saying Maryland has already spent years studying the legacy of slavery. His argument, it's time to move past commissions and focus on action, closing the racial wealth gap, expanding black home ownership and tackling the inequality in areas like food access and education. But still, lawmakers press forward.

The commission is now required to deliver a preliminary report by January of 2027 with final recommendations due by November of that year. Joining us now is Devon, Love, the director of public policy at Leaders of Beautiful Struggle to tell us more about this commission. Thank you so much for joining us tonight. Yeah, thanks to have to meet you. You and me all right? I can hear you. Just fine. Thank you. Tell us a little bit more about the commission. So I want to just give a little context to the legislation. So, you know, there have been a bunch of proposals by a variety of organizations and black legislators over the past several years as it relates to reparations that range from commissions to, you know, direct compensation. And we actually presented a proposal, you know, to the Black Caucus, to the governor in 2024, you know, with specific policies as to what reparations would look like.

And we were told then by the governor's team that given Maryland's budget crisis, that they didn't want to commit additional resources out of, you know, 24, 25's budget, you know, just given the situation. So we then ended up working with the legislative Black Caucus of Maryland to craft a piece of legislation. And really the commission have two primarily charges. The first is to study the harms specifically done to people of African descent as a result of shadow slavery, Jim Crow, and all the other forms of racialized terror and oppression that black people are faced. But more importantly, this commission will provide recommendations as to how to implement a reparations policy, right? Because, you know, if we talk about something, for example, like cash payments, which from my perspective is one aspect of it. I think the other more important aspects of what reparations looks like. But if we're using cash payments as an example, you know, it's not as simple as like the governor, the legislature standing outside handing out bags of money, right? The question is, is it a tax credit, is an institution that's going to give out cash, right? What is the process? What is the infrastructure? And so it makes sense, given the fact that there have been arranged proposals, including ours and many of the legislators, it makes sense to bring together a commission that would have a targeted and unified focus on what it would look like to implement a reparations policy in the state of America.

more, break down more about the potential policies that you guys are pushing for. What would that look like? Yeah, so, and I'm going to use this opportunity to address one of the things that you mentioned in the introduction around some of the governor's commentary about why he vetoed the bill, because I think there's often a way that people can. Babes, what are you doing? What? I'm just mowing the lawn. No, it's blazing hot and dry out here. Don't you remember? Smokey Bear says, Avoid using power equipment when it's windy or dry. Where'd you learn this?

Oh, it's on... Smokeybear.com with many other wildfire prevention tips. Right. Thanks, honey, bear. Because remember, only you can prevent wildfires. Brought to you by the USDA Forest Service, your state forester, and the ad council. The social media trend that's landing some Gen Ziers in jail. The progressive media darling whose public meltdown got her fired.

I'm going to take Francesco off. the network entirely. The massive TikTok boycott against Target that makes no actual sense. I will continue getting stuff from Target and I will continue to not pay for it. And the MAGA influencers whose trip to the White House ended in embarrassment. So refreshing to have the press secretary after the last few years who's both intelligent and articulation. You won't hear about these online stories in the mainstream media, but you can keep up with them and all the other entertaining and outrageous things happening online in media and in politics with the Brad versus Everyone podcast.

hosted by me, Brad Palumbo. Every day of the week, I bring you on a wild ride through the most delulu takes on the internet, criticizing the extremes of both sides from an independent perspective. Join in on the insanity and listen to the Brad versus Everyone podcast on the Iheart radio app,

Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. And the winner of the IHeart Podcast Award is, you can decide who takes home the 26thiHard Podcast Awards podcast of the year by voting at iHeartPodcastawards.com. through February 22nd. See all the nominees and place your vote at iHeartpodcastawards.com. Audible is a proud sponsor of the Audible Audio Pioneer Award. Explore the best selection of audiobooks, podcasts, and originals all in one easy app. Audible. There's more to imagine when you listen. Sign up for a free trial at audible.com.

Fuse economic inclusion with reparations, right? Economic inclusion are the things that he talks about in his veto letter. So more access to to procurement dollars from state, from public dollars from the state to black businesses, or increase, you know, resources, investment in HBCUs. That's good policy, right? But that's about economic inclusion in the existing political economic social order. Reparations, which emerges out of the revolutionary Pan-African Nationalist and Revolutionate Black Nationalist tradition. It's about world building. It's about sovereignty and self-determination and investing in our capacity, right, to practice freedom prior to the, to the project of European

domination of the world, shadow slavery and colonialism. We as a people of Africa descent had our own societies where we control those life-preserving institutions necessary for our people to thrive, you know, food, waste management, communications, transportation. And so part of what we're in now is as a community collective, we are relying on white folks in their institutions to meet many of our basic needs. So we are to aspire for freedom. Then reparations, again, given the tradition that emerges from, is about investing in our capacity to practice sovereignty. So what does that look like? It can look like things like investing in cooperatively owned credit unions or financial institutions, right?

What a community practices governance, right? And it's participating in collective wealth accumulation and development. Or it can be things like investment and community control fiscal agent and fiscal sponsor institutions that can help build and incubate grassroots organizations that are doing important work. but many of them don't have the infrastructure to do some of the work that it takes to handle those large sums of money. Those are the examples of the kinds of things that's about building independent, black, economic, and financial infrastructure. That is different from some of the things of the governor mentioned in this veto letter. And that's why it's important to have a commission to provide some more examples of what those kinds of policies will look like.

And so once the commission delivers its recommendations, what stops the lawmakers from ignoring them? Well, one of the things about commissions can serve a variety of different rules, right? There are sometimes where commissions are really just an attempt to delay, right, to obfuscate, right? And as a person that's been legislative advocacy for more than 10 years, I've seen examples of that. This is a commission, though, that was born out of the fact, as I mentioned in the beginning, that there were a range of proposals that legislators have been putting forward, that organizations have been putting forward. And so the benefit of having a legislatively backed commission is that it makes,

because all these things are things that require legislation, these aren't things like the governor can do on their own, can do in his own, right? These are things that require legislative action. And so having a legislatively backed commission to put forward some of these proposals helps to make those proposals more viable in the legislature, right? And especially given the fact that Maryland, I think it's important to note, as we talked about the, and I haven't mentioned yet, the politics of the override.

Maryland has the largest black caucus in the country. And so Maryland's legislative black caucus spearheading, right, not only just passing the legislation, right, in Maryland, but overriding the governor's veto, I think, speaks even more to the viability of the recommendations that will come from this commission. Because the Black Caucus, I would argue, over the past five or six years, has become a much more formidable force in the legislative landscape in Maryland. Maryland's a Democratic Party stronghold, right?

So it has supermajorities in both the House and the Senate in our state. And so the Black Caucus, having such a tremendous influence in the legislative arena, adds to the fact that the combination of this commission with the fact that these will likely be black caucus priorities in our state legislature, I think lend itself to these measures that will be recommended by the commission being more viable legislative. So the preliminary report isn't due until January of 2027. What do you want to say? Yeah, so it's due in 2020. Yeah, so it's doing 20 is due in January 27. Part of the challenge is that because of the governor's veto, the commission lost six months. And so so January of 2027 is not that that's that's tomorrow.

right in terms of the work it's going to take the research it's going to take to build the infrastructure to hope to have a committee functional and being able to produce recommendations so so it is an ambitious effort this commission is going to embark upon in order to produce the kinds of recommendations that i think are going to be substantive but organizations like mine and many other organizations are going to put a lot of effort into helping to support this commission and ensuring that when it produces is comprehensive and it's impactful and it's impactful and and meaningful, you know, to the residents of the state of Maryland. And while you guys are working on that, you know,

what do you have to say to people who are just struggling right now and, you know, feel like they're forgotten? Well, you know, one of the things that, you know, I'm really proud of is that, and one of the things that the governor said it is veto letter about the importance of action. And I want to use this opportunity, you know, in terms of addressing your question to talk about, like, The Maryland legislature over the past six or seven years has shifted, right? There's a change in the presiding officers. So at one point, it was Mike Bush and Mike Miller, right, two white men who were, you know, fairly conservative.

And the shift in the presiding offices in our state legislature, and I would argue the increase in the kind of political power and influence of many grassroots organizations, like my organization and others, we've been able to push policies, right, that have been more substantive. in addressing many of the concerns everyday people. So you think in 2021, Maryland was, so 1974, Maryland was the first state to establish a law enforcement officer's bill of rights that was copied by 14 other states around the country. Maryland in 2021 was the first state to repeal its law enforcement officer of the rights, providing more opportunity for community engagement in the disciplinary process of law enforcement. Right. In 2022, passed a law, the Child Interrogation Protection Act that provides, that requires that if a young person is, interrogated by law enforcement, that a parent is notified and an attorney is consulted, that young person can sultan attorney before they engage with that police officer. In 2023,

right, the legislature did the work of because of the legalization of recreational cannabis, provided opportunities for expungement, right, legislatively. So now expungement for a simple possession. It also allowed for resentencing, those who are incarcerated, whose sentences involve cannabis related convictions provides an opportunity for them to be resentenced. So I can go through a list of things, right? Things that and many of the things, you know, one of the things that was actually really important last year was the, what's the second look at? Right.

Shout out to the second look at Camarland, that if a person who's been incarcerated 20 years has the opportunity to have a motion put to a judge to assess whether or not their, their sentence is just because black men's sentences are 30% longer than those of their white counterparts for the sense. same crimes. So many of these pieces of legislation in describing were legislative Black Caucus priorities that address people's everyday needs, right? These are things that have addressed, you know, people's concerns. And so I think what we're describing in terms of reparations is both understanding the importance of long-term, sustainable infrastructure development for our

freedom, right, for our sovereignty, while we simultaneously do the work of addressing ourselves to people's day-to-day material conditions. And so they're a range of, you know, there are a bunch of other things I can give us examples. But these are examples of the kinds of things that, you know, my organization, the Black Caucus and many others in the state of Maryland are doing to address people's immediate needs on a day-to-day basis. Dr. Walker, do you have any questions for Mr. Lundt?

I do. First, I want to acknowledge your work, the organizations work on this and also your work in Baltimore City. I used to live in Baltimore. I should also acknowledge that my ancestors were enslaved Africans in the state of Maryland. So this issue in particular is important to me. And I want to talk about, you know, you talk about reparations and some other options to the commission, obviously in terms of the recommendations of the next several months.

I want to talk about housing, particularly as it relates to cities like Baltimore, you know, where housing discrimination, blackbustering, among other ways in which they limited black wealth in many regards. What do you have some of your thoughts about how this can issue address some of those decades of housing discrimination, particularly Baltimoreians had to deal with? Yeah, I think so I'll say a few things. I think housing and one of the organizations that we actually work with fight blight in Baltimore that addresses like gentrification and wanting to ensure that housing that is advocated for in Baltimore is housing that affirms the cultural resources of communities that in many respects have been displaced.

And so I think one of the things that I would imagine that this commission will look at is it'll address itself to, I think, with a tension within, I would say, some of the housing advocacy arena. We're on one hand, you have folks that are, and I would describe them as like the abundance folks that are that are emphasizing the importance of like building new housing, which I think it's important. I think there's, you know, there's room for that. support for housing to be built in a way that ensures community wealth and is intentional about that. But it's also about, like, creating more affordable housing, right, of the existing market, right? The existing inventory of housing that exists. And unfortunately, you know, there isn't really enough enforcement, right, of policies around, you know, affordable housing, enforcement, particularly around like slim lords and landlords that are delinquent in their obligation to their to their tenants.

And so that's a big part of why, you know, there's a huge challenge in terms of housing. So I would say that that's something that I would say the commission will address itself to. And I think with a reparations frame, I think it will create a framework where it is not just about like putting people in homes, but it's about like how can the investment and housing in our community? community be the kind of investment that outlives like individual people, right? So there are conversations, for instance, about things like land banks, right, or other kinds of kind of collective formations of being able to address itself to housing. So those are some of the things that I know as work is happening in Baltimore by some

folks that we do work with that I think will show up in the commission's study and recommendation. Dr. Ali, do you have any questions for Mr. Love tonight about the work he's doing in Maryland? Well, definitely. Just congratulations to you and everyone else who's been working so diligently on reparations. I worked on HR 40 when I was working on Capitol Hill with John Conyers, and I know how difficult this issue can be. I'm curious. You know, some folks will just look at governmental impacts over time. Others will also take into consideration the corporations, which continue to make,

you know, huge amounts of money, whether we're talking about banking, or we're talking about insurance or some of the educational institutions that made, you know, their fortunes off of our bodies. I'm curious how the commission will move forward and looking at both the corporation or the corporate side of the equation and those government actions and laws that may have been put in place. I think the calculate terms of what the people are doing stuff too. The idea is that we've had about addressing the challenges of justice, Mr. Love, we almost got to the end of your interview, and now we are unable to hear you, but I think maybe it's working now.

Uh-oh, we lost you. Okay, well, he is working hard in the state of Maryland on those reparations, reparations. Again, January 2027 is when they are expected, the commission to deliver those recommendations. Of course, that's something we'll stay on top of here on Roland Martin unfiltered. We have so much more in store for you for our show tonight. We hope you'll stay with us and join us right after this break here on the Black Star Network. In this country right now, you have people get up in the morning. And the only thing they can think about is how many people they can hurt and they've got the power. That's the time for mourning.

For better or worse, what makes America special, it's that legal system that's supposed to protect minorities from the tyranny of the majority. We are at a point of a moral emergency. We must raise a voice of outrage. We must raise a voice of compassion. And we must raise a voice of unity. We are not in a crisis of party versus party. We are in a crisis of civilization, a human rights crisis, and a crisis of democracy itself.

And guess what? You've been chosen to make sure that those that would destroy, those that would hate, don't have the final say, and they don't ultimately win. Hey, y'all. Welcome to the other side of change, only on the Black Star Network, and hosted by myself Rehabilms.

Baker and my good sis, Jamira Burley. We are just two millennial women tackling everything at the intersection of politics, gender, and pop culture. And we don't just settle for commentary. This is about solution-driven dialogue to get us to the world as it could be and not just as it is. Watch us on the Black Star Network, so tune in to the other side of change. What's up everybody? It's God be the funniest dude on the planet. And you're watching. Roland Martin unfiltered. Well, big companies across tech manufacturing, transportation and logistics, embracing for a new wave of mass layoffs, with many of those cuts expected to hit in January of 26. Employers say they're responding to economic uncertainty and doing the usual post-holiday cost cutting. Tyson Foods is shutting down the factory,

putting 3,200 workers out of a job, and they're far from alone. Companies like FedEx and General motors are also making cuts. In fact, a recent survey shows nearly six in ten companies are planning to reduce their workforce next year with transportation and logistics already taking major hits heading into the holidays. And the outlook isn't getting any better. Analysts warned that layoffs in 26 could be even worse than what we saw in 2025, driven by trade policy pressures and growing concerns about where the economy is headed next. Let's bring our panel back in. We have Dr. Mustafa Ali, Dr. Larry Walker.

We also have Mr. Michael Brown joining us tonight. Michael, we will start with you. What are your thoughts when you hear about more layoffs coming in the new year? It's not a, certainly not a surprise relative to what you just mentioned about the where the economy is going, and my apologies for being a little tardy. Henry, sorry about that. But I think the question for me is about this administration and giving actual facts and information that's accurate because this administration, in particular, the leader of this

administration, I think has a tendency sometimes to skew the numbers that we see. So, for example, the GMP number came out today. And I think it grew to 4.3% and somebody correct me if I'm wrong. And it's hard to believe that that's accurate relative to the other metrics that are used to track where the economy is going and where it is currently. So I'm wondering whether it's employment numbers, other statistics that come out of this administration, whether the numbers are accurate, whether they'll be changed. changed and adjusted. I know they're using the shutdown as an excuse. You couldn't get all the accurate data. So I question what these numbers will look like and if they're going to be skewed or not. So I don't know if we'll ever have a full picture. But when you just listed what you did about

major companies doing major layoffs, we'll see if it's reflected in the next employment numbers. It's scary. You know, I was one of the people that lost my job in 2025. And so Dr. Ali, how should people begin to get prepared? How should you get prepared? You should get educated, one, about the reality of the information that people are sharing with you. Michael just sort of walked us around dealing with disinformation and misinformation. So let's be very clear. You know, some of the companies that you just raised have made billions of dollars in profit in 2024.

I believe Tyson was $800 million they made. the other company you had mentioned made a profit of about $4.2 or $4.2 billion, $4.2.3 billion. So you have to ask the question, yes, the tariffs are definitely going to have an impact. But what's going on in the C-suite? And what do those salaries look like? So we've got to make sure that we understand this sort of in totality with these layoffs. So what do folks do? One, as I've always said, you need to also focus on being an entrepreneur. So making sure that you have the skills and information that are necessary so that if your job lays you off, then you know, you still have something to fall back on and hopefully build to an even higher level.

The other part is we need to take our vote much more serious and we need to make sure that we're putting politicians in who are also going to hold corporations accountable for their sets of actions. You can't just make millions or billions of dollars in profit and then sacrifice your workers. You can also make sure that you're using strategic sorts of actions to also limit the abilities of unions or for people to unionize. So we need to understand the game. So when you ask me that question, what should folks do? Understand the game. And then make sure that you are preparing yourself to be able to navigate the game.

Well, that's one thing we will need to do as we head into the new year, get prepared. I want to take a break here and we will switch gears. You're watching Roland Martin Unfiltered on the Black Star Network. We'll be right back. Everyone needs to take care of their mental health, even running back Bejohn Robinson. When I'm on the field, I'm feeling the pressure. I usually just take a deep breath. When I'm just breathing and seeing what's in front of me, everything just slows down.

It just makes you feel great before I run the play. Just like Bejohn, we all need a strong mental game on and off the field. Make a game plan for your mental health at loveyourmind playbook.org. Love your mind. Brought to you by the Huntsman Mental Health Foundation, the Arthur M. Blank Family Foundation, and the ad council. The social media trend that's landing some Gen Ziers in jail. The progressive media darling whose public meltdown got her fired.

I'm going to take Francesco off the network entirely. The massive TikTok boycott against Target that makes no actual sense. I will continue getting stuff from Target. And I will continue to not pay for it. And the MAGA influencers, whose trip to the White House ended in embarrassment. So refreshing to have the press secretary after the last few years. who's both intelligent and articulate. You won't hear about these online stories in the mainstream media,

but you can keep up with them and all the other entertaining and outrageous things happening online in media and in politics with the Brad versus Everyone podcast. Hosted by me, Brad Palumbo. Every day of the week, I bring you on a wild ride through the most delulu takes on the internet, criticizing the extremes of both sides from an independent perspective. Join in on the insanity and listen to the Brad versus Everyone podcast on the Iheart radio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts. And the winner of the IHeart Podcast Award is,

you can decide who takes home the 26 IHeart Podcast Awards Podcast of the year by voting at IHeartPodcastawards.com now through February 22nd. See all the nominees and place your vote at IHeartPodcastawards.com. Audible is a proud sponsor of the Audible Audio Pioneer Award. Explore the best selection of audiobooks, podcasts, and originals all in one easy app. Audible. There's more to imagine when you listen. Sign up for a free trial at audible.com. If in this country right now, you have people get up in the morning, and the only thing they can think about is how many people they can hurt, and they've got the power. That's the time for mourning. For better or worse, what makes America special, it's that legal system that's supposed to protect minorities from the tyranny of the majority.

we are at a point of a moral emergency. We must raise a voice of outrage. We must raise a voice of compassion. And we must raise a voice of unity. We are not in a crisis of party versus party. We are in a crisis of civilization, a human rights crisis, and a crisis of democracy itself.

And guess what? You've been chosen to me. make sure that those that would destroy, those that would hate, don't have the final say, and they don't ultimately win. Hey, y'all. Welcome to the other side of change, only on the Black Star Network and hosted by myself, Maria Baker, and my good sister, Jamir Burley. We are just two millennial women tackling everything at the intersection of politics, gender,

and pop culture. And we don't just settle for commentary. This is about solution-driven dialogue to get us to the world as it could be and not just as it is. Watch us on the Black Star Network, so tune in to the other side of change. Are you ready for the holidays? This week on a balanced life with Dr. Jackie, we're talking about all things, anxiety and the holidays, whether it's performance anxiety, presence versus presents, making certain that everybody in your space understands the boundaries and how to respect your home.

This week, we're talking about those things that will allow you to have a peaceful holiday season. It really is not about perfection. It's really about, you know, the house feeling warm and cozy and peaceful. You don't have to like everybody, but what you can do is be cordial in those environments. That's all this week on A Balance Life with Dr. Jackie here on Blackstar Network. Melanie Campbell, National Coalition on Black Civic Participation and Black Women's Roundtable. And we are watching Rolling Martin unfiltered all day every day, 24-7, spread to Well, since January 20th, the day Trump took office, at least 3,800 children under the age of 18, including 20 infants, have been detained by immigration and customs enforcement.

This information comes from a new analysis by the Marshall Project, which found that the Trump administration's revival of family detention has led to thousands of children being taken into custody. These children were held longer than the limits prescribed. by the courts, former Department of Homeland Security staff members say the ICE is intentionally detaining families for extended periods to expedite deportations and compelled them to leave the country. Shannon Heffernan, a staff writer at the Marshall Project, joins us live to talk about what they are finding out. Good evening. Thanks for joining us. Thank you so much for having me. Tell us a little bit more about what you found out about the children that are in these conditions.

So these are children. We focus particularly on children who are in ICE detention. These are children who are being detained along with their families. So this is a little separate from what you might have heard about children who are being separated from their families and detained in facilities that or are only holding children. The conditions we found from court records were very troubling. You had people who were not getting the proper medical care. For example, one child who had an ear infection,

that because it did not get proper treatment was beginning to have hearing loss. We heard stories that people not be being able to get a bottle of water to mix with a formula for a baby to keep that baby safe. We heard stories of mold and worms contaminating with food. But I think perhaps the most troubling thing was just the psychological effect on these children,

children who were kept in prison-like conditions for long stretches of time. that's not going to be good for their mental well-being. And this is a delicate point in a person's life where mental health trauma can have a really huge effect. And I think I read that some of the children had been playing with rocks and some of the children had been wedding themselves,

just effects of what they've been experiencing, correct? Correct. So you mentioned the playing with rocks. One of the complaints of the families made in these legal violence that we read was that they're running up toys. There was not access to educational activities. One mother said that when they were in one of the facilities, she noticed that there was a glass window, that if you steamed it up, you could sort of draw a picture with your finger

like we all did on, like, car windows when we were kids. And the guard yelled at her and told her not to do that. So even these, like, creative ways to try to find stimulation for the children were not allowed. One parent reported, their child was having such mental health troubles that they were hitting themselves. You mentioned a parent reported that child had been potty trained, began wedding themselves, just because of distress of these circumstances. Now, you know, these children are lucky enough not to be separated from their parents,

but they're still in these prison-like conditions that are, that can be very troubling for a person. As I understand, the courts have said it's excessive to hold the children longer than 20 days, but why is that happening regularly? So there's a 20-day benchmark. It's not always exactly that moment in time, but that ICE is supposed to try to not keep children in custody any longer than that. In fact, it's supposed to release them as soon as possible

because you're not really supposed to obtain children if you can help it. But we noticed in the data that we found that 1,300 children we found have been held past that 20-day benchmark. And you ask, why is it happening? Well, what we've heard from the experts that we spoke to is they think that the administration is holding these families for long periods of time for two reasons. The first is it's very difficult for families to fight their legal deportation cases when they're in custody. Access to the law library is slim, being able to get in touch with a lawyer and find the finances to be able to pay that lawyer is difficult. So by keeping families in custody for those longer stretches of time, it's going to make it easier to deportment.

It's going to make it easier to get through those legal proceedings. The other thing is, they're perhaps hoping, the experts we spoke to said, that the administration is perhaps hoping to not have to deal with the legal arguments at all. Because if families are in these conditions, they might do what's called voluntary departure. They are so upset or disturbed by the conditions that they're in that they say, hey, we'll just, we'll leave voluntarily because we are so. trouble with these conditions. That's even if that family might have a valid legal pace to say like an asylum case for example. Family detention was what would you say has been the most troubling part for you in your reporting? Well I think one thing that really struck me and I say this as a parent of a young child was there

were reports from some parents saying that they were being three for separation from their children as a way to discipline them for behavior in the detention center as well as a way to sort of compel them to be voluntarily or maybe not fight their deportations as hard as they could. I think anybody who's been a parent or just loved a child in their life and cared about the child in their life knows what it's like to be separated from that child that you care for and to have that happen to you forcefully. is something that I think is troubling and deserves our attention. What do you think people should be watching for next? Well, I mean, we know that detention has been ramping up across the country. So one thing I'll be watching in the new year is if Trump continues that pace of putting

people in custody, and if that includes families and young people, that's something I'll definitely be keeping an eye on in the new year. we know that there have been these blitzes in various cities like Chicago, my hometown, where they've been quickly arresting people and sending some of them into detention. So I'll be looking to see how all that plays out in the new year. They can keep up that pace because it does take a lot of resources. They have a huge amount of funding from Congress with the new funding bill. So we'll see if they put that into action quickly. What you're describing is just absolutely heartbreaking for people that are watching at home

and who suggestions on what, if anything, they can do to help? Yeah, so as a journalist, I usually don't get too prescriptive about what actions people should take, but I think that, you know, I would say that if this is something you care about, your lawmakers have power, and that's who you should talk to about your opinions on these issues. Let's bring in our panel. We have Dr. Larry Walker. Do you have any questions tonight? Yeah, I do. First of all, I acknowledge that your reporting on this has been excellent. I know it takes a long time to put this information together, a lot of interviews, et cetera.

So kudos for putting this story together. I really want to talk about in terms of, you know, we talk a lot about how our former government supposed to have had a scale, supposed to balance out. And I know that, you know, judges are in some cases are trying to do their best to hold the administration accountable, but they are not certainly, you know, don't seem that stressed about responding to these timelines. You talk about 20 days or these other, you know, horrible conditions. And I'm wondering, as a reporter, and what are your thoughts about what 2026 is going to look like in terms of these conditions? Yeah, I think that's an excellent question, Dr. Walker, and very insightful. Thank you for that question. I think the courts themselves, you can put too much faith in the courts. Despite what I just said about lawmakers, you can put too much faith in lawmakers.

What needs to happen if people want change is there has to be movement just beyond those levers of power? In terms of what things look like in 2026, I mean, we know that there's a huge amount. huge amount of funding set aside for detention and deportations and arrest. And I expect they're going to do their rest to spend that money and continue what they're doing as fast as they can unless political pressures don't allow that to be the case anymore. Dr. Ali. Yeah, well, thank you for everything you're doing. You know, I worked a whole bunch of both man-made and natural disasters over the years. And I saw first firsthand how children can be impacted and the long-term impacts if they don't get the support and

help they need. I'm just curious, is there anything that can be done to help to push to make sure that they're getting that, you know, the help that they need to deal with the trauma that they're going through? Yeah, that's an excellent question. I think that there's been some really strong grassroots movements we've seen if people trying to talk, strive to support children. whose families are caught up in the deportation system. For example, here in Chicago, there's groups that have been trying to get toys for Christmas and fund legal services for these families.

But in terms of the conditions themselves, I mean, what we always say in journalism is, when you shine a spotlight into things, it makes it much harder for them to continue with atrocity. So I think people paying attention asking their lawmakers or others that might have power to actually get into these facilities to observe them and get information outside those facilities is always something that I think can help push against the abuses. Michael Brown. I too want to echo my fellow panelists on your good work and keep it up. When you were doing some of these interviews or conducting some of these interviews, did anyone talk? about more kind of in the weeds about how do you deal with an administration that

doesn't care about lawlessness. They don't care about that the laws are on the books. Because they're playing obviously the long game relative to just keeping things moving, because obviously you have to go to the federal district court first. Then if you lose, you go to the appellate court, then potentially the three-judge panel in that particular district. And then maybe if the Supreme Court takes it, you get it to the Supreme Court, which obviously can take months, if not years. In the meantime, young children, young people and families are being split up and, frankly, tortured and being treated without any kind of humanity. So did any people talk about how do you deal with that, or is it just we have to wait until the next election and new laws can come on the books for remedies? Look what we're dealing with with the Epstein files.

I know we're going to talk about that later. But just complete violations of the law. Did anybody you talk to have any solution for that? So then they come up in the interviews. I didn't hear any particular solutions around that. But what I have heard from activists and other outlets is sort of what this moment I think is showing us is that the courts and the law, they're always going to reach their limitations. and you have to locate levers of power and ways of pushing that are outside that. Those may not be the only thing that you can rely on,

especially when you have an administration that may not change their behavior just because the court rules something. I mean, I think the other thing that I think a lot about that is sort of similar to what you're saying is I think that sometimes there's a feeling that if the cruelty is, is exposed, but that would change their behavior. I even alluded to that earlier. I do think that there's something in this particular administration where the cruelty itself or the harm that people are experiencing

is actually something that is part of the spectacle that they're creating. They want to discourage people from coming to this country. They want to encourage people to leave, voluntarily, even if they have a legal reason to stay. And so the sort of performance of the harms against people and the spectacle of a harm actually can sometimes work in their advantage rather than shaming them and pushing them to change their way. So I think that can become a very difficult landscape to move and maneuver.

Thank you. Stan and Heffernan from the Marshall Project. We want to thank you for the work that you're doing for your record. Thank you for bringing it to light here on Roland Whitefield. Thank you. You're all for it. All right, let's take a break, folks. We'll be right back after the break.

You're watching Roland Martin unfiltered here on the Black Star Network. They said the quiet part out loud. Black votes are a threat. So they erased them. After the Supreme Court gutted the Voting Rights Act in 2013, Republican legislatures moved fast. New voter ID laws, polling place shutdowns,

purges of black voters from the rolls. Trump's Justice Department didn't stop. They joined in. In 2018, his DOJ backed Ohio's voter purge system, a scheme that disproportionately erased black voters, their goal, erase black votes and political power. Yeah, that happened. These are the kinds of stories that we cover every day on Roland Martin unfiltered. Subscribe on YouTube and download the Black Star Network app. Support fact-based independent journalism that centers African Americans and the issues that matter to our community.

In this country right now, you have people get up in the morning, and the only thing they can think about is how many people they can hurt, and they've got the power, that's the time for mourning. For better or worse, what makes America special, it's that legal system that's supposed to protect minorities from the tyranny of the majority. We are at a point of a moral emergency. We must raise a voice of outrage. We must raise a voice of complaints. passion and we must raise a voice of unity. We are not in a crisis of party versus party. We are in a crisis of civilization, a human rights crisis, and a crisis of democracy itself.

And guess what? You've been chosen to make sure that those that would destroy, those that would hate, don't have the final say, and they don't ultimately win. nationwide campaign to void the asylum claims of thousands of immigrants with active cases in immigration court by arguing that they can be deported to countries that are not their own. According to internal government data obtained by CBS News, now the number of people in immigration detention in the U.S. has hit an all-time high. According to data published by Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the data released every two weeks show that is of December 14,

2025. All right, son. Time to put out this campfire. Dad, we learned about this in school. Oh, did you now? Okay. What's first? Smokey Bear said to... First, drown it with the bucket of water,

then stirred with the shovel. Wow, you sound just like him. Then he said... If it's still warm, then do it again. Where can I learn all this? It's all on smokybear.com with other wildfire prevention tips. Because only you can prevent wildfires.

Brought to you by the USDA Forest Service, your state Forrester and the ad council. The social media trend that's landing some Gen Zers in jail. The progressive media darling whose public meltdown got her fired. I'm going to take Francesco off the network entirely. The massive TikTok boycott against Target that makes no actual sense. I will continue getting stuff from Target and I will continue to not pay for it. And the MAGA influencers whose trip to the White House ended in embarrassment.

So refreshing to have the press secretary after the last few years who's both intelligent and articulate. You won't hear about these online stuff. in the mainstream media, but you can keep up with them and all the other entertaining and outrageous things happening online in media and in politics with the Brad versus Everyone podcast, hosted by me, Brad Palumbo. Every day of the week, I bring you on a wild ride through the most delulu takes on the internet, criticizing the extremes of both sides from an independent perspective. Join in on the Insanity and listen to the Brad versus Everyone podcast on the Iheart radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

And the winner of the IHeart Podcast Award is, You can decide who takes home the 26 IHeart Podcast Awards Podcast of the year by voting at IHeartPodcastawards.com now through February 22nd. See all the nominees and place your vote at IHeart Podcast Awards.com. Audible is a proud sponsor of the Audible Audio Pioneer Award. Explore the best selection of audiobooks, podcasts, and originals all in one easy app. Audible. There's more to imagine when you listen.

Sign up for a free trial at Audible. dot com. I's held more than 68,400 people. This many people in immigration detention is a new record, breaking the previous high set at the beginning of the administration has arrested more than 328,000 people and deported nearly 327,000. The effort appears to have intensified in recent weeks, targeting asylum seekers with pending cases in immigration courts, In Atlanta, New York, Miami, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Texas, and elsewhere all across the United States, multiple immigration lawyers and certified legal representatives told that to CBS News. Immigration courts are not part of the judicial branch.

Instead, they are administrative entities run by the Justice Department, which employs and oversees the judges that adjudicate the cases of people facing deportation. Lawyers from Immigration and Customs Enforcement represent the government in the proceedings. The administration's new tactics involve ICE attorneys asking the immigration judges to toss out asylum claims without hearing them on merits. In these requests, ICE argues that the asylum seekers fearing prosecution in their home countries can instead be deported to one of several nations that the Trump administration has persuaded to accept deport. who are not their citizens. In this committee hearing, Representative Jasmine Crockett dismantles Donald Trump's immigration narrative,

police by peace and says, the quiet part out loud. She calls out Trump's agenda as openly racist, unconstitutional, and rooted in cruelty, not public safety. Rocket exposes how immigrants are being scapegoated, while the real problems remain untouched, unaffordable housing, rising grocery prices. in grocery prices, stagnant wages, outsourced jobs, and a health care system that Republicans refuse to fix.

She went to the largest and most inhumane deportation program in modern American history and ask the obvious question, if immigrants are the problem, why is everything still broken? It's bringing in the pan. President Trump has made it clear that he only opposes lawful immigration when non-white people immigrate to the United States. His immigration agenda isn't about public safety or economic stability or jobs. It's about racism. It was racist during his first administration. It's racist now. And like his first administration, he's hired a bunch of races to carry it out. In fact, I'm a pause here really quickly. I know we're talking about TPS. But I don't know if anyone else has

mentioned the fact that ICE agents were literally dragging a pregnant woman just this week in a video. So don't tell me that this isn't about cruelty because it is. Moving on. The president is now on record admitting to calling majority black and brown nations, quote, shithole countries. He consistently refers to black and brown people as, quote, low IQ, stupid, or nasty. His agenda is about one thing, giving racial preference to specific people seeking to immigrate to America, which is illegal and unconstitutional. But nevertheless, they are going to keep trying to get y'all to believe that immigrants are the cause of all your problems. But here's the truth.

Immigrants are not responsible for a billionaire CEO refusing to increase your wage. The corporation you work for isn't replacing your job with artificial intelligence because of Haitian refugees. Your landlord isn't increasing your rent because someone who's fleeing gang violence in Central America moved into your community. A Palestinian kid who was afforded a scholarship to study at an American university isn't responsible for your child's tuition increasing. Latino farm workers aren't responsible for prices of your groceries increasing. Let's be clear, blaming migrants and deporting migrants and ending TPS won't improve the lives of most Americans. As you can see, we're in the middle of the largest, most inhumane deportation program in American history.

And guess what? Housing is still unaffordable. Healthcare is still too expensive. Groceries are still too expensive. Wages aren't keeping up with inflation. Jobs are still being outsourced. So maybe it's not the immigrants. Maybe it's the failed Republican policies. In my state of Texas, the Republicans control the House, the Senate, and the Governor's Mansion. In the United States, the Republicans control the House, the Senate, and the White House. Maybe it's the state of Texas. The Republicans control the House. Maybe it's the Senate. fact that Republicans would rather give permanent tax cuts to billionaires but won't even give middle-class Americans temporary health care benefits. Maybe it's the fact that President Trump has the wealthiest cabinet in American history and these people are out of touch with the American public. Now Mr. Williams, will ending TPS help or hurt the finishing trades industry your union members work in? It will hurt the construction industry as a whole.

Let me tell you this, or let me ask you this, this ain't in here. Has it already hurt the construction industry? It has because of the fear and uncertainty. There's a lot of fear. There are workers that are not showing up to their jobs, regardless of their status, because of how immigration is being carried out under this administration. Is that correct? That is correct.

Will ending TPS help or hurt job site safety? It will hurt job site safety. Will ending TPS help or hurt affordability in our, communities. It will hurt affordability in our community. Exactly. As people are complaining about the fact that housing is up, you've got to think about what those input costs look like. Those input costs besides the fact that he's been reckless and ridiculous and not been reigned in as relates to the tariffs. And we know that we get a lot of lumber out of Canada. We want to fight with Canada. We want to fight with Mexico. And then we want to tell people that have come

here and are going through the process. And I'm not going to say that any process, is perfect. But the last time that I checked, Republicans continue to offer us concepts of a plan instead of actual plans because they would rather campaign on the chaos instead of fixing it. Listen, none of us sitting here, whether you're a Democrat or a Republican, wants to be unsafe in our country. I want to be clear. I don't want a criminal in my neighborhood either. But going after all of these countries, when we talk about, it looks like they want to end TPS for Burma and El Salvador and Ethiopia and Haiti and Lebanon and Somalia and South Sudan and Sudan and Syria. They actually do have Ukraine got extended a little bit and Yemen got extended a little bit.

But the vast majority of these countries, there's one thing in common. A lot of those people from those countries have a little bit of melanin in their skin. With that, I will yield. Well, Dr. Alia, I want to ask you, you know, is I can onto something. Are policies, racist and unconstitutional? Well, I'll say it like my auntie would say is, you know, Congresswoman Crockett just told it like a T.I. is because everything that she laid out is the truth. I mean, all you have to do is look at the sets of actions that are there and whom they are focusing upon.

So let's be very clear. If America was serious about immigration reform, has had the opportunity to create 21st century immigration policy that's full of justice and equality and fairness. And we know that the current president actually blocked folks from actually moving forward on a very conservative immigration bill because they were not interested in actually putting anything in place that could help us to address the issue that is at hand. So, you know, if you vote for evil, you are going to get evil policy. You are going to get evil actions. And ultimately, you are going to begin to just completely break down every sensibility that exists inside of a country. So yes, we can talk about it in the nuts and bolts of policy and law,

but we also have to bring spirituality into this conversation because these sets of actions are are inhuman. And that's just the reality of what we're seeing play out. Dr. Walker, what's your response? Yeah, I think one of the things to keep in mind is we, you know, move to 2026 that these policies, you know, a lot of these individuals are work, have jobs. And we just, you know, obviously highlighted here this construction in particular, but they work in all kinds of industries. And if those individuals don't are showing up for work, their kids aren't showing up of school and negatively impacts the United States and the U.S. economy.

We talked about, you know, Mr. Brown talking about it, likely we're not getting the correct statistics that we really should be. And I agree. And I think as we continue to debate this issue over, you know, immigration and there are millions of Americans that voted for this. And we need to have a question about morality because for those who supported these policies and the things we've highlighted just in a show tonight or a number of other shows, those on, you know, doing this hour when we talk to Roland and other guests is that we see a trend that will continue to 2026.

And quite frankly, some of the plans that the administration has or will continue to implement are diabolical. And there are any kind of things that, you know, the UN historically would say these are human rights violations in terms of how we're incarcerating people and how we're terrifying. People are terrified living in their own communities and refuse to show up work or school. And so it's a moral quandary for this country that we're going to have to figure out now because a proponent democracy in which we're supposed to be, we're losing it quickly. Mr. Brough. Well, as usual, Congresswoman Crockett lays it out so everyone can understand, and she's exactly right. as we talk about, as a good doctor, just mentioned, you know, elections have consequences. And for folks that got bamboozled by this con man, they have another chance, another bite at the apple in less than a year.

And can basically say, you know what, I know they'll never acknowledge. And a lot of us have friends that voted for 47. tried to make up excuses of why. And now, of course, they all regret it, but they don't want to say it because they don't want to, obviously, any of us to say. We told you so. But nonetheless, they have another chance for more humane or at least legitimate debate in the halls of Congress about what is the best path for immigration. Clearly, this is not it. Because when white supremacy is at the center of what your policies are all about, it's not going to change. They don't care about what the court says.

They don't care about, frankly, what we say on this show or other pundits say on other shows. They want to make sure that they make this country as less brown and black as possible. And that's really the goal. And a lot of people could care less about policy as long as you're going to be. That is the agenda. So they have another shot bite at the apple, hopefully in less than a year. Hakeem Jeffries will have the gavel. And it won't stop these terrible and mean inhumane policies.

But it certainly can put some hurdles and some speed bumps in that path. And, frankly, if we get even luckier in the Senate, which is now in play, very difficult. But if even the Senate flips, I mean, then obviously, then the agenda does stop. So let's just see what happens. And hopefully people pull the lever the right way this time. It's another reminder about just how important it is to vote. Thank you very much. We have much more coming up.

Roland Martin unfiltered. Stay with us. In this country right now, you have people get up in the morning. And the only thing they can think about is how much. many people they can hurt and they've got the power, that's the time for mourning. For better or worse, what makes America special, it's that legal system that's supposed to protect minorities from the tyranny of the majority. We are at a point of a moral emergency. We must raise a voice of outrage. We must raise a voice of compassion. And we must raise a voice

of unity. We are not in a crisis of party versus party. We are in a crisis of civilization, a human rights crisis, and a crisis of democracy itself. And guess what? You've been chosen to make sure that those that would destroy, those that would hate, don't have the final say. And they don't ultimately win. Well, welcome to the other side of change, only on the Black Star Network and hosted by myself, Brea Baker, and My good sis, Jamira Burley, we are just two millennial women tackling everything at the intersection of politics, gender, and pop culture.

And we don't just settle for commentary. This is about solution-driven dialogue to get us to the world as it could be and not just as it is. Watch us on the Black Star Network, so tune in to the other side of change. What's up, everybody? It's God be the funniest dude on the planet. And you're watching. Roland Unfilter. Welcome back. Representative Joyce Beatty of all you. Okay, it's me.

against Donald Trump and the Kennedy Center board aiming to remove his name from the iconic venue now controversially referred to as the Trump Kennedy Center. The board chaired by Trump and stacked with his appointees moved quickly. Just days after voting unanimously last week to add Trump to the building facade, the new name was already installed. Beatty says she was muted during that call, effectively blocking her from voicing her. opposition. So in her lawsuit, she calls the move of flagrant violation of federal law. She joins us now. Congresswoman Joyce Beatty, thank you so much for joining us here on Roland Martin Unfiltered. And thank you for having me today. Yes. Tell me more about your lawsuit. Can you break it down for me? Yes. Well, I filed the lawsuit naming Donald Trump and those board members who also are enabling.

him to do this. And it is simply they cannot change the name. As most of us know, and I would imagine that they should know, it was changed to the John F. Kennedy Reforming Arts Center in 1964. Shortly after his death in 1963, it was then and still is the only memorial for him, living memorial for him. And it is very clear in the congressional statute that the board cannot do what they've done. And so I think it's important because while it is the Kennedy Center, it goes far beyond that. We witnessed what he did with the West Wing. We watched what he did to dismantle our educational system. We watched what he did with the consumer financial system. Protection Bureau. And it will go on and on. So people must use their voices. And I am using my

voice because what they've done is not legal. And that is basically what the legal, the lawsuit says. It outlines when the Kennedy Center was formed, when the name change came up and clearly itemizes the statutes that will say to you that what's happened last week, did not happen legally. And that's the most important thing about it, taking the name away from the Kennedy Center, whether you are adding a name over top of it, it is still a name change. And here's the thing. This was done, in my opinion, far before the far before the board even met, because how did you get all those letters made within a day to the size and have everything ready to go? And I am sure we're going to hear when the Kennedy honors airs

this week that during that taping, Donald Trump made reference to the center was going to be named after him. So it's a disgrace and it's illegal. And we cannot be silent and just let this president do things because he simply wants to do it. And then when he gets caught, he changes the rules again. And so that is why I filed the lawsuit. Walk us back through that phone call when you felt like you were being silenced. Well, we're sitting in the board meeting. by Zoom and you had an option when we did get notice of the meeting. It told us that it was going to be

at the home of the Wands or virtual. It did not give us the address at that time. So I didn't know where I would be going. So we checked that we would be on virtually as other members and other board members did. And so the whole meeting was, in my opinion, was less than professional. There were all kinds of complications that they were having were trying to get the president on to speak in the beginning. And they went through the agenda and the whole agenda was about how awful everything was with the Kennedy Center and how Donald Trump had come in with his cronies and fixed everything and made it better. I want to remind people that he was also the president of four years ago and appointed. his board members. So if it was so bad, why was none of this mentioned or done? So we go through all of the items on the board and then at the end it was said that, oh, we have some good news.

We're going to change the name of the John F. Kennedy Center to Trump Center. Later, they clarified it, I guess, because now it says the Donald Trump Center. And as I try to, to unmute myself because my button went to mute, you could hear and others could hear me saying Congresswoman Joyce Beatty, I have a concern. My microphone immediately was muted. Every time I would hit the unmute, it would be go back to mute. And then I actually received a message on screen saying that my microphone. Everyone needs to take care of their mental health, even running back Bijon Robinson. When I'm on the field, I'm feeling the pressure,

I usually just take a deep breath. When I'm just breathing and seeing what's in front of me, everything just slows down. It just makes you feel great before I run the play. Just like Bijon, we all need a strong mental game on and off the field. Make a game playing for your mental health at love your mind playbook.org. Love your mind. Brought to you by the Huntsman Mental Health Foundation,

the Arthur M. Blank Family Foundation, and the ad console. The social media trend that's landing some Gen Zers in jail. The progressive media darling whose public meltdown got her fired. I'm going to take Francesco off the network entirely. The massive TikTok boycott against Target that makes no actual sense. I will continue getting stuff from Target and I will continue to not pay for it. And the MAGA influencers whose trip to the White House ended in embarrassment. So refreshing to have the press secretary after the last few years who's both

intelligent and articulation. You won't hear about these online stories in the mainstream media, but you can keep up with them and all the other entertaining and outrageous things happening online in media and in politics with the Brad versus Everyone podcast hosted by me, Brad Palumbo. Every day of the week, I bring you on a wild ride through the most delulu takes on the internet, criticizing the extremes of both sides from an independent perspective. Join in on the insanity and listen to the Brad versus Everyone podcast on the Iheart radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

And the winner of the IHeart Podcast Award is, You can decide who takes home the 26 IHard Podcast Awards, podcast of the year by voting at IHartPodcastawards.com now through February 22nd. See all the nominees and place your vote at IHartPodcastawards.com. Audible is a proud sponsor of the Audible Audio Pioneer Award. Explore the best selection of audiobooks, podcasts, and originals all in one easy app. Audible. There's more to imagine when you listen.

Sign up for a free trial at audible.com. phone would not be unmuted. So I tried again to do that. I actually pushed my video picture because it had also been muted. And then there was a note that went up on the screen that said that none of the participants on Zoom's microphone would be unmuted. And they kept saying it is a unanimous vote. So I didn't get to voice my opinion.

I didn't get to vote, but it's not just about that. It's about what they did was illegal. And we know this president has a history of not paying attention to the rule of law, not having respects for congressional statutes. You know, it sounds like they literally just silenced you. How do you still have the wherewithal to keep fighting? Well, I think that's what we have to do. I think what they want to do is to silence.

people. And if we stand still and if we don't speak up and exercise our rights, we will then be enabling this president, this administration to just blatantly do what they think they can do. And that is not my nature. You know, as John Lewis would always tell us, if you see something, say something, get in good trouble. So this is good trouble because I want everyone to know that Kennedy Center today, it was, we saw what happened at the White House with the East Wing. We saw what happened with the Rose Garden. We've seen what's happened to employees who were told to go home and not be paid. We've seen all the lawsuits because this administration thinks that they can do any and everything they want to do. So we're going to show them. We filed the lawsuit and we're

will go from here. And Congresswoman, what can folks at home do to support you? Well, let me just say thank you. My phone is just overloaded with calls. People not only here in my district or in the city of Bexley and Ohio, people from New York, people from the south. And many people, there are hundreds of people who were appointed during the Clinton administration to the presidential advisory,

for the performing arts. They are reaching out to me, saying, we want to galvanize our voices because it's personal for them. And think about all the performers that have performed there and how they feel when they are hearing that part of this renaming is because it was shameful

for those, many of those individuals who had received the Kennedy honors. And so I want to say thank you for all the calls, the text messages, the emails, other people telling me about things they had tried to do when they served in Congress and you could not rename a memorial and they are thinking that this could be akin to this because what's next? The Lincoln Monument? What's next? Oh, I hate to think about what's next. for me in the panel and here any questions they may have. Michael Brown, we'll start with you.

Congressman, how are you? And happy holidays. Good to see you again. Same here, Michael. In your fight, I know that clearly if there are some different leadership here in our country, that things will change back to normal, hopefully. Is, are any of the board members, members that you were trying to speak with, are any of them quietly talking to you? Like I know some Republican members of Congress do talk to you off the record. Are any of those board members doing? Well, because we are on break right now, I have not been able to visit with or call them. But I have talked to former member Joe Kennedy.

And obviously, he has made public statements. The family is very upset. about this. We did have a statement from Speaker Johnson, something saying that he would look into the naming. Hakeem Jeffries, leader Jeffries, was very clear in his statement that this was not something that was legal. And I am sure there are others who are quietly having conversations about it because it's about what the law tells us we cannot do, and they have done that. Dr. Walker. Yes, Congresswoman, we appreciate your advocacy, not only on this issue, but a number of the issues

you've been finding for throughout your career. So thank you for that, first of all. Secondly, you mentioned Speaker Johnson, and, you know, I'm a former hostaffer, and it amazes me the way in which the... speaker has ignored or hasn't it's not familiar with or has to follow up on issues that are become national issues like this and can you speak to what it says about leadership whether that lack thereof as it relates to the statutory responsibility of of Congress to hold the executive branch responsible for various issues sure first of all i think that the leadership is very limited

And we've all seen that and witnessed that on floor actions, protocols, decorums. But I think the most difficult thing probably is while Speaker Johnson is Speaker Johnson by name, it is Donald Trump and his cronies who are calling the shots. It's very clear. We will be on the floor. The speaker brings to the floor the bills that he wants to be voted on. And I'm not talking about once or twice. Repeatedly, bills will come to the floor. Democrats will prevail. Republicans will vote for us, and then actually right there on the floor, they will get into a debate and browbeating and making people change their vote. So there's very little control, and we saw that from the very beginning. The number of days we had to sit there before Republicans could even elect a speaker. And so this is

what you get when you get someone that's elected by default. Dr. Ali. Well, Congresswoman, it's good to see you and thank you for everything that you continue to do. You know, I've been blessed that I've been on stage at the Kennedy Center before, but, you know, there's a lot of our folks across the country who might not understand the beauty and grandeur that's there. Could you talk a little bit about why, you know, that you support the Kennedy Center and the importance of it?

Yes, and thank you for bringing that up because you're right. I can even remember as a participant, not on stage like you and so many other performers, and just being in that cultural center and a center where we've had people who look like us have been able to perform or to receive the Kennedy honors. And so I thought about this is a blessing. for us. And if we don't stand up for this and fight back, then it's going to happen in other arenas. It's going to happen with our universities. And we're seeing all of this now. We're seeing this administration pull funding from medical institutions if they put on their stage or in their

arena, someone well qualified, but who just happens to look like me or you. And so I think it's important because it's provided so many opportunities. It's been a spin board to other things and one of the greatest honors to be there and have that medal put on you. And then to come back the next year and watch one of your colleagues as you're sitting with the president of the United States in the Kennedy Center, the new relatively new reach center, which has been an amazing venue that was built in the last four years that allows young folks, young artists to be able to come and have state of the art equipment to perform in. And that's what I'm fighting for. It's for the future. And it is also the Kennedy family and how the building was named, that.

I don't think we can just be silent on this. Well, Congresswoman, we thank you for not being silent. We thank you for standing up and speaking out and for telling us about the work that you are doing here on Roland & Filter. Thank you for your time. No, thank you. And happy holidays to everyone. Happy holidays to you as well.

All right. Let's take a break for now. Let's go to a commercial break and we'll be back right here on Roland Martin and Filter. Are you ready for the holidays? This week on a balanced life with Dr. Jackie, we're talking about all things anxiety and the holidays, whether it's performance anxiety,

presence versus presents, making certain that everybody in your space understand the boundaries and how to respect your home. This week, we're talking about those things that will allow you to have a peaceful holiday season. It really is not about perfection. It's really about, you know, the house feeling warm and cozy.

and peaceful. You don't have to like everybody, but what you can do is be cordial in those environments. That's all this week on A Balance Life with Dr. Jackie here on Black Star Network. They said the quiet part out loud. Black votes are a threat. So they erased them. After the Supreme Court gutted the Voting Rights Act in 2013, Republican legislatures moved fast. New voter ID laws, polling place shutdowns, purges of black voters from the the roles. Trump's Justice Department didn't stop it, they joined in. In 2018, his DOJ backed Ohio's voter purge system, a scheme that disproportionately erased black voters, their goal, erase black votes and political power. Yeah, that happened. These are the kinds of stories

that we cover every day on Roland Martin unfiltered. Subscribe on YouTube and download the Black Star Network app. Support fact-based independent journalism that centers African-American and the issues that matter to our community. In this country right now, you have people get up in the morning, and the only thing they can think about is how many people they can hurt, and they've got the power. That's the time for mourning. For better or worse, what makes America special,

it's that legal system that's supposed to protect minorities from the tyranny of the majority. We are at a point of a moral emergency. We must raise a voice of out. We must raise a voice of compassion and we must raise a voice of unity. We are not in a crisis of party versus party. We are in a crisis of civilization, a human rights crisis and a crisis of democracy itself. And guess what?

You've been chosen to make sure that those that would destroy, those that would hate, don't have the final say. and they don't ultimately win. Welcome back. Well, a New York pastor can remain in the pulpit tonight. The New York Supreme Court found no fraud or wrongdoing and appelled his election as the 21st Senior Pastor of the Abyssinian Baptist Church. In October, a lawsuit filed by four current and former church members,

C. Vernon Mason, Sr., Kevin McBruder, Jasmine McFarlane White, and Clarence Fall the 3rd claimed that Johnson's election did not comply with the church's bylaws. The plaintiffs also questioned whether the pastoral search committee, which presented Johnson as the sole candidate to the congregation, was biased. Let's bring in the panel tonight so that we can talk a little bit about this case out of New York. Let's start with you. Well, Michael Brown's not here. Oh, he is here. Michael Brown, what does this say?

I was doing a little digging about this case, and it was actually a female preacher that brought this lawsuit up as being overlooked. And my apologies of my dog is barking in the background. You know, it's interesting. Church is, I'm a member of 19th Street Baptist Church here in Washington, D.C. And, you know, all churches have their own kind of rules and bylaws in the way they do things. So it'll be interesting or has been interesting to follow kind of what's going on in the kind of battle inside the church walls. Very rarely do folks get to see that because obviously church leadership, the deacon boards, and how they fundraise is, you know, not necessarily. It is public knowledge relative to their 501 status. However, a lot of things happen kind of behind closed doors and folks don't need to see how.

the sausage is made. So it's interesting how this has occurred and it'll be interesting to see if the parishioners and the church comes back together after the lawsuit and conclude. I don't know if they're going to be appeals and it'll continue, but obviously, sorry to see this happen, in particular in a black church. But that's kind of, you know what? That's how differences get resolved in court. That's the system that we have. And hopefully at the end of this, people will come back and pray together and hug and move on. You know, it's a historic church that we're talking about, talking about the oldest Black Baptist Church in New York.

What precedent does this set for other churches, Dr. Walker? Well, first of all, let's acknowledge the quote had wanted nothing to do with this case. Secondly, I think we have to acknowledge that, and it was the church all the life, that religious institutions are political within themselves. And this is a prime example. But I think that thoroughly, it is unfortunate that this is became a public.

I've kind of followed this the last several months. And, you know, obviously it's a bit messy. But, you know, this is some of the things that, you know, often happen in religious institutions. But it doesn't become public, particularly when it comes in a historic black institution. So hopefully this puts it to the rest. I seriously doubt it. But once again, this is, you're, you're, you're, you're, you're pulled back the curtain a little bit on how some of these, um, differences, uh, in, in religious institutions.

And then, like I said, this case became, unfortunately, it became public. Um, also topping headlines tonight, the U.S. Department of Education. They are set to resume wage garnishment for defaulted federal student loans, officially ending the pandemic era pause, starting the week of January, January 7th, 26, notices will begin going out to borrowers who are more than 270 days behind on their payments. Under federal law, the government can tease up to 15% of a borrower's disposable wages without a court order. In total, this could impact about 5.3 million borrowers already in default, along with another 4 million who are delinquent. borrowers will have a 30-day window to act before varnishment kicks in during that time.

They can try to negotiate a repayment plan. Babes, what are you doing? What? I'm just mowing the lawn. No, it's blazing hot and dry out here. Don't you remember? Smokey bear says, Avoid using power equipment when it's windy or dry.

Where'd you learn this? Oh, it's on. Smokeybear.com with many other wildfire prevention tips. Right. Thanks, honey. bear because remember only you can prevent wildfires brought to you by the USDA forest service your state forester and the ad council the social media trend that's landing some jensiers in jail the progressive media darling whose public meltdown got her fired i'm going to take francesco off the network entirely

the massive tic-tok boycott against target that makes no actual sense i will continue getting stuff from target and i will continue to not pay for it and the maga influencers whose trip to the white house ended in embarrassment. So refreshing to have the press secretary after the last few years who's both intelligent and articulate. You won't hear about these online stories in the mainstream media, but you can keep up with them and all the other entertaining and outrageous things happening online in media and in politics with the Brad versus Everyone podcast. Hosted by me, Brad Palumbo. Every day of the week, I bring you on a wild ride through the most delulu takes on the internet, criticizing the extremes of both sides from an independent perspective. Join in on the insanity and listen to the

Brad versus Everyone podcast on the Iheart radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. And the winner of the IHeart Podcast Award is, You can decide who takes home the 26 IHeart Podcast Awards podcast of the year by voting at IHeartPodcastawards.com now through February 22nd. See all the nominees and place your vote at IHeart Podcast Awards.com. Audible is a proud sponsor of the Audible Audio Pioneer Award. Explore the best selection of audiobooks, podcasts, and originals all in one easy app. Audible. There's more to imagine when you listen.

Sign up for a free trial at audible.com. Plus the hearing or enroll in relief options like the Fresh Start program. Otherwise, collections could hit not just paychecks, but also tax refunds and federal benefits. Dr. Ali, what are your thoughts about that? Well, let me start with the fact that, you know, undergraduate education in our country, wealthiest nation on the planet should be free. So we wouldn't have to worry about students going through this type of a situation.

The other part of it is, as Michael said earlier, you know, elections have consequences. And there are some folks, you know, who voted for these types of sets of actions, not every one of them. So, you know, this is another reason why folks need to vote. The last administration was very focused on getting rid of that through a number of various programs

or helping to convince the debt down so that it was manageable by folks. So we just need to be very, very mindful of how this impacts, especially in a time when jobs are shrinking and disappearing. We've got over what, 300, 350,000 black women who have lost jobs, along with a whole bunch of other folks that this could impact. This will have impacts also on folks being able to purchase a home or do a number of other things. So there are these ripple effects that will come out of this set of actions.

And Dr. Walker, what are your thoughts? Yeah, you know, this is, this is talks about the gap between the haves and the have-nots. And this is just pretty consistent with this administration. It's also a reminder that, you know, we could, we could have addressed this. And the Biden administration fought for this and loss of Supreme Court. And here we are millions of Americans disproportionately those who are black. are going to have their, you know, wages garnished, which will limit the disposable income and prevent them from, you know, driving the economic engine in this country. But this is a pro-millionaire pro-billionaire administration, and this is a class and racial issue.

And unfortunately, those who fought long and hard to address this issue, we either silenced or made fun of or, you know, people talked about it doesn't bother me. Well, some of those folks that voted for this are going to pay and voting has consequences. Michael Brown. You know, it's interesting. I know the doctor had mentioned the Biden administration. So we went from President Biden who said, you know what, let's forgive these loans and give folks a break to now. Not only are they putting the making you pay your loan, they're going to start garnishing your wages to make sure you pay. because what happened is the millionaire owners of these finance companies that lend money for student loans

went into the president and we don't like the Biden policy of, well, obviously, I know we got, we had the Supreme Court that made a decision relative to that. But you had some political, and then he tried to figure out he being Biden and his administration tried to figure out how to get around the Supreme Court decision to legally forgive these loans. And then the millionaires came in and said, no, we don't want that. We want to get our money back and get our return on investment for our investors and for themselves. And Trump said, of course, because he's going to always side with the millionaires. And he did, or millionaires and billionaires.

And so he did. And now you're seeing this particular, just crazy, awful policy. And I'm sure some of those folks that had debt for student loans voted for this. guy thinking, oh, the world was going to be so much better. And now they're going to go into your bank accounts and take some of your money to pay back the loan you thought was going to be forgiven by the previous administration. So, you know, we're going to continue to say elections have consequences. And hopefully people, again, as I mentioned earlier, get another bite at the apple in less than a year. Go vote, folks. Go vote. I want to thank the entire panel for

joining us today, Dr. Mustafa, Santiago Ali, Dr. Larry Walker, Michael Brown. We appreciate your thoughts tonight here on Rolla Martin unfiltered. Without rolling here, without rolling here, we had to put up our signs. I love it. He'll be wrong with us. Thanks again, and we will see you again tomorrow night. Have a great evening. Everyone needs to take care of their mental health, even running back Bijan Robinson. When I'm on the field, I'm feeling the pressure. I usually just take a deep breath. When I'm just breathing and seeing what's in front of me,

everything just slows down. It just makes you feel great before I run the play. Just like Bijan, we all need a strong mental game on and off the field. Make a game playing for your mental health at love your mind playbook.org. Love your mind. Brought to you by the Huntsman Mental Health Foundation, the Arthur M. Blank Family Foundation, and the ad council. The social media trend is slanding some gen Zers in jail.

The progressive media darling, public meltdown got her fired, and the massive TikTok boycott against Target that actually makes no sense. You won't hear about these online stories in the mainstream media, but you can keep up with them and all the other entertaining and outrageous things happening online in media and in politics with the Brad versus Everyone podcast. Listen to the Brad versus Everyone podcast on the Iheart radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. And the winner of the IHeart Podcast Award is,

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