#RolandMartinUnfiltered - New Omicron Variants, 7th January 6 Committee Hearing

Episode Date: July 13, 2022

7.12.22 #RolandMartinUnfiltered: New Omicron Variants, 7th January 6 Committee Hearing A new Covid variant is quickly spreading, and health experts are warning the variant is more contagious than previous strains. We got an expert to let you know what you need to know to keep you and your family safe. The Jan. 6th hearings continue. Today, the committee laid out the ties between Former President Donald Trump and extremist groups and folks. It is truly shocking. As the fight for reproductive rights carries on, we'll talk to Tonya Lewis Lee, director, and producer for the Documentary "Aftershock." which takes a deep dive into the preventable maternal mortality crisis in America. And, of course, We will recap some of the sights and sounds from the 2022 Essence Festival presented by Coca-Cola. Support RolandMartinUnfiltered and #BlackStarNetwork via the Cash App ☛ https://cash.app/$rmunfiltered PayPal ☛ https://www.paypal.me/rmartinunfiltered Venmo ☛https://venmo.com/rmunfiltered Zelle ☛ [e-mail] Annual or monthly recurring #BringTheFunk Fan Club membership via paypal ☛ https://rolandsmartin.com/rmu-paypal/ Download the #BlackStarNetwork app on iOS, AppleTV, Android, Android TV, Roku, FireTV, SamsungTV and XBox 👉🏾 http://www.blackstarnetwork.com #RolandMartinUnfiltered and the #BlackStarNetwork are news reporting platforms covered under Copyright Disclaimer Under Section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976, allowance is made for "fair use" for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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

All momentum we have now, we have to keep this going. The video looks phenomenal. See, there's a difference between Black Star Network and Black-owned media and something like CNN. You can't be Black-owned media and be scape. It's time to be smart. Bring your eyeballs home. You dig? Today is Tuesday, July 12, 2022. Coming up on Roland Martin Unfiltered,

streaming live on the Black Star Network. A new COVID variant, folks, is quickly spreading, causing serious health issues. Health experts are warning the variant is more contagious than previous strains. We will talk to an expert to talk about what you need to know regarding the VA.5 variant. Folks, it is no joke. A number of people I know who came back from Essence Festival came down with COVID, and they've been having significant issues. January 6th hearings continue today.

The committee laid out the ties between former, between Donald Trump and white extremists, white nationalists, white supremacist groups. Folks, the testimony was shocking. And as the fight for reproductive rights carries on, we'll talk to Tonya Lewis-Lee, director and producer, for the documentary Aftershock, which takes a deep dive into the preventable maternal mortality crisis happening in America. Plus, a recap of the sights and sounds

of the 2022 Essence Festival presented by Coca-Cola. We'll hear from the creators of the show, the Proud Family, as well as talk with a number of other individuals who were there. Some great stories and great storyline, folks, and we'll have it all for you. It is time to bring the funk. I'm Roland Martin, unfiltered, on the Black Star Network.

Let's go. He's got it. Whatever the mess, he's on it. Whatever it is, he's got the scoop, the fact, the fine. And when it breaks, he's right on time. And it's rolling. Best belief he's knowing. Putting it down from sports to news to politics.

With entertainment just for kicks. He's rolling. It's Uncle Roro, y'all. It's rolling,oro, y'all. Yeah, yeah. It's Roland Martin. Yeah, yeah. Rolling with Roland now. Yeah, yeah. He's funky, he's fresh, he's real the best.

You know he's Roland Martin now. Martin. All right, folks, a new COVID variant is alerting the Biden administration, calling for folks to exercise renewed caution about the virus. The two new highly transmittable variants, BA.4 and BA.5, are spreading rapidly across the country. BA.4 and BA.5 are offshoots of the Omicron strain responsible for nearly all of the virus spread in the United States and are even more contagious than their predecessor. Now, again, folks are walking around as if COVID is all over, but it is not. Essence Festival pretty much became a super spreader event as a number of people have come down with COVID. I've talked to at least a dozen people

who came back from New Orleans with COVID. Two of my staff members came down with COVID. Luckily, the rest of us did not. And folks, so to understand this variant and how easily transmittable it is, we'll be joined right now by Dr. Justin Turner. He's the CEO of Turner Care and the youngest and first black person to be the chief medical officer of Mississippi. Glad to have you back on the show, Doc. And so I was talking to some friends in Los Angeles this weekend, brothers and sisters. They were talking about how awful they were feeling, how bad it was. I saw this tweet where this one doctor said a lot of his MD friends were like, we're going to tough this thing out.

It got so bad for them, they actually went and got Paxlovit. Another sister I talked to, she's in her early 30s. She could not get Paxlovit. They said because of her age, so they gave her a Z-Pak. Then I talked to a brother who got COVID in New Orleans. He's 70, and he said that he was prescribed Paxlovid. And so, what is it about this BA4 and B5 strain that is so dangerous? Yeah, well, first of all, thanks so much for allowing me to come on the show today. Yeah, so the BA4 and the BA5 is a, you know, new sub-variant. And compared

to the previous variants that, you know, we know that COVID, you know, has produced, this one appears to escape. It appears to not have the same, you know, ability to be improved from having a prior infection because, you know, you have some patients who have had COVID in the past and it kind of built up this immunity, which kind of protected them for, you know, about 90 days or so. So we're seeing a lot of patients who are basically having reinfection and they're not having the same protection from the natural immunity. Even patients who have been vaccinated, we're seeing that this particular or these two particular variants are escaping that as well. So the protection that our nation has been afforded from either having a prior COVID infection or being vaccinated or being boosted, we're not seeing the same level.

All right. Now, there still is some protection, but compared to all the other variants, for whatever reason, the particular variants of the BA4 and the BA5 is not giving us the same protection. And I don't want to jump too far ahead, but right now, you know, we have scientists that's working to try to work on a particular booster that specifically targets Omicron, which has more, you know, things on the spike protein, which are allowing it to be more contagious. Now, the good news is we're not seeing the same level of deaths compared to before, but hospitalizations have increased, cases have increased. Matter of fact, hospitalizations have doubled since May. But like I said, on the good side, you know, we're now seeing probably about 300 deaths a day compared to last winter, where we're seeing about 3,000 a day. So now do you think that's because of the number of people who at least had one or two doses? Yeah, I think the latest studies show probably about a third of the United States have had, you know, the first booster. Now, here in Mississippi, you know, I'm not sure how it is in other places, we don't have the same level of urgency with getting the second booster as we did with the first booster.

And we're not even seeing the same or we didn't see the same level of urgency with the first booster as we saw with the first and second vaccination. I've had some patients that say, hey, look, you know, well, you know, I think I'm going to wait on that. You know, I think I'll be okay. And I'm asking them, the same mindset that led you to get the first and the second vaccination, what's different about that same mindset to get boosted? Because what we do know is the current boosters that we have, it looks like their protection is only lasting about four months. And after about four months, the immunity, you know, is appearing to weigh down. And when you have new variants, such as the BA4 and the BA5, which appear to be more contagious, it's even more important to try to make sure that you get vaccinated. So one thing, Roland Martin, that I see is a lot of COVID fatigue. And I honestly see a lot of people who are tired. They feel as

if COVID is improving or it's over. You know, we've had like the, some of the restrictions were lifted. You know, you don't have to test in and test out going, you know, out of the country to everywhere now. You have certain things that have changed. And I think it's given a lot of people false sense of security to think that things are over, things are better. But no, you can be tired, but COVID is not. You know, and it's still here, and we still need to be, you know, cautious. All right? So we don't have to be fearful, but we still need to be careful.

Well, and I do think what you just described is real. Folks are kind of like, all right. I mean, once once the federal judge stopped them from pushing the mask mandate on planes, folks like I'm good, I'm good. So, I mean, I was on the plane flying back from L.A. on Monday. I was I mean, I've flown a lot in the last month. And I can tell you the number of people who were just sitting on planes like it's no big deal, no mask whatsoever. And OK, that's fine. I get it. I mean, there have been places where I've gone where I didn't have my mask on. I had it with me. Depending upon the groups I was with, I might put it on. I might take it off. But here's the deal. I'm talking to people and they're talking about how sick

they have gotten. And as somebody who's had COVID twice, I'm just not interested in going through that crap again. Yeah, it does appear that these particular variants may, they may penetrate the lungs more than, you know, what we saw before. And each variant has been different. We saw early on how a lot of people had loss of taste and smell. And I think in my practice with Omicron and what a lot of providers have seen here in Mississippi, Omicron kind of impacted the sinuses more. We had so many patients who come in and say, look, Doc, I just need my sinus shot. Let me get my Decadron. Give me some sinus shot. Let me get my decadron. You know, give me some sinus medicine. Yeah.

I mean, I'll probably say the second time I got it, it was back in May. It really was just, it wasn't significant. It really wasn't a sinus. But again, I'm talking to folks right now, and they're talking about lungs, how this variant is going right after their lungs. Yeah. So we really just need people to be vigilant. If you have anything going on that's not normal, then here's the deal. With the new variants being like way more contagious compared to like the Delta variant

and other ones before, man, you can spread this like wildfire through your family, at home, you know, at church, or at a large indoor gathering before you even have symptoms. When you think about the incubation period and your level of being able to, you know, spread this, I mean, it can happen before you even go get tested. And I unfortunately have had a lot of patients who they've waited to like day three, day four, day five after trying stuff at home, and they're like, well, let me go and get tested. But by that time, they've already spread it to so many people. So like I said, we're fortunate right now

because it doesn't appear to be as deadly as like the Delta variant. But who knows? Who knows what's going to happen in the fall? You know, we don't know. So we just need anyone that's listening to know that if you have any symptoms that, any symptoms at all, matter of fact, go ahead and get tested.

Now, fortunately, compared to last year, a lot of people have access to your home COVID test. If you hadn't gotten them, go ahead and get those and go ahead and get tested. Especially the free ones the government is giving out. Exactly, exactly. It's like if it costs a whole bunch, we'd be complaining and saying it's expensive, but it's free.

And a lot of households are not even taking advantage of it. And that has saved so many different lives because those patients would probably be where? In my office, in the lobby, waiting to get tested and spreading it. But now they're at home, they're getting tested, and they're calling me, and you brought up the Paxlovid. So this is also something that's different compared to last year. We have more medications out there that are helpful. And without trying to get too deep into science, a lot of people are familiar with Tamiflu. So we know historically, you know, anytime you get the flu, there's an antiviral called Tamiflu that you can take that works best if it's taken within 48 hours of your first symptoms. Well, Paxlovid and other antivirals are kind of similar to that. All right. So if you do get diagnosed with COVID, know that there are more options now compared to what we had a year ago.

And it's basically for people who have mild to moderate COVID and are at high risk of having complications or being hospitalized. Everyone is not eligible for it. But talk to your doctor. All right. Not Google. Not Facebook. Talk to your doctor to All right? Not Google. Not Facebook. Talk to your doctor to help determine if you're a candidate. Because like you said with your friend, Roland, everyone can't take it because there are some specific drug-drug interactions that's out there.

But, you know, when I tell you that the alternative is so much worse as far as COVID, and not just COVID. A lot of people have long COVID. We're seeing anywhere from 10 to 30% of people who are diagnosed with COVID having problems two, three, four months down the road. And the more you get reinfected, studies are showing that if you get COVID a second and a third time, you are at higher

risk of having long COVID down the road. And brain fog. I mean, I got people that are in high-functioning executive positions that's like, Doc, my clarity is not like it was before. I'm, I got people that are in high-functioning executive positions. That's like, Doc, you know, my clarity is not like it was before. You know, I'm having trouble leading my meetings. You know, a lot of people, you know, a lot of people are underestimating the totality of long COVID, but we see it, and it's not something that you want. So please, get your booster if you're eligible for it. If you haven't been vaccinated, it's not too late. And just know that, you know,

do your part. Do your part. All right, then, Dr. Justin Turner. I certainly appreciate it. Thanks a lot. All right. Have a good one. Thanks so much for having me. All right. I'm going to bring in my, first of all, people to understand what's going on. The United States is reporting more than 90 million COVID cases, more than one million deaths since the pandemic start.

The administration emphasizes the importance of getting booster shots and wearing masks indoors. Now, according to the organization, our world and data, more than 200 million people, or 67 percent of the eligible vaccine population, are fully vaccinated. My panel, Dr. Mustafa Santago Ali, former senior advisor for environmental justice at the EBA, Teresa Lundy, principal founder of TML Communications, Dr. Jason Nichols, senior lecturer, African American Studies, Department of University of Maryland,

College Park. Glad to have all three of you here. Mustafa, what are you seeing out there? Are you seeing people that, frankly, after they dropped the mask mandate on airplanes, after they pretty much stopped them in stores requiring, showing boosters, showing vaccinations, requiring folks to get tested, that people are just sort of like, ah, we're cool, we're chill, let's just go back to business as usual until they get sick? Yeah, that's exactly what's going on. You know, folks have gotten very lax. And, you know, unfortunately, folks are still playing with their lives. Yes, less people are

dying because we have so many tools to actually be able to deal with the variants that are out there. But, you know, just recently, three days ago, I have a good friend, her mother actually got COVID and she's at the hospital. One of my concerns is the fact that sometimes we forget how many folks in our community died, like about 145,000 of our folks died. And that's not even talking about all the folks who got infected. And then we have the infrastructure question as well. I appreciate Dr. Turner, but I'm also very aware that there have been a number of rural clinics and other health care facilities that have closed down over the last few years, even though we had an infusion of cash into that space. And then, as we all know, when you look around now, you no longer see the testing sites that were there.

Luckily, we have the home testing, which is important. But if you get a positive there, then you need to be able to make it to a medical facility to make sure that you're validating that you actually have the virus. So we still inside of our community have a lot of disparities that are going on, and we just need to make sure that folks pay attention. Well, last time I was on an airplane a couple of weeks ago, well, I guess it was sooner than a couple of weeks ago, you know, no one was wearing a mask but two people, myself and one other person. So, you know, we just need to make sure that we are protecting our lives. We value, we're valuable, and we need to honor that. Look, I know someone, a well-known person, Teresa, got COVID, and they're having issues walking. This person is, you know, is one of our seniors, I mean, and was vaxxed and avoided for

quite some time, but finally got it. Spent a week in the hospital. I mean, I keep telling people, this is not anything to play with. Yeah, I mean, if people haven't seen the signs, you know, early on of when millions of people are dying across the globe, just because the mainstream media is not talking about it or putting it up in the lower thirds or in the midst of a television segment, that does not mean that the virus is not here and is still prevalent. So look, you know, as I look at, you know, the apartment building even I'm living in and I ask them, hey, are you going to put the sign up for us to make sure we're masked up even in these closed and tight spaces? And they're, you know, going with the same local ordinance that is saying it's not a mandate and allowing people to make their choices. But as we know, the COVID variant has been just an uncomfortable factor for people.

And so sometimes that mandate does make sense. Doesn't matter how unpopular it is, but it does save lives. And so I know myself, I just made an appointment to get a dual vaccination. Well, I'm already dual, so I guess quadruple vaccination just to ensure to make sure that the vaccine is not wearing off. Because, again, this is new information. This is the new variant and it's carrying something that I do not know. So I'd rather just be safe in there in the later round. Again, Jason, give me a sense of what's happening on your college campus. Are students still taking it seriously or are they like a lot of other people just, hey, strolling through like it's no big deal? So we still have an indoor mask mandate and I walked into the building and to be honest, Roland, I had forgotten my own mask. And so I had to go to some other office and get a mask.

And then I walked into the classroom and I'd say about half of the students were wearing masks and half of them weren't. And so I asked them about it. And, you know, a lot of them just were like, you know, they weren't necessarily thinking about COVID or afraid of COVID. So I think we've lost a lot of the vigilance. And I think that what Dr. Turner was saying about COVID fatigue, I know physicians who are fatigued from COVID and don't want to wear masks anymore. So it's really something that I'm glad you're talking about right now, reminding us to be vigilant, because I think a lot of us have been wearing masks for a long time. The government said we don't have to wear masks,

so we kind of flung them away and thought that this is over. And that's not the case. We need to remain vigilant. You know, I'm terrified after you said that one of your friends or your colleagues can't walk. Or, you know, I'm terrified about going, I want to visit my grandmother, my 93-year-old grandmother. I want to visit her.

And so I realize that I have to be vigilant right now in mask wearing. And, you know, I'm triple vaxxed but not quadruple vaxxed. So I'll definitely consider getting that fourth shot. Again, folks, if y'all want to play around with this, be my guest. But trust me, you don't want to be one of those folks who's laid up and sick and go, damn, I should have listened or I should have sat there and put the mask on. All right, y'all got to go to break. We come back. We're going to talk about today's January 6th committee. Now, we done told you these were some racist thugs. And the reason that they were so angry was because they didn't like that black people turned out in huge numbers

in the 2020 election. Well, today's hearing showed you how these thugs partner with these white racists, old keepers, to try to overthrow the results of the election. We'll discuss that next on Rolling Mark and Unfiltered on the Black Star Network. Don't forget to download the app. Apple phone, Android phone, Apple TV, Android TV, Roku, Amazon Fire TV, Xbox One, Samsung Smart TV. Also, if you want to join our Brain to Funk fan club, you can do so by sending your check or money order to PO Box 57196, Washington, D.C. 20037-0196.

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And all of y'all who are watching on YouTube and Facebook, y'all, hit the like button. Don't take long. It ain't that hard. So some of y'all be riding for free. All you have to do is hit the like button. And so right now, we got more than 1,000 watching right there on YouTube, only 316 likes. If 1,000 of y'all are watching, why in the hell we're in 1,000 likes? Hit the button. All right, I'm going hell wouldn't a thousand likes? Hit the button.

Alright, I'm going to go to a break. Back in a moment. Of course I looked up to Spike Lee. Of course we didn't. I mean, he's a genius. But then also I was this kid from Brooklyn that felt like, you know... Give me my damn respect.

I made this creative art that people are responding to. felt like, you know, give me my damn respect. I, you know, I, I, I made this, you know, this creative art, right. That people are responding. I appreciate that. We're all impacted by the culture, whether we know it or not. From politics to music and entertainment, it's a huge part of our lives. And we're going to talk about it every day right here on The Culture with me, Faraji Muhammad, only on the Black Star Network. Hey, I'm Antonique Smith.

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All right, folks, the January 6th committee laid out what they believe to be the origins of the violence at the U.S. Capitol that took place on January 6th, 2021. Today, members of the committee used video testimony and live witnesses to describe what Donald Trump did and his call to action. In a December tweet, plans by far-right white extremist groups to descend on Washington like the Oath Keepers and efforts by the White House advisors to urge Trump to drop his false claims of election fraud. The hearings began with Chairman Benny Thompson.

Good afternoon. When I think about the most basic way to explain the importance of elections in the United States, there's a phrase that always comes to mind. It may sound straightforward, but it's meaningful. We settle our differences at the ballot box. Sometimes my choice prevails, sometimes yours does, but it's that simple. We cast our votes, we count the votes. If something seems off with the results, we can challenge them in court, and then we accept the results. When you're on the losing side, that doesn't mean you have to be happy about it. And in the United States, there's plenty you can do and say so.

You can protest. You can organize. You can get ready for the next election to try to make sure your side has a better chance the next time the people sell their differences at the ballot box. But you can't turn violent. You can't try to achieve your desired outcome through force or harassment or intimidation. Any real leader who sees their supporters going down that path, approaching that line, has a responsibility to say, stop. We gave it our best. We came up short. We try again next time because we settled our differences at the ballot box.

On December 14, 2020, the presidential election was officially over. The Electoral College had cast its vote. Joe Biden was the president-elect of the United States. By that point, many of Donald Trump's supporters were already convinced that the election had been stolen because that's what Donald Trump had been telling them. So what Donald Trump was required to do in that moment, what would have been required of any American leader was to say, we did our best and we came up short. He went the opposite way. He seized on the anger he had already stoked among his most loyal supporters, and block the transfer of power, Donald Trump summoned a mob to Washington, D.C., and ultimately spurred that mob to wage a violent attack

on our democracy. Now, you might remember, again, Donald Trump made his call to action, and it was followed and echoed by many of his nutcase followers. Saturday, December 19th, the year is 2020 and one of the most historic events in American history has just taken place. President Trump in the early morning hours today tweeted that he wants the American people to march on Washington, D.C. on January 6, 2021. And now Donald Trump is calling on his supporters to descend on Washington, D.C., January 6.

He is now calling on we, the people, to take action and to show our numbers. We're going to only be saved by millions of Americans moving to Washington, occupying the entire area, if necessary, storming right into the Capitol. We know the rules of engagement. If you have enough people, you can push down any kind of a fence or a wall. This could be Trump's last stand. And it's a time when he has specifically called on his supporters to arrive in D.C. That's something that may actually be the big push. Trump supporters need to say this is it.

It's now or never. You better understand something, son. You better understand something. Red. You better understand something. Red wave, bitch. Red wave. There's going to be a red wedding going down January 6th. On that day, Trump says, show up for a protest. It's going to be wild.

And based on what we've already seen from the previous events, I think Trump is absolutely correct. Motherfucker, you better look outside. You better look out January 6th. Kick that fucking door open. Look down the street. There are going to be a million plus geeked up armed Americans. The time for games is over. The time for action is now. Where were you when history called? Where were you when you and your children's destiny and future was on the line? We know where you are getting ready to go to jail. Now, Congressman Liz Cheney, she said, can we stop this idea that Donald Trump is like a little child, didn't know what was going on?

She says, nah, that thug was responsible. This appears to have changed the strategy for defending Donald Trump. Now the argument seems to be that President Trump was manipulated by others outside the administration, that he was persuaded to ignore his closest advisers, and that he was incapable of telling right from wrong. This new strategy is to try to blame only John Eastman or Sidney Powell or Congressman Scott Perry or others and not President Trump. In this version the president was quote poorly served by these outside advisors. The strategy is to blame people

his advisors called quote the crazies for what Donald Trump did. This, of course, is nonsense. President Trump is a 76-year-old man. He is not an impressionable child. Just like everyone else in our country, he is responsible for his own actions and his own choices. More like a 76-year-old child. Now, there was a Twitter whistleblower who said, you know what, if it was anybody else but this fool,

they would have been kicked off that platform. What was your gut feeling on the night of January 5th? I believe I sent a Slack message to someone that said something along the lines of, when people are shooting each other tomorrow, message to someone that said something along the lines of, when people are shooting each other tomorrow, I will try and rest in the knowledge that we tried. And so I went to, I don't know that I slept that night, to be honest with you. I I was on pins and needles because again for months I had been begging and anticipating and attempting to

raise the reality that if nothing, if we made no intervention into what I saw occurring, people were going to die. And on January 5th, I realized no intervention was coming. No, there, and even as hard as I had tried to create one or implement one, there was nothing. And we were at the whims and the mercy of a violent crowd that was locked and loaded. And just for the record, this was content that was echoing statements by the former president, but also Proud Boys and other known violent extremist groups. Yeah. Now, folks, Congressman Jamie Raskin really sort of just laid out in full detail

what was taking place leading up to January 6th, especially in this crazy nutcase meeting that took place in the White House on December 18th. The startling conclusion is this. Even an agreed-upon complete lack of evidence could not stop President Trump, Mark Meadows, and their allies from trying to overturn the results of a free and fair election. So let's return to that meeting at the White House on the evening of December 18. That night, a group showed up at the White House, including Sidney Powell,

retired Lieutenant General Michael Flynn, and former Overstock.com CEO Patrick Byrne. After gaining access to the building from a junior White House staffer, the group made their way to the Oval Office. They were able to speak with the President by himself for some time until White House officials learned of the meeting. What ensued was a heated and profane clash between this group and President Trump's White House advisers, who traded personal insults, accusations of disloyalty to the president, and even challenges to physically fight. The meeting would last over six hours, beginning here in the Oval Office,

moving around the West Wing, and many hours later, ending up in the president's private residence. The select committee has spoken with six of the participants, as well as staffers who could hear the screaming from outside the Oval Office. What took place next is best told in their own words, as you will see from this video. Did you believe that it was going to work, that you were going to be able to get to see the president without an appointment? I had no idea. In fact, you did get to see the president without an appointment. We did.

How much time did you have alone with the president? I say alone. You had other people with you. Right. But from his aides before the crab came running? Probably no more than 10 or 15 minutes. Was in that? crowd came running? Probably no more than 10 or 15 minutes. I bet Pat Cipollone set a new land speed record. I got a call either from Molly or Richmond that I need to get to the local office. So that was the first point that I had recognized. Okay, there was nobody in there from the White House. Mark's gone. What's

going on right now? I opened the door, and I walked in. I saw General Flynn. I saw Sidney Powell sitting there. I was not happy to see the people in the Oval Office. Explain why. Well, again, I don't think they were providing—well, first of all, the overstock person, I've never met this guy was. Actually, the first thing I did, I walked in, I looked at him, and I said, who are you? And he told me. I don't think any of these people were providing the president with good advice.

And so I didn't understand how they had gotten in. In the short period of time that you had with the president, did he seem receptive to the presentation that you were making? He was very interested in hearing particularly about the FISA funding and the terms of 13848 that apparently nobody else had bothered to inform him of. I was asking, like, are you claiming the Democrats were working with Hugo Schaas, Venezuelans, and whomever else? At one point, General Flynn took out a diagram that supposedly showed IP addresses all over the world. And who was communicating with whom via the machines and some comment about like Nest thermostats being hooked up to the Internet. So it's been reported that during this meeting, Ms. Powell talked about Dominion voting machines and made various election fraud claims that involved foreign countries such as Venezuela, Iran, and China. Is that accurate?

That's true. Was the meeting tense? Oh, yeah. It was not a casual meeting. Explain. I mean, at times there were people shouting at each other, hurling insults at each other. It wasn't just sort of people sitting around on the couch like chit-chatting. Do you recall whether he raised to Ms. Powell the fact that she and the campaign had lost all of the 60 cases that they had brought in litigation? Yes, he raised that.

And what was the response? I don't remember what she said. I don't think it was a good response. Cipollone and Hirschman and whoever the other guy was showed nothing but contempt and disdain of the president. I remember the three of them were really sort of forcefully attacking me verbally. Derek, Derek, and we were pushing back and we were asking one simple question. As a general matter. Where is the evidence? What response did you get when you asked Ms. Powell and her colleagues where is the evidence? A variety of responses based on my current recollection, including, you know,

I can't believe you would say something, you know, things like this. Like, what do you mean, where's the evidence? You should know, you know, things like that. Or, you know, a disregard, I would say, a general disregard for the importance of actually backing up what they say with facts. And, you know, then there was discussion of, well, you know, we don't have it now, but we will have it or whatever. I mean, if it had been me sitting in his chair, I would have fired all of them that night and had them escorted out of the building. It's Derek and I both challenged what she was saying. And she says, well, the judges are corrupt.

And I was like, everyone, every single case that you've done in the country, you guys lost every one of them is corrupt, even the ones we appointed. And I'm being nice. That was much more harsh to her. So one of the other things that's been reported that was said during this meeting was that President Trump told White House lawyers, Mr. Hirschman and Mr. Cipollone, that they weren't offering him any solutions, but Ms. Powell and others were. So why not try what Ms. Powell and others were proposing so why not try what Ms. Powell and others were proposing? Do you remember anything along those lines being said by President Trump? I do. That sounds right.

I think that it got to the point where the screaming was completely, completely out there. I mean, you got people walking, it was late at night, it had been a long day, and what they were proposing, I thought was nuts. I'm going to categorically describe it as, you guys are not tough enough. Or maybe I put it another way, you're a bunch of pussies. Excuse the expression, but I'm almost certain the word was used. Flynn screamed at me that I was a quitter and everything, kept on standing up and turning around and screaming at me. And at a certain point, I had it with him. So I yelled back,

rather come over or sit your effing ass back down? The president and the White House team went upstairs to the residence, but to the public part of the residence, you know, the big the big parlor where you can have meetings in the conference room. They call it the yellow oval. Yes, exactly. The yellow oval office. I always called it the upper. And I'm not exactly sure where the Sidney group went. I think maybe the Roosevelt room. And I stayed in the cabinet room, which is kind of cool.

I really like that. All by myself. At the end of the day, we landed where we started the meeting, at least from a structural standpoint, which was Sidney Powell was fighting, Mike Flynn was fighting. They were looking for avenues that would enable, that would result in President Trump remaining President Trump for a second term. The meeting finally ended after midnight. Here are text messages sent by Cassidy Hutchinson during and after the meeting.

As you can see, Ms. Hutchinson reported that the meeting in the West Wing was unhinged. The meeting finally broke up after midnight during the early morning of December 19. Cassidy Hutchinson captured the moment of Mark Meadows escorting Rudy Giuliani off the White House grounds to, quote, make sure he didn't wander back into the mansion. Certain accounts of this meeting indicate that President Trump actually granted Ms. Powell security clearance and appointed her to a somewhat ill-defined position of special counsel. All right, y'all, we got more. Stephen Ayers at races. He was with the Oath Keepers. He talked about really what they really are.

Sometimes we say get the popcorn. I'm like, no, we got to get the salad. So please, show more. Mr. Van Tatenhove, can you help us understand who the Oath Keepers are? I can. Thank you. My time with the Oath Keepers began back at Bundy Ranch with that first standoff. When I went to cover them as an independent journalist, I then subsequently covered two more standoffs,

the Sugar Pine Mine standoff and the White Hope Mine standoff. It was at that time that I was offered a job as national media director and an associate editor for the webpage. So I spent a few years with the Oath Keepers, and I can tell you that they may not like to call themselves a militia, but they are. They're a violent militia, and they are largely Stuart Rhodes. And I think rather than try to use words, I think the best illustration for what the Oath Keepers are happened January 6th when we saw that stacked military formation going up the stairs of our Capitol. I saw radicalization that started with my beginning of my time with them and continued over a period of time as the member base and who it was that Stuart Rhodes was courting drifted further and further right into the alt-right world, into white nationalists, and then straight-up racists. And it came to a point where I could no longer continue to work for them. a dangerous militia that is in large part fed by the ego and drive of Stuart Rhodes,

who at times seemed to see himself as this paramilitary leader. I think that drove a lot of it. So in my opinion, the Oath Keepers are a very dangerous organization. Well, thank you. So Brad Parscale, who ran Donald Trump campaign, he was texting a little shoplifter, Katrina Pierce, you know, the crazy black woman. If you want to see how really how they really feel about letting that fool get in the White House, listen to how they broke down what he tweeted, what he texted. Trump's former campaign manager, Brad Parscale, recognized the impact of the speech immediately. And this is what he said on January 6th in excerpts from text messages to Katrina Pearson. Mr. Parscale said, quote, this is about Trump pushing for uncertainty in our country, a sitting president asking for civil

war. And then when he said, this week I feel guilty for helping him win, Katrina Pearson responded, you did what you felt right at the time and therefore it was right. Mr. Pascal added, yeah, but a woman is dead. And yeah, if I was Trump and I knew my rhetoric killed someone. When Ms. Pearson replied, it wasn't the rhetoric. Mr. Pascal said, Katrina, yes, it was. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I yield back. President Trump's former campaign manager, Brad Parscale, recognized the impact of the speech immediately. And this is what he said on January 6th in excerpts from text messages to Katrina Pearson. Jason, any Republican who continues to stand with this man is an absolute idiot and frankly, a traitor to the country. You're on mute. I agree 100 percent. You know, what terrifies me is that I don't think that, you know, if this had happened 30 years ago, the entire country would have been fixated on it.

There would not have even been a discussion about Donald Trump potentially being president in 2024. But here we are, where people choose what they want to pay attention to, what they think is relevant, whom they believe, even with a mountain of evidence in their face, they find some sort of cognitive dissonance in order to dismiss it. And we could very well, unfortunately, although the polls say that Biden beats Trump narrowly, and that Vice President Kamala Harris, if she is thrust into that role, beats Trump narrowly, that we could have another Trump presidency. To me, that's terrifying. And I think you're going to see a lot of these people who have testified to the truth,

they're going to be torn down. They're going to be torn apart. They're going to be called rhinos. And it's really a unique time in history. And I don't know exactly what the future holds, but it's terrifying that people aren't paying attention to this. I don't think, I think you are, I think I am, I think the other panelists are, I think your viewers are, but there are millions upon millions of people who actually still believe, despite all of this evidence, despite the words of the people who were involved in this attempt to overthrow democracy, they still believe the election was stolen. I don't know what the answer to that is.

And that's what's terrifying as an American. Well, Teresa, the only way you deal with that is for the Attorney General and Mayor Garland to begin to indict folks, including Donald Trump, and hopefully that this grand jury in Atlanta will indict him, indict Lindsey Graham and others who chose to overthrow the election because they were pissed off that black people voted in Atlanta, Philadelphia, Milwaukee, and Detroit. You're absolutely right. This is where the justice system actually takes its place in not only American democracy, but also the law. And so, you know, looking forward to hearing those rollouts. I think right after the January 6th hearings, we should be hearing what some of those charges are looking like.

I think it was definitely a shock factor of what's been happening with some of the subpoenas that's been coming out. But it looks like people are now changing their minds and starting to change their story. And they're understanding that, look, Trump actually lost. And thus, there is no more backing. And we have to figure out what our next steps is. Sometimes it's just not a book or a podcast. Sometimes it's just telling the truth and shaming the devil. Mustafa, it's very simple. These people cannot be near anywhere like an office, and there must be far more aggressive action

being taken against everyone involved. Without a doubt. You know, it's interesting what Jason and Teresa shared. All of that is correct, but it's even deeper than that. You've got to really understand the dynamics that are playing out. Trump wanted to have a civil war, if you will, and he felt that he could control that civil war and that he would be the only one who would be able to stop it. So then folks would gravitate once again to him and see him as a savior.

So let's unpack that a bit further. We know that when you're looking at folks like the Oath Keepers and these other groups, the Proud Boys, there are over 300 militia organizations in the United States of America right now today. That's the conservative number. There are 20,000 members who are part of that. We also know that folks who participated in the January 6th insurrection brought guns. And now we've also heard testimony that there were explosives that were a part of that. So when you have that depth of planning, that folks were very serious about this, but they knew that they couldn't do it by themselves.

So they needed folks inside the White House and other politicians to be able to achieve the goals that they have had for a long time. If you go and look at their manifestos and these other types of things, they're very clear about the things they want to do. Indeed, indeed. All right, folks, got to go to break. We come back. We're going to talk with Tanya Lewis-Lee. She's working on a documentary that is important. I keep telling y'all these old fake conservatives keep saying they're pro-life. But y'all notice they never say a damn thing about the high incidence of black women having issues when it comes to children. So, hmm, is that also life? We'll talk about our documentary next on Roland Martin Unfiltered right here on the Black Star Network. Hi, I'm Dr. Jackie Hood-Martin, and I have a question for you. Ever feel as if your life is teetering and the weight and pressure of the world is consistently on your shoulders?

Well, let me tell you, living a balanced life isn't easy. Join me each Tuesday on Black Star Network for Balanced Life with Dr. Jackie. We'll laugh together, cry together, pull ourselves together, and cheer each other on. So join me for new shows each Tuesday on Black Star Network of Balanced Life with Dr. Jackie. Pull up a chair. Take your seat.

The Black Tape. With me, Dr. Greg Carr, here on the Black Star Network. Every week, we'll take a deeper dive into the world we're living in. Join the conversation only on the Black Star Network. I'm Dion Cole. You're watching. Roland Martin, Unfiltered. Stay woke. The Supreme Court's decision to leave abortion to states amplifies the disparities in black women and reproductive health. Now, Tonya Lewis-Lee, co-director, producer,

she's a documentary called Aftershock. It looks at the preventable maternal mortality crisis in America from an often overlooked perspective. What a family experiences after the death of a mother. Check out the trailer. My daughter's story is loud, colorful, and artful. It's a girl! She was awake, aware, and active. And yet she still died.

After she gave birth, Shemani was complaining that she had really sharp chest pains. The ambulance came. I'm telling them the symptoms. Is she on drugs? Next set of people come in. Is she on drugs? We kept asking her mother, is she on any drugs? Like, do y'all talk?

We waited a solid 12 hours. She's gone. Black women are four times more likely to die than their white counterparts with the same symptoms. Why is that? This is a growing epidemic in our community. Hundreds and thousands of men are going through the same situation. You couldn't tell me that I wouldn't be there. I've never lived in this house without her.

You just got to keep pushing forward. I can't let there. I've never lived in this house without her. You just got to keep pushing forward. I can't let Amber be another statistic. I had a plan. I had it mapped out. If these numbers were flipped around and white women were dying at the rate that black women are dying, it would be a national crisis. We fight against maternal morbidity event by event

in order to create change. We can turn our pain into power and make something love this. Jumaane Gibson! We hear you, we see you. I planned on spending a lifetime with Amber. I wanted to give her my life. This way, I'm still going to. Sometimes, yeah.

The revolution will be tweeted, Instagram, Facebook. This fight is not over. When black mothers die, there's a ripple effect. The revolution will be tweeted, Instagram, Facebook. This fight is not over. When black mothers die, there's a ripple effect. We call this aftershock. Tanya, welcome back to Roland Martin Unfiltered. I was participating in a doc by Ben Watson, former NFL player. And this very issue I raised with him, I said, when I hear these pro-lifers talk about this issue, I don't hear

them talking about what you have in this documentary. I say, I don't hear them talking about these mortality issues in Mississippi, in Alabama, in Tennessee, in Texas, in Arkansas. I said, it's not coming up. I said, so y'all ain't pro-life. I said, they anti-abortion. And I challenged Eric Erickson on this very issue on Twitter as well. I was like, Eric, please let me know what all of you conservatives, all of you Christian conservatives are going to be talking about black women and issues they're having when it comes to childbirth. Why are you so quiet? No response. Not a surprise. I mean, and it is it's so disappointing. I mean, you look at the black maternal rate here in the United States, black women dying three to four times the rate of white women, but white women really not doing that well compared to their counterparts in European countries. And Roland, when you talk about the pro-life people, I mean, the infant mortality rate

is an abomination in this country. Black babies dying at three to four times the rate of white babies. Where are they in that conversation? So what are they talking about, really, when they're talking about life? This is life. Mothers being healthy and being supported when they give birth. Having the best health care possible. Because if you're really worried about a baby, you need to be worried about the health of a mother and the health of a woman. When we look at these stories here, were cameras, I was seeing footage here, were cameras embedded with some of these families where eventually the mom died or were you using archival footage

that they shot? How was this put together? Yeah, it was, we had the good fortune that Shemani Gibson passed away in October 2019, and her sister is an aspiring filmmaker. And so she just filmed the family on a day-to-day regular basis. So we had amazing archival footage from Shemani, thanks to Jasmine. And we had a little bit from Bruce as well. But it's interesting you ask about cameras because we did shoot this during COVID as well. And so, you know, we did end up giving iPhones to Omari, Bruce and Shawnee to film themselves when we couldn't be out there working. That was a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing today that dealt with the issue of abortion. And during that hearing, Senator Cory Booker actually raised this very issue about the lack of attention when it comes to maternal health care.

Folks, roll it. Many of the states moving to create the most restrictive bans on abortion are the very states that aren't doing the things that are obvious to lower the rates of maternal death, like expanding Medicaid. And so this argument that they value life by not providing access to contraception, by not expanding Medicaid, their states have some of the worst records for women dying in pregnancy-related causes. It seems rank hypocrisy to me, and especially as it affects African-American women who die three times more. And all of those Republicans on the panel were silent. It really, it is something else.

I mean, look, I guess their silence is telling us how they feel. And I think the good news is that people like Senator Cory Booker, he has been really a champion of the mom-ibus bills that have been moving through Congress. He has been on the forefront talking about maternal mortality. Vice President Harris, before she became vice president, was working. Representative Lauren Underwood has been working. So, you know, it's almost like a save ourselves kind of situation that we're in. Questions from my panelists.

Teresa, you're first. You're first. Yeah, thank you so much for bringing this, one, to the world. I think it has been brought to some people's attention, but keeping it out there is definitely something that has to be done. So I think one of my questions is, you know, what can we do, one, to support this project? And it looks like July 19th is when it premieres.

So, you know, tell us about, you know, what maybe the rollout looks like. Yeah, thank you for that. And look, I agree. It's important that we keep the conversation going so people know. But I want to say the film is also about solutions. It's not just about telling us there is a problem. There is a problem. the conversation going so people know. But I want to say the film is also about solutions. It's not just about telling us there is a problem. There is a problem. But there are solutions to this problem. There are things that we can do to bring down the U.S. maternal

mortality rate, which is discussed in the film. So July 19, the film comes out on Hulu. so I hope people watch. I hope there's lots of conversation. Bruce McIntyre and Omari Maynard, who are featured in the film, they are the partners of two to support the wonderful community work that they are doing to improve birth outcomes for everyone. Jason. Yes, again, thank you so much for doing this. And I guess I want to kind of ask a little bit about the organizations that are involved in this work. Are you finding that they're having fundraising trouble? And are they, you know, you're starting to get the message out there farther.

But how is how is it in terms of functionally moving this movement forward? Because I think a lot of Americans may not be aware of it. Yeah, I mean, there are some amazing reproductive rights warriors out there, reproductive rights justice warriors out there, who are doing awesome work. Yes, they need resources and support, and they need to be amplified and lifted up. And that's part of what we're trying to do with the film, to raise awareness about the work that's being done on the ground from individuals, because this is a situation that will be solved from the people on the ground. So you have people like Kimberly Seals-Ahlers, who has her Earth app, which is an app that

basically rates doctors and hospitals for the care that Black women receive when they go in for maternal care. And she's gotten some funding, but it's Earth spelled without, it's like birth without the B. You can check her out, see her work. There are people like Chanel Portia Albert, who is a doula in Brooklyn, who does great community work there. And again, of course, Bruce and Amari and Shawnee, who Bruce is bringing a birthing center to the Bronx. He has a womb bus that's traveling around. So, you know, the word is getting out there. And I think people are finding ways to be supportive. But, you know, I think we all need to keep our ear to the ground and try to support and amplify those people who are doing the work as much as we can.

Mustafa. Yeah, thank you for Aftershock. When I was in grad school, I actually worked on low birth weight babies and premature babies. And I noticed a difference between black babies and lower wealth white women's babies and the losses that were going on, those types of things. My question is, when institutional racism is woven throughout so many different types of things, what's our pathway forward? Is it through legislation? Is it through other sets of actions? What wisdom have you been able to garner through the work that you're doing? Yeah, I think it's an all hands on deck situation. I think that within the system, obviously, there are problems and there need to be fixes. I will say that the United States

is the only industrialized nation that does not have midwifery at the center of women's health care. And their outcomes are better in other industrialized nations because they use midwives. The fact that midwives are not central to American women's health care is based on a racist premise. So we can do work to raise awareness about midwives, bringing midwives into the mix. Doulas are getting, are being more recognized and we can bring them more into the mix. But really, I think generally what needs to happen is there needs to be a shift in our culture and the way we think about birthing. You know, if, and women need to think about and realize that we have choice in the way we birth. You don't have to birth in a hospital, but if you

want to birth in the hospital and that's where you feel like you want to be, in a hospital with a doctor, you should have the choice to be able to do that. If you want to birth in a birthing center with a midwife and a doula, you should be able to do that. If you want to birth at home with a midwife and a doula and a doctor on call, you should be able to do that. So I think it's about how we really think about birth in this country and figure out how we bring more doulas, midwives, and quite frankly, Black doulas, Black midwives, and Black OBs into the workforce. All right. Again, it premieres Tuesday, July 19th on Onyx Tulu. And so we certainly appreciate Tanya Lewis-Lee for joining us. Always good to see you. Always great to see you too, Roland.

Thank you so much. All right. Take care. All right, folks. Got to go to a break. More on Roland Martin, unfortunately, when we return. Don't forget, you can support us in what we do. Download the Blackstar Network app.

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Mr. Williams gave another donation here. I certainly appreciate it. Jerry Williams, thank you so very much for that, Jerry. And so again, those of you geared during the show, I will be sure to give you a shout out right here. I'll be back in a moment. I'm Deborah Owens, America's wealth coach. And on the next Get Wealthy, have you heard that it's not how much you earn, but how much you keep that matters?

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Yo, what up, y'all? This is Jay Ellis, and you're watching Roland Martin Unfiltered. All right, folks. Jeanette Miller has been missing from Houston since July 2nd. The 15-year-old is 5 feet 3 inches tall, weighs 120 pounds, with black hair and brown eyes. Jeanette wears braces, has a nose piercing, and has a tattoo on her left upper chest of 382814. For anyone with information about Jeanette Miller, please call the Harris County Sheriff's Office at 713-221-6000.

Again, 713-221-6000. Buffalo's Tops Grocery Store will reopen to the public this week for the first time since the mass shooting that killed 10 people in May. Company officials will have a moment of silence and prayer on Thursday, exactly two months from the day of the mass shooting, to honor the victims and employees who were impacted. The company's president ordered the store empty of its products and equipment. The store will officially reopen its doors with a different look and feel on Friday.

Store employees who do not feel comfortable returning to the Jefferson Avenue location will have the option to relocate to a different store. It's a hard call. We saw Teresa after Sandy Hook where they literally tore down that particular school and had it rebuilt. The issue you have here is it's a food desert. And so in your mind, should that store reopen? And again, in the same, like literally it's the same building, it's the same everything. So your thoughts on that?

Absolutely. It's already zoned as a supermarket. A tragedy happened. It's unfortunate that it happened. I think the moment of silence is the right thing to do. But again, we have to think about rebuilding, changing, and solutions. And part of it is we got to make sure that people don't starve. But we're also very cognitive of the situation that happened.

And so, look, sometimes we need to memorialize, you know, some of these situations in order to find better solutions to some of these problems. So, yes, the supermarkets should stay there. But people should, you know, hopefully it comes to be maybe a time for unification as well. Jason. Yeah, I agree. I think it should open. I think there should be some way to memorialize what actually occurred in a way that can unify the community. I think that people can never forget what occurred a place to work. People need a place to be able to get their food. And we need to show the resolve that these people can't stop us. So I think it's important to reopen the store, allow for people to be able to get their groceries, but also remember always what occurred there. Mustafa. I would just add a couple of things. One, I hope that they continue

to make sure that there's support, mental health support, not only for the folks who work in the store, but also for the surrounding community that also had to deal with the tragedy and the trauma. And then I also hope that they make sure there's a much stronger security, both in whether it's in the parking lot or inside. I think that that may also help folks to feel more secure and safe in coming back. All right, folks, in Georgia, a black man is seeking legal action against police who attacked him with a canine. I warn you, the video you're about to see is graphic and disturbing. It came from the body camera footage of one of the cops. Travis Moya suffered 40 bite wounds and a concussion

at the hands of Alpharetta Police last July. Moya's wife, Kami, called 911 for a mental health crisis incorrectly flagged for domestic violence. Moya was arrested for felony obstruction and was taken to a

hospital before being booked into the Fulton County Jail. Moya's charges were dropped on June 29th. Moya alleges that he has been unable to get a job because of the charge and faces emotional and physical distress. Moya's attorney, L. Chris Stewart, is seeking damages from the Alpharetta Police Department on his behalf for the wrongful arrest and assault. I'm just quite trying to understand here.

I'm looking at here one, two, three cops dealing with him. Mustafa, why in the hell would you need a canine sitting here ripping at this man and his fourth cop? I mean, I'm looking at three cops. Three cops.

You know, as we've often shared on this show, everybody shouldn't be a police officer. And this is an example once again. So one, the canine officer, if he had the proper training, he knows the commands to actually get the dog to stop. First of all, he shouldn't have had the dog that close. He didn't need to be that close to the brother who's right there. And then you also know that we've talked about that there are other police departments across the country who make sure that they have, you know, someone who's there with a psychological background, a social work background for these

types of things. Yes, it was, you know, put into the system incorrectly, but I'm sure that the sister shared with them what, you know, what the issue was and that it wasn't a domestic abuse thing. This is so reminiscent also, especially there in Georgia, of how those German shepherds used to attack our folks during the civil rights movement. So there are all these different dynamics, but it all goes back to these police officers. I'm not even going to say they don't have the proper training. They haven't followed the procedures that they're supposed to follow in that type of a situation. So it's crazy, Jason. You got three cops that got this guy on the ground. Three cops are trying to handcuff him and you need a dog to sit here and almost rip the guy's shoulder out.

Yeah, it absolutely makes no sense. I don't, I don't, um, first of all, I want to echo everything that Mustafa said, particularly,, particularly about mental health services, about police officers who are not trained to deal with these types of situations where someone is having a mental health crisis. You need to have someone on scene who can deal with that kind of crisis. And yes, we do recognize that it was put in the system the wrong way, but they could recognize once they got there that that was the situation. I think that this is a training issue, not only for the officer and also for the dog. It looks to me, I'm not certain, but it looks as if he's trying to get the dog off of the man, but he can't do it. And so if that's the case and your dog is not well trained and the officer is not trained in the commands, then you've got a training issue.

So I think that, you know, this is just problematic on so many different levels. I hope that that family is compensated the way that they need to be compensated and that the proper changes are made in that police department. Teresa. I'm just so disgusted. Like every time you guys keep showing this video, I'm getting disgusted by the second. It is so just distasteful. You know, it seems like,

like we don't want to go back to this motive of defunding the police, but we want to go back to the notion of national training, like national training across the board from the canines to the police officers and say, listen, you're not getting another dime until you start obeying the law, until you start obeying common practices and actually common decency. You know, half the time when police officers are showing up to your door, you're afraid. And really, it should be a feeling of mediation or some sort of solutions. But people are not feeling that. You know, they're feeling fearful, and thus they're running. And because they're running, they're now getting shot 60 times. So it's just, you know, it's just, I don't

know. So now we got to say canines that are in police training now to get trained. So it's just, you know, it's just, I don't know. So now we got to say canines that are in police training now to get trained. So it's just one thing after the other. It's just a hard bull. It is. All right, folks, the Pennsylvania town that hired the cop who killed Tamir Rice did not conduct a background check before giving Timothy Lohman the job. Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro said the Tioga Borough President violated Act 557, a law passed after the death of George Floyd,

to address the issue of officers fired for misconduct from getting rehired in a different jurisdiction. Shapiro stated that failure to run this required check erodes the public's faith in your leadership and the public's trust in the officer you ultimately select. Lohman resigned from his role as Tiago's lone police officer on Thursday after being sworn in on Tuesday due to the various pressure. Well, thank goodness for that.

And here's my whole deal. What's the repercussions, Teresa, for folks just ignoring the law? Well, it's interesting. The folks that are ignoring the law is the law. So, OK. Yeah, look, Josh Perot made a right call. But how many other calls, you know, where individuals seem like they're just getting by on the buddy system that are in these police uniforms or in uniform in general without background checks. They say background checks are mandatory and needs to start with inside the institution and not found out later down the line when an issue happens. Jason. Yeah, I mean, this is this is kind of typical and glad that it was caught. Police officers who commit crimes should not be able to leave and go a county over, two counties over, and get rehired.

And to me, we can sit here and say Josh Shapiro did the right thing, but I think that there should be something that should flag those kinds of issues before they even occur. So that the guy doesn't never get sworn in. I mean, he got sworn in, he was in there for 48 hours, who knows,

you know, what kind of damage could have been done even in that short amount of time. So we need to flag these kinds of things before they actually happen. Mustafa. They should do a background check across the country for everyone who's in law enforcement. And the reason for that is that they literally have your life

in their hands each and every day. If you're a federal employee, you've got to go through a background check. If they find out something, then that means you no longer get that job. So if we want to be able to have trust in law enforcement, then that means we have to be able to trust that folks have done the proper due diligence to make sure that these individuals are fit for that job.

Agree 100%. Mustafa, Teresa, and Jason, I appreciate all three of you being on our panel today. Thank you so very much. Folks, coming up next, we will have our Essence Recap. Talk with Tammy Roman about her new show, also Critter Fixers.

Show at National Geographic. We'll also hear from a number of others. Folks, there's all kind of stuff we were able to capture there. So we got it for you. Coming up next, hey, on YouTube, y'all, hit the like button. Okay? While we're at 845 likes, we should easily be at 1,000.

This ain't that hard. Just click like. That's all you gotta do. Facebook and Facebook do the exact that hard. Just click like. That's all you got to do. Facebook, you do the exact same thing, like and share. All right, folks, going to break. I'll be right back on Roller Martin Unfiltered on the Black Star Network. Hold fast to dreams For if dreams die Life is a broken winged bird that cannot fly Hold fast to dreams For when dreams go

Life is a barren field Frozen with snow Lots of oranges Foreign dreams go. Life is a barren field frozen with snow. Lots of oranges. Half the sugar. 1,000% delicious. That's simple math. Say yes to simple.

Made the simple way. With real lemon juice, 75% less sugar, and... Say yes to simple. Thank you. I'm Dr. Robin B, pharmacist and fitness coach, and you're watching Black Star Network. Folks, in New Orleans at Essence Festival 2022, we caught up with the creators of the animated series, The Proud Family, as they talked about the importance of being able to create

this black animated show, family as they talked about the importance of being able to create this black animated show, but also how they were able to empower black people behind the scenes in the largely white world of animation. Alright, so gents, how different is

doing animation, doing with this as opposed to dealing with regular folks on the screen? Is it a different creative process? Is it a different shooting process? And what makes it so unique? Well I think animation to me is like a puppet with a thousand strings, you know, and we're all just one of those strings that we control you know I do the writing but the real magic happens with the animation and that's that's what this man these guys are

magicians and so it's a first of all it takes two years for us to get an episode out the door so that's one episode oh yeah that's You should see our flow chart for our schedule. It goes two years out. Then after that point, we have one a week. Boom, boom, boom. But two years for that first one to hit. Wow. Yeah.

That's not a normal process. No, it's always a process with animation. That's why you always... No, no, meaning when we think about traditional television shows and movies. Oh, no, it's quicker. Yeah, because you've got a camera and you shoot live and pump the end room, throw some effects, bam.

But for us, it's meticulously frame by frame. It's like because we're creating something from completely nothing, and we're making you believe in who those characters are. We're making you believe that they exist in this world, and the words that are coming out of their mouth that are telling the story, we make you believe that that's real, and we're adding all the sentiment, all the humor, all the heart. And that's where, I mean, that's how we work.

It's like, that's the great thing about how we put all this stuff together synergistically is that, Ralph is a master storytelling guru, and we as artists, we always love that stuff. We lean into that heavily when we see a great story with great characters, that's what we do this for. how does it work because if you're shooting normal okay we shoot that scene you can't go hey man i ain't like what y'all just did hey look man that's gonna be four months so so before y'all get to your part y'all got to be on the same page right oh yeah yeah

exactly so we we generate look we do all the things we bring the actors in we record the voices and while we're recording the voices the storyboard artists are starting to put together the storyboard so we get them the real records real quick just so they can be inspired by the vocal performances and they put that together and it's like a weird thing for me an animatic is like animation light and it's just where it's drawn in but it's still moving I thought it was the thing I mean for me when I first started animation I said oh we done Bruce said no man that's it but that was cool that the fact that Ralph could actually watch that animatic

and get the whole show from that. Because sometimes animatics don't deliver that. So the fact that he would see it and the whole crew would see it at its animatic phase is key for us. Because now we just got to go in and really add those subtle nuances and all those little things that make it. First animation project? This, Proud Family was very, 2001,

when we first did the show, and actually we started in the late 1990s discussing it. It's the first time I've ever done animation. So obviously, again,

you talked about, he'll be the master, all his long story career, all winning the awards. Were you sort of like, damn, I'm about to, I'm getting hazed.

This is a whole new thing. Because I mean, it's, look, being new and different is different. Yeah. Well, it was new because coming from live action, I'm used to, you know, write the script, we talk to the actors and make it happen. But in animation, like I said, we write it, but really the majority of the work takes place with the animators.

And animation and writers have had a division over the years. It goes back to Walt Disney, the reason why there's two different unions, because animators traditionally would write their own script. Right. You know, so it was just a different process. And so now we're coming in with sitcom writers, myself and my staff, and animators. And, you know, so there was a little bit of friction because we're going like, it should be this way. And people are going, we don't care about the words.

We're doing it this way. There was some furniture moving the first season. I'm proud of everybody in 2001. Y'all need to call a yonder or Bishop Jake's in. We need to drop some sage in the room. All right, let's start over, guys. But no, that was the beauty of it. I mean, for me, that's the reason why I wanted Ralph on this, because he had never done this before.

So it's going to be a brand new process that I knew was a necessary injection to really make this show authentic and breathe to our people. Right. Because like, you know, it's like Ralph has has worked on projects that we know, you know, that is pure blackness in the community, and I didn't want anything less. I mean, I wanted this show to breathe and read to us pure and authentic and real. All right.

We can leave it there. We keep it black. Amen. Keep it black. It's a FUBU production. It's a for us, by us production. And so, I mean, you've got black folks everywhere, behind the mic and also in the animation piece. That was key.

That was key. When we first staffed up for this version of the show, we knew that there aren't a lot of black artists in this business that fulfill every part of the process. So we had to pull people from rocks and give people their first opportunity. So, I mean, we've got, like, you know, so we set the stage with Ralph's Writing Room at first. It's, like, it's probably the most diverse writing room in Hollywood, especially in the animation business. We just stay there.

There's nothing blacker than our room. So then we had to, like, install the directors, and we gave opportunities to two black female directors. All right. And that doesn't exist in the animation side of business. stall the directors and we gave opportunities to two black female directors all right and that doesn't exist in the animation side of this two of them the unicorns exist on our show and so from every process on down we made sure we put a person of color to actually carry through this process because they could identify you know how the story being told and the subtleties and the nuances and the specificity that really allow us to tell the right story.

And even beyond the first time we look, we're doing this series about a 12 year old, first time around 12 year old black girl, right? Me and Bruce, we fit the profile for that, right? So this time we're coming back, we aged up the character to 14 and we just brought in a lot of black women to inform the process. In the writer's room, the directors, the two black women that are directors, just doesn't exist in this business. Animation is far behind live action.

You know, I was sitting, when I first came over, I was sitting in the cafeteria. I'm sitting there eating, I'm going, I start looking around. I said, I'm the only black person in here. I've never, this is, I mean. Right, that's new for you. You like, I ain't had this in a while.

I mean, come on, this is, you know, 2019. I mean, I've never actually ever experienced that ever. Right. I mean, even back in the dark days, you know, it wasn't that bad. Wow. And it was like, that's what it was about. Every time Bruce and I get in the elevator, I say, what show are you doing?

They say, oh, I'm doing Big Hero 6. Yeah, we're doing it. I said, no, Proud Family. Yeah, they do. They do. Proud Family. The only black folks up there. Proud Family.

So we're about changing that culture. There you go. You know, and so we've really, on this second go around, we've really gone a long way. It's hot, too. All right, cool. All right, gentlemen, I appreciate it. Yes, sir. You know, and so we've really, on this second go-around, we've really gone a long way. It's hot, too. All right, cool. All right. Well, gentlemen, I appreciate it. Yes, sir. All right. Thanks a bunch. Okay. Good luck with it. Thank you. Thank you. Appreciate you. All right. All right. All right, folks. Tammy Roman, you know her

from various reality shows, but also from being an actress. She has a new show that's dealing with folks who cheat. We got a chance to chat with her in the Coca-Cola Lounge at the Convention Center. Here's what she told me about her new show. Tammy, what up?

How you rolling? What's going on? I feel like I haven't seen you in forever. Yes, it's been way too long. And, of course, I still remember me, you, and Elyse in Miami for the TV One deal. Yes, at ABFF. He wears his ascot. And let me tell you something.

He dances. Him and Elyse dance from the time the party starts to the time the DJ's like, you know it's over, the lights is on. That's how they do it. Oh, I believe in shutting parties down. I don't believe in leaving early. Shuts it down. I believe in leaving early.

So what's going on with you? What you working on? And also, you still living in my city? Listen, I love Houston. So yes, I'm still there. But I'm working on Caught in the Act Unfaithful for VH1. And it premieres July the 18th at 9 p.m. And I'm excited because it is a show about relationships. And we are helping people find out if there's infidelity in their relationships. And I know what you're saying.

Okay, so it's a modern day cheaters. But it's so much more than that, Roland. I mean, we really try to offer the people entertainment as well as enlightenment as it pertains to their relationship. So are you like rolling up like 48 hours in cops? It's a little more structured than that. We, you know, you know, side of the freeway in a Caprice classic. Tammy rolling up in black leather pants and some pumps with a whip. Shot! What you doing? No, no, no, no. It's more structured than that. And, you know, we got... Another thing I'm excited about is it was created and executive produced by an African-American female, LaShawn Browning,

and she really took the time to make sure that this was going to be something that we could be proud of within the culture, you know what I mean, and trying to educate women on toxic relationships and what that really means. Now, are you busting and cheating women? We are busting everyone who is not honoring the commitment within their relationship. So we've got men, we've got women, we've got, we got it all. I'm just going to say that. We got it all. That sounds like a lot of drama. It's definitely drama filled. I'm not going to say that it's not. I mean, anytime you have a relationship and somebody gets caught

cheating, there's going to be drama. We definitely have that aspect, but there are a lot of layers to it. People get to sit down with the other person and have a real conversation with them and find out, you know, like, why are you interrupting my relationship? And so we're excited about that. I said, what's up with the bonnets? Oh, the bonnets are still in business. Bonnet Chronicles is still in business. It ain't going nowhere.

Because that's everybody's voice in their head that says the things that they think they shouldn't say, but we go ahead on and say them. So blame it on the bonnet. Blame it on the bonnet. I put that bonnet on, everybody better watch out. Look, it's always good to see you, good to chat with you. So keep handling your business, and I see you look blingy. Okay, what's up? What's up with the coordinated outfit? Yes, yes, you know, great. Got the silver, the chrome, and the gray. Diamonds, you know, it's all there. My husband's a good guy. All right, sounds good.

Always good to see you, baby. Same here, Roland. I appreciate you so much. Talk to you. All right. All right, folks, got to go to break. We come back. We're going to talk about Nat Geo's show Critters.

Also, Devon Franklin talks about a variety of issues, including his new book. All that and more as we recap the 2022 Essence Festival powered by Coca-Cola right here on the Black Star Network. Hold fast to dreams. network. Oh, fast dreams. Foreign dreams go. Life is a barren field frozen with snow. Lots of oranges. Half the sugar. 1,000% delicious. That's simple math.

Say yes to simple. Made the simple math. Say yes to simple. Made the simple way. With real lemon juice, 75% less sugar, and mmm, mmm, mmm. Say yes to simple. What's up, y'all? It's Tammy Roman, and this is Black Star Network. All right, y'all, I don't have any animals at home, but a lot of y'all do. And there's a Nat Geo show called Critter Fixers. Faith Daniels, who handled social media for HBCU League pass she was a correspondent with us in New Orleans at essence and she had a chance

to talk with the host of that Nat Geo show hello everyone is faith Daniels and I am here with the critter fixers dr. Venara Hodges and I'm dr. Terrence Ferguson how you guys doing today so I heard you guys are HBCU grads. We are. Rip your hoods. Fort Valley all day. And Tuskegee University School of Veterinary Medicine. So what made you choose Fort Valley and Tuskegee?

Well, you know, I mean, we always, you know, like HBCUs. And, you know, I'll be honest, I wasn't smart like this guy. So I had an okay grade. So I kind of, you know, kind of wanted to stay close to home. I'm from Fort Valley and they gave me a chance. Yeah, for me, I had a history of HBCU in my family and I came out of high school

on a football scholarship and the ironic thing about it is I was actually going to Tuskegee and the night before signing day, I changed my mind and I went to Fort Valley State University and I still end up back at Tuskegee so everything kind of go full circle. So you guys met in college.

How did you meet? Where did you meet? And how did you guys become friends? You know, we met on the bridge, we always say. So we was taking a class called limnology, and that's the study of water. So we actually were on the bridge of the river. So, you know, I'm smart enough to sit by the smart guy. So, you know, the rest is history.

What would you say? Yeah, same. We met, I was a veterinary technology or science smart guy, so, you know, the rest is history. What would you say? Yeah, same. We met, I was a veterinary technology or science major. He was a biology major. And I took a lot of classes in biology. And we were in a class, and that's when we first met and just became friends. So when did you guys know that you wanted to be animal doctors? So I took kind of a non-traditional role.

You know, living in Fort Valley, they had like a lot of lakes and ponds. I would go down and kind of get frogs and fish and try to do some different things. I thought I was going to be the first black shark goose, though. You know, so I majored in fish risk biology. And as I kept going, I thought, okay, I'll do a few things with fish. I ended up going to Nepal, which is in Southeast Asia, and putting together a fish project. And just as I was graduating, I thought, I like all animals.

So I decided, let me just, instead of going to get a Ph.D., I'm going to get a veterinary degree. And Tuskegee was it. So that's kind of how I ended up. Yeah. For me, I guess I'm a little more traditionalist, or traditional, right? So at eight years old, we had, I'm from a very small town, first of all, that we have two traffic lights and a caution light.

I grew up, we had dirt roads. And, you know, our dogs, they just ran free. You know, they were not necessarily in the house at that time, and we didn't have them caged up or anything. And I had a dog that was hit by a car. And, you know, at that point, you know, I'm like, I got to help this dog. So you get a little alcohol and a little peroxide. That's all you know, you know, at that point, you know, I'm like, I got to help this dog. So you get a little alcohol and a little peroxide. That's all you know, you know, as being young.

And just worked on this dog and doctored it back to health over a few days. And just by doing that, it lit a fire in me to want to become a veterinarian, you know. Now being a veterinarian, I look back on it, it wasn't anything very miraculous. I think it has scars on it. But it was enough to light that fire in me to want to become a veterinarian and just blessed to become one. So I'm already knowing when being in college that those classes were very vigorous. So which

class was just like, oh my gosh, I don't know if I'm going to pass? For me, physics. Physics, I almost walked out the door now. I was like, look, I just need to get through it. It was tough, but I knew I just wanted to live my dream, so I just pushed through. Oh, there's no question for you.

I know it was organic chemistry. Yes. I can remember being in organic chemistry, and I knew I wanted to go to veterinary school. I was at the end, right? I just needed organic one and two, and I can remember taking that final exam. I wrote a note on my test, and I just told the professor, please, if you could just let me out of this class, I just need to pass. I want to go to veterinary school.

I don't ever remember anything else about this class. That'll be fine. But please, fingers crossed, toes crossed. And I got out, so that was good. So I don't know if the note helped or I passed. I'm not sure which one, but I'm here today. I'm here today, though, so that's all that counts. Was it a C, a B?

Oh, I was just trying to see my way through. Period. C's get degrees. There you go. Okay, so that's just like really exciting. I know C's do get degrees. I think I had a few. If you see this, I'm sorry.

But I heard that you guys have a show. So please tell me more about that. Let us know what the name of it is. So Critter Fix the Country Vets. It's kind of following us throughout the clinic. We treat over 20,000 animals and we treat them all. Camels, squirrels,

sugar gliders, fish, snakes, you name it, we treat it. So it just kind of follows us throughout the clinic and kind of follows what we do. Yeah, sure do. It's on Nat Geo Wild and you can also binge watch if you want to on

Disney Plus. Pretty good show. I have to say so myself. It's just who we are. It's a veterinary show, but Dr. Hodges, I'm sure you can figure out right now, we like to enjoy each other. We like to have fun. We try to portray two intelligent black young men and we try to portray two intelligent black young men

you know and just try to share the profession which is a great profession of veterinary medicine with the world and show kids that it is an option for them as well so what is the biggest animal you guys have had to work on or most exotic animal or I think maybe that camel also work on all. I would think maybe that camel. The camel is pretty cool. I also work on spiders, you know. What does a spider need? You do what we call husbandry where you know this particular spider came in because, you know, the guy was feeding it and then it wasn't eating. And so, you know, I asked him to bring in everything so I can kind of figure out.

But what a spider was doing was basically making lunchables. So it would take it, get its prey, and then it would suspend them in its web. So whenever he get hungry, he'd just go get the food out of the web. So it's just kind of learning exactly what spiders do and knowing their husband. So we

talked about earlier, there's only 2% of African Americans who are veterinarians. What are you guys planning to do to increase that number? Well, one thing that we have, we have a program in place called Vet for a Day. And it's a program that's geared for youth. And we bring the kids in for a day. And initially, we'll show them how to become veterinarians, meaning that it's more theory,

you know, what classes you need, you know, what it takes, like what you need a letter to get in veterinary school, how many hours of volunteer you need. And the first part is more educational, which is my part of the day that he says. So the afternoon is a fun time, which he says his part of the day. And the kids actually get to come in and see different things. They get to see live surgeries, how to restrain animals. They get to see ultrasound, x-ray, endoscopy. They learn how to suture and what suture material and how to stitch up.

So it's an afternoon of fun, but it's a full day of that. And it's not just one day. We're tracking these kids and developing a mentor program to try to mentor them all the way through. We also have a component of this that goes to HBCUs. So we do a college tour. We went to Prairie View a couple weeks ago. We went to Harris Stowe, Fort Valley, Tuskegee. So it's really just trying to show them exactly what it takes to become a veterinarian.

Because, you know, most of us, you know, we understand. In the black culture, you know, animals, we love them. But how do you become a veterinarian? Most kids kind of don't know, and the parents don't know. So we just want to teach everybody and show them how they can kind of become veterinarians and help increase this number. Yeah. As I said, this program now, it's nationwide.

So we've already been to, well, of course, Fort Valley. We went to Houston earlier. I went to Las Vegas. We will be in St. Louis in a couple of weeks, as well as Philadelphia. So it's a program that we've started. Now it's getting national attention, and we hope just to roll this thing out all over the country even more as the years come on.

And remember, everything is free for the kids. Okay. What's the age range? 12 to 15, and they can go to a CF vet for a day, and they can sign up, and if they're in the city, everything's free, book bags, stethoscope. So, you know, we've leveraged the drug companies who, you know, with our partnership that they're taking care of everything. Okay. So before I let you all leave, for any students or any African Americans that look like you, walk like you, talk like you,

what is your advice to them as they pursue a career in veterinarian? Well, one thing is find a mentor. You know, I spoke about earlier that I wanted to be a veterinarian at eight years old, and I didn't have that mentor. You know, when I was in high school, I was seeking out mentors and didn't see any that looked like me, and the ones that didn't did not allow me to come in to mentor me and went to undergrad at Fort Worth State,

but it wasn't until I was a junior that I met or saw the first veterinarian that looked like me. And I know what that did for me because there was a time where I became discouraged, but I hadn't seen it before. I was dreaming it. I wanted it, but I had never seen it until I saw it and saw it and then it reinvigorated me. That's why this program is so important for us because kids get to see us.

They get to touch us. They get to touch us. We're real. And it's something that's an option for them. And don't take no for an answer. You know, just keep going to clinics and asking, can you come in and sweeten floors? Because, you know, people don't realize you can have a 4.0 and want to go to veterinary school, but you need a veterinarian to write a letter. So, you know, if you don't have this letter, it might, you know, your letter might necessarily get you in, but it definitely would keep you out. So get that experience. Just don't, you know, keep knocking

on doors. You know, I don't care what color they are. I say, hey, I just want to come in and clean cages. Just don't take no for an answer. Okay. Thank you guys so much, and I will definitely be tuning in to you guys' show on Disney+, period. Thank you, guys. We appreciate you having us. Thank you. All right, folks. gotta go to break we

come back we'll hear from producer devon franklin we'll talk about a variety of issues including his new book you're watching the black star network's uh coverage of the 2022 essence festival presented by coca-cola back in a moment. Hold fast to dreams. For if dreams die, life is a broken winged bird that cannot fly. Hold fast to dreams. For when dreams go, Life is a barren field

Frozen with snow Lots of oranges Half the sugar One thousand percent delicious That's simple math Say yes to simple Made the simple way That's simple math. Say yes to simple. Made the simple way.

With real lemon juice, 75% less sugar, and mmm, mmm, mmm. Say yes to simple. Hi, we're the Critter Pictures. I'm Dr. Bernard Hodges. I'm Dr. Terrence Ferguson. And you're tuned into... Black Star Network. All right, fam.

Devon Franklin, he has produced movies, been a movie studio exec. He's also a pastor. We got a chance to catch up at our broadcast central location, the Roosevelt Hotel in New Orleans, where the Coca-Cola family, where they were headquartered. It was a great conversation. Hope you absolutely enjoyed it and learned something from it, including we talk about preaching and how we prepare for sermons. My conversation with preacher, author, exec, Devon Franklin.

Alright Devon, so we're here at Essence Fest and this is first of all, how many have you been to before? Oh man, probably four to five. This might be my fifth one. Over the course of about ten years. Okay, got it. And so

what do you find to be most unique, interesting about coming here? You know, it brings together so many people of different walks of life. I mean, you know, from politics to religion to entertainment to social work to education. I mean, literally, like all of these different avenues of black life converge on the, on the conference. And so it's always fascinating to come across different people who have a totally different experience than I may have professionally, but we have the same, same shared experience because of our, our, our background. Now, how often do you either walk the convention floor or walk through the Superdome.

You know what? I did both during this trip. So I went to the Superdome last night, and it was cool because it's black folks. I mean, nothing but love, right? Nothing but love. Like, hey, how you doing? I mean, nobody giving you mean mugs, nothing.

Everybody was just, like, happy to be there. See, I try to tell the celebrities at the superdome leave a section yeah and go get go with the people and literally absolutely so i like to i literally at least twice a night i like to go all the way to the back sometimes i'll actually go up to another level yeah uh and it's and just for the sole purpose uh of experience. And also, it is a, and for all y'all religious people out there, don't freak out. I'm not comparing myself to Jesus right now. But I always say this, that the beauty of the story of the woman with the blood problem is not that she was healed, but that Jesus was accessible for her to touch the hem of his garment.

That's true. I love that. And so the thing for me is people got to be accessible. Yes. And so if they never get to speak to you, how you're doing, I love to touch you, you're distant. I love that. And that's why I do that. I mean, I literally, I walk the convention floor every time. And we might have to take selfies for 45 minutes or an hour, but they get to touch you and see you.

Yeah, yeah. I did the convention floor today. And same kind of thing, you know. And also you get a chance to see what the real experience is. Right. Because if, you know, let's say I just came and spoke and left, I get a part of it, but I don't get the whole experience. But to be there on the convention floor and to see all the different booths and, you know, black business and different people, I mean, it was a great experience. See, I always describe when I talk about it as

ultimate black love, because you're right. I mean, you're going to run into folk from all walks of life. You're going to run into CEOs. You're going to run into folk from all walks of life. You're going to run into CEOs, you're going to run into doctors, lawyers, street pharmacists. You're going to run into everybody and folk got stories and first time they met you.

Like one woman, I think she was like, we've gotten selfies like eight years in a row and like straight up. But again though, to me that's what's so amazing when you get to actually flow and have that kind of experience. Absolutely. Without a doubt. Without a doubt. I mean, I think it's it makes the experience, you know, and then also lets people know that we're thankful. You know, a lot of us have our livelihood because people support it vis-a-vis entertainment. And so to be accessible and to let them know that they're appreciated, it really matters.

So Will Packer, my frat, Malcolm Lee, they did Girls Trip. Since you're a Hollywood producer and you like to do stuff that's also faith-based, what would be a faith-based movie at

Essence Fest? Oh, wow. Let's see what you got. Oh, man. Well, you know, it would probably involve Sunday, you know, and the gospel experience. And I'd have to think about the rest. But, you know, that would be my instinct is that, you know, there is either a church group or a women's ministry group. And the whole point is to get to Essence and that there's some hijinks that ensue

and maybe some unholy, you know, some things that happened before, but on Sunday there's redemption for before they get back on a plane and go home. Uh-huh. Yeah. See, see y'all always got to get to on Sunday. See, I always tell people, you can always tell the difference between, for me, good preachers and bad preachers. So my wife, I take copious notes, sermon notes.

And so she look over and it's like three lines and all it is is the date, church, the pastor, the scripture and the sermon title, that's it. She know I ain't feeling it. Right. And bad preachers always, so I'm going to ask you first,

what is the guaranteed shout of a bad preacher? The guaranteed. It's the guaranteed, no matter how awful the sermon is, it is the guaranteed shout. This is the hallmark of a awful preacher, an awful preacher, an awful preacher will rely on this no matter what. What is it? Oh, wow. God is good all the time? No. Nope. Nope. What? What's the guarantee?

Awful sermon. Awful sermon. They know it's horrible. They know it. Then they'll get to that point. But one day on Friday. Yes, yes. God, you know, Jesus died on the cross.

But early Sunday morning. How awful it is. He rose from the grave. He has his one particular preacher, and I'm sitting. My wife, no. I'm like, here it come. Friday. Automatic. Folk going to stand up and shout.

And I'm sitting there and I'm like, I turn around and I say, they know this sermon's horrible. They know he can't preach. That's a good point. I never thought about that. Dude, every time.

But early Sunday morning. I've heard more than a dozen sermons from the same preacher. And I sit there and I be like, wait till Friday. And when it hit, she just hit it.

She look at me like, I was like, you know it's coming. Wow. I don't care how bad it is. That's funny. You with black people. That's true. If you give it a speech and it sucks, go ahead and hit Friday. Go ahead. And Jesus rose. And you good.

You good. Everybody gonna hollerller and shout, we out. Now, give me a time where you spoke or you were doing something and the room was not feeling you. What did you do? What did you have to do? Oh, you know, one time I spoke at this leadership conference and it was it was mixed race, but predominantly white. And, you know, and they were just completely not accustomed to the energy that I was bringing at all. And I just stayed at that level. You know, I just went, you know, and I was like, well, this is me. So, you know, I was going to do me. I'm not going to, you know, rely too much on your reaction.

Right, right. And then afterwards, you know, a lot of people that I didn't know if they were feeling it, they came up and said, oh, my goodness, that was amazing. Like one of the best speakers we've had. But I really just had to stay the course. Because when you're used to that response, it really fuels you as a speaker. So at first when I didn't get it, I got a little timid and I got a little fearful. But I said, you know what?

I'm just going to do me. You know, and that's what I did. That's why when I walk in, I absolutely feel the room. First of all, I don't even write speeches. So I don't even waste my time writing speeches. Oh, wow. So I let the room speak. Oh, really?

Oh, yeah. I don't even. So how does that work? So you get up and then you just go? Yeah. Wow. I'll sit there. Now, I might you just go. Yeah. Wow. I'll sit there. Now, I might have a concept. Yeah.

And then something may happen in between the person introducing me and something else may spark. Then I'll change it on the fly. Wow. So I'll sit there. So yeah. I gave, I gave, I was in Florida when this woman was like, oh my God, we would love to run your speech in our black newspaper. I said, yeah, I'm going to transcribe it.

Right. She's like, what do you mean? I said, baby, ain't no notes. She said, what? I in our black newspaper. I said, y'all got to transcribe it. Right. She's like, what do you mean? I said, baby, ain't no notes. She said, what? She said, when we speak? I was like, no. She said, in this card? I said, in this card.

I said, y'all got to transcribe that sucker. Wow. So no, I don't even, I don't, so it's, literally it's just like fill the rooms. So that point there, you could always, you could always tell in that room where people are. And then that sort of allows me to calibrate how I'm going to actually talk to the room. I love that.

That's a gift. That's not easy to do. Well, my wife, you know, because she's ordained. She got a paper. She went to seminary. So, you know, when she gives a sermon, she goes like into a cocoon. I mean, she got like books all around her. And one day I walked in. I'm like, what you doing? She's like, oh, I'm going to give a sermon. She goes like into a cocoon. I mean, she got like books all around her. And one day I walked in, I'm like, what you doing?

She's like, oh, I'm going to read a sermon. I was like, when? She's like, oh, it's in three weeks. It takes time to break down that word. I'm like, three weeks? Exegete that text, yeah. I said three weeks. I only had for three.

So we were in Chicago, and the church, they had me do three services. So we driving, and she's like, what are you talking about? I'm like, I don't know. We're in a car. I'm like, I don't know. And so we, and the church, they had me do three services. So we driving, and she's like, what are you talking about? I'm like, I don't know. We're in the car. I'm like, I don't know. So we go into the church. I'm sitting at the pulpit.

Introduce me. Quiet singing. Next voice you hear. And so she texts me. Decided, nope. And I literally grabbed the Bible. That is so stressful. I literally grabbed the Bible.

Scripture. Took half of it. Came with the title. Closed it. And then went up. No, you didn't. I did. And so you ask her.

And did you end up with it on Friday night? No, I ain't do that. I've never done that. And so when the church is over, she's like, so you're just going to sit there and just do that? I was like, don't hate the gift. Don't hate the gift. I can't stand you. I said, don't hate the gift.

Oh, my goodness. I said, you can't be a preacher hating the gift. Wow. I mean, but that's stressful. That's stressful. No, I don't hate the gift. Oh, my goodness. I said, you can't be a preacher hating the gift. Wow. I mean, but that's stressful. That's stressful. I don't either. Like, you know, I need to, anytime I'm speaking, it doesn't matter what it is, I've got to do an outline and have a framework.

And then, of course, there's moments for, you know, being extemporaneous. But for the most part, I like to know here's the gist. Even if they give me the theme, I probably won't use it. It'll take me somewhere else. Right, right, right. Take me somewhere else. So literally, it's just like I'll sit there and let the room speak to me.

Wow, man. Well, it hasn't failed you yet. No, it works. It works. So just roll with it. What is your, what's that dream project? What's that thing you really, like really, really, really, really, really want to do that you have not done?

The project I've been working on probably the longest at this point is Kirk Franklin's biopic. I'm producing that. And that's a story. It's a story. It's a great story. And I've been working on that. Not the one now.

How he got there. Yeah, how he got there. Yes, absolutely. So I've been working on that, man, one now. How he got there. Yes, absolutely. So I've been working on that, man, like eight years. Wow. Yeah. So that's the one that at the moment I'm just really, really passionate about getting it over the hump. And we have a new script and

still making some tweaks here and there, but that's the one. Well, who are you going to find that's short to play him? You ain't right. But see, because Kirk makes jokes about his own height, he would laugh at that. Come on, come on. We all know Shepard Baby Gap. That's right.

That's what he said. That's exactly what he says. Well, you know, we'll have to find an unknown. You know, we're going to do a whole nationwide, worldwide search to find who's going to play Kirk Franklin. You know, somebody who has that charisma, who's obviously, you know, height appropriate, and can also do the music.

See, the thing, what I love about, or what I often talk about, whether it's Kurt, whether it's Bishop Jakes, that I love dealing with people. People love to revel and talk about where they are now. But nobody wants to deal with Jakes when he was digging ditches. My deal is you can't talk about the Jakes now unless you deal with that. And I think that's also what's important about Kirk's story. Absolutely.

Just recently he performed in Memphis because he's on tour with Maverick City. And he talked about that 26 years ago in Memphis he fell off the stage, went into a coma, almost died. And so a lot of people didn't even know that story. So the idea that there he is back on that same stage 26 years later and look what God is doing. Wow, that is awesome. Now, Kirk is a good brother. Yeah. And he will bless you.

Yes. Not to bless y'all thinking about. Kirk's still, he's still black. Yes, he is. From the hood. So we were talking, I was like, okay, Kirk, when's Jesus going to show up? No, Kirk's a real dude. He's a real dude, you know?

You see the video with BET Awards when he was talking to LaMell Plummer with Zeus? No, no. And they posted it. They were like, oh, Kirk's in an intense conversation with LaMell Plummer. And so he's holding his hand the whole time, and he's got the hand on the shoulder. Oh, Lemmy. So he's doing, oh, okay, got it. So we all know what that move is.

Yeah, yeah. And so you don't have to text him. I was like, yeah, I see it. I bet you got it. I said, do you have some holy oil laying hands? I had to mess with him on that one. What did he say? Sent me the prayer signal back.

So he did that. Did that. So, okay. So I asked you to play with Kirk. Okay, now I got one for you, okay? This is my final question for you. Who would you want to play you? In the movie of my life, I'd have to go with my brother, Trey Byers.

Everybody say we look alike. Anyway, Trey played Andre on Empire. I know that. I told Trey. Okay, you know Trey. Okay, good. Yeah, so Trey, Trey. I told Trey.

He's maybe an inch taller. Really? Yeah, yeah. He's tall. He's 6 so Trey. I told Trey. He's maybe an inch taller. Really? Yeah. He's tall. He's 6'2", and I'm 6 feet. Oh, so I thought we were going to have a reverse James Brown, Chadwick Boseman. No, no, no, no, no, no. Trey's, yeah. So he'd be the one. That would be pretty cool.

Alright, next thing you got coming out that we need to be aware of and need to be supporting. Yeah, I got a new book out right now with Audible. It's called It Takes a Woman. It's an audio-only book. It's basically about the women in my family. It's like my memoir. You know, I talk about how my father died and how I, you know, was raised by my

mother, my grandmother, my grandmother's seven sisters and how that led. Seven sisters? Seven sisters, yes. You got beat a lot. But you know what? Only by my mother. Really? They never did. Wow. Never did. Yeah. No, by my mother. Really? They never did. Wow. Never did. Yeah. No, only my mother. My mother, she was quick.

My dad beat everybody. Oh, really? Oh, yeah. Yeah. I got whooped once by my uncle, one of my great-aunts' husbands. That was it, you know. And so this book really tells my story. And I talk about from the death of my father, you know, all the way. Nine years old. And so the story starts with me. Nine when his dad was killed. Oh, wow. I all the way, uh, nine years old. Um, and so the story starts with me. My dad was nine when his dad was killed. Oh, wow.

He was, yeah. Wow. Wow. Yeah. I mean, it's such a pivotal age and I bring the listener in on that very moment when my mother and me and my brothers are in the morgue and my mother says to go kiss your father goodbye. Yeah. And so the story, uh, he died of a heart attack, 36 years old. 36? 36. It was his third heart attack, yes. Wow. Yeah, he was an alcoholic.

You know, obviously that doesn't, you know, lead to that severity of heart disease per se, but the combination of that and not taking care of himself, you know, led to... Why Audible? Why Audible only? Because Audible had seen an article that I wrote for Maria Shriver, and they said,

oh, would you like to do a book about this? I said, yeah, let's do it. So they approached me. I went to my mother and my aunt, said, do you guys want to do it? And they said, yeah, let's do it. So they approached me. I went to my mother and my aunt and said, do you guys want to do it? And they said, yeah. So we did it together. So is it sort of like you're interviewing them?

So did you actually write the book? Yeah, I wrote the book. I wrote the book. But when you listen to it, it's like a movie. So you hear their voices come in and out as I'm telling different parts of the story. Oh, that is cool. In that moment when I'm talking about seeing my father,

you know, then you hear my mother's voice and you hear her point of view. And then my Asandra's voice comes in and you get her point of view. So every chapter is a new story that keeps unfolding. Was that your idea or was that their idea? That was mine. That was mine. You know, being a filmmaker, I really wanted to give a cinematic experience to the listener.

Now, did they negotiate their percentages? They did. Yes, they did. With me. They were like, how much are you going to pay? They were kind of like, okay, so Devon, let's get to the listener. Now, did they negotiate their percentages? They did. Yes, they did with me. They were like, how much are you going to pay? They were kind of like, okay, so Devon, let's get to the business. Right. Literally. How much money are we talking? You know, I had to give them two installments, you know, I mean, it was like, oh yeah. Oh yeah. For real. I'm not lying. I am not lying. You know, so that went really well. And then I have Kingdom Business on BET+. It's their number one new show on BET+.

It's like Empire, but set in the world of gospel music. Isn't Yolanda Adams in that? Yeah, Yolanda Adams and Soraya and Michael Beach and Michael Jai White. My wife was like, is Yolanda Hood? Oh, man. Man, she gets down in that series. Because we're all from Houston. She's in that.

Yolanda's from Houston. Yeah, she is. She is. Yeah, man, listen. When you see her in this series, you are going to have a whole new level of appreciation for her because she's a real actress. She's like Mary J. Blige in Power.

Listen, she's better than Mary in Power. Wow. Listen, I love Mary. All hail to the queen. But Yolanda Adams holds her on that screen. Wow. Yeah. Okay.

Yeah. That's a side of, yo, we ain't never seen. You ain't never seen. Okay. Yeah, you watch that show. You say, okay, wait, Yolanda. I don't want to cross you in real life. All right, then.

Yeah, so that's Kingdom Business on BT Plus. All right, cool. Always good chopping up, baby. Always, my brother. Always good to see you. Thank you, man. Keep having your business, baby. Will do.

Yes, sir. Appreciate you. All right, folks. Tomorrow, we've got more recap from Essence. Chloe Bailey, Ryan Destiny. We'll hear from them. We'll also hear from a couple of influencers. We also got a crazy, crazy interview with the cast of The Proud Family.

And so we got, and then, of course, later in the week, my conversation with that fool, Gator. Y'all know that guy, Le'Ignit. And so we're looking forward to that as well. So, again, thanks to Coca-Cola for allowing us to partner with them to recap the 2022 Essence Fest. Hope you all enjoyed that. And we will have more later this week right here on the Black Star Network. Until then, holla!