#RolandMartinUnfiltered - OH Cops Punch Black Woman, FL Blocks Black Curriculum, FedEx Driver Called N-Word, New Career 2023

Starting point is 00:00:00 This is an iHeart Podcast. Today is Thursday, January 19th, 2023. Coming up on Roland Martin Unfiltered, streaming live on the Black Star Network. An Ohio police sergeant is on administrative leave after being captured on video repeatedly punching a black woman in the face during an arrest.

Starting point is 00:00:20 Obama's attorney will join us on the show. Florida is going to do what Florida always does. The Ron and Sanders administration, they're blocking an African-American advanced placement course for high school students. They say it has no educational benefit and violates their anti-woke law. I'll talk to a Florida legislator about how denying classes like this harms students. A Texas representative, of course, is pushing a bill to eliminate the Texas Confederate Memorial Holiday. He'll join us to talk about the bill he has introduced two other times. The Department of Justice launches an investigation into the death of a black Tennessee man at the hands of Memphis police officers.

Starting point is 00:01:05 Also, we've been discussing a new you in 2023 regarding your physical self, but today we'll talk about reinventing your career and also how do you navigate this space of layoffs as people are anticipating a recession. We'll talk to a 14-year HR expert, Laryn Wagner, about that very issue, plus taking your phone calls for her as well.

Starting point is 00:01:27 And our panelist, Recy Coburn, has got her a new job among the many other jobs that she has. We'll tell you about that as well. Folks, it is time to bring the funk on Rolling Mark 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 Star Network. Let's go. With entertainment just for kicks He's rolling Yeah, yeah

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Starting point is 00:02:40 Martel. Martel. Martel. Martel. Martel. Martel. Martel. Martel. Martel. Martel. All right, folks, a dispute over a 30-cent slice of cheese led to an officer punching a black woman in the face multiple times during an arrest in Butler Township, Ohio. If not for this bystander's video,

Starting point is 00:03:04 the public might have never known about Latrinka Hancock getting brutally hit in the face. The officers involved were Tim Zellers and Sergeant Todd Starley. Starley, the one delivering the blows, has been placed on administrative leave. Latrinka Hancock's attorney, Michael Wright, the managing partner at Wright & Schulte, is joining me now from Dayton, Ohio. Michael, glad to have you here. So, 30 cents slice of cheese? What happened?

Starting point is 00:03:32 Yeah, it's pretty ridiculous. She went into McDonald's to return a Big Mac that didn't have the 30-cent slice of cheese that she had paid for. The manager did acknowledge that, at some point, did acknowledge that she did pay for it, asked the cook to remake the Big Mac. I think the cook took exception to remaking the Big Mac. So the cook came out to the front, got into an argument with my client in addition to her manager, and the manager eventually called the police. My client decided that she wanted to talk to the police also because of her treatment inside of McDonald's. Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa.

Starting point is 00:04:17 Hold on, hold on. Let's roll back. She paid for it. She absolutely paid for it. She goes back in. They admit they screwed up. The manager tells the cook, hey, remake the burger.

Starting point is 00:04:30 The cook gets pissed, confronts her. Manager calls the cops on her or the cook. Absolutely. Well, the manager called the cops on my client.

Starting point is 00:04:45 I think that the argument between the cook and the manager, it was just so much confusion in there. What my client did was she decided to go sit out in her car to wait for the police because she wanted to tell her version of the story. So she sits in her car, then the cops arrive, then what happens? The cops arrive, and as you can see from the video, she gets out of her car to walk to talk to the police. The police were initially condescending. I think the police already knew what they wanted to do when they got there. They weren't trying to listen to her at all.

Starting point is 00:05:24 They didn't want to hear her version of the story. All they wanted to do was tell her what they wanted to tell her and arrest her. I mean, this is a customer who was right. Absolutely. A customer who got screwed. And this is real simple how this works. So this, so the video we're seeing here, is this body cam footage from the officers? That's body cam footage from the officers, absolutely, yes. So you see her. First of all, guys, is there audio? Okay, pull the audio up, please.

Starting point is 00:05:53 Yes, there's audio. Hold on one second. Hold on one second. I called the police because she didn't want to give me back my money, and I told them I'm in a black truck, and I'm waiting. She finally gave me the refund nearly eight weeks before I got in the car and started it up. The problem was, all I wanted

Starting point is 00:06:10 was to be remade. She started screaming at me and I was just like, well, ma'am, she explained it to you. Why won't you go make it? Well, you need to pay me 30 cents. I said, the lady that just came and got the paper already took the 30 cents on top of the 49. Okay, so I want y'all to do this here.

Starting point is 00:06:27 I want y'all to now fast forward. Come back to me. I want y'all to fast forward to the point right before the altercation begins because I need to understand why that was an altercation. I'm confused. I'm looking at, again, the video. And so, I mean, Michael, why is it an altercation? There shouldn't have been an altercation. What happened was, is that McDonald's wanted her trespassed off the property.

Starting point is 00:06:57 At least that's what the officers are saying at this point. You know, I haven't confirmed that, but they wanted her off the property, so they wanted her ID, and during that course she initially said that, you know, I just want to leave. You know, I'm not going to give you any of my information. I want to leave. So they took exception to that. They started grabbing her

Starting point is 00:07:17 and they were going to arrest her at that point. So we have it queued up. Now hit play. Don't get up. I don't want to, for real. Have it queued up. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry.

Starting point is 00:07:47 I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry.

Starting point is 00:07:52 I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. Roland, what... Yeah, yeah, pull the audio down. Roland, what's very... Keep playing the video. Pull the audio down.

Starting point is 00:08:06 Michael, go ahead. What's very interesting about this, Roland, is that from the officer's body cam footage, you can't see the officer punching her in the face. It was actually a bystander's view in his video which shows the officer punching her in her face. So the officers, you know, were never... The police department was never transparent. You know, based on their video,

Starting point is 00:08:29 you would never see her being punched in the face. So guys, control room, roll that. Pull up the actual video from the bystander so we can actually see the cop punching her in the face. You see, so we showed you that. And so now we see the video here. She's again protesting because, and now he's three, four, he punches her four times in her face before they

Starting point is 00:08:51 put, now he's got his arm around her neck in a, basically a chokehold. Right. And then let's see here. Hold up. So, so someone was recording inside, I guess they were outside. And so now, now all of a sudden, okay, there we go. So isn't that pretty interesting that the video from the police doesn't show that, you know, that view of them punching her in her face? Yeah. If you're wearing a body cam footage, I should be able to see that actually happening. Absolutely. First of all, how is your client doing?

Starting point is 00:09:23 She's recovering. She went to the hospital. She was diagnosed with a closed head injury. Uh, she has a busted lip. She has about four or five loose teeth. Uh, she has a hip injury. She has a back injury and neck injury. So she, she's recovering. And, and even more than that, she's just shaken. I mean, she's scared. She was scared to death when this was going on. And this was just uncalled for. As you can see, it's ridiculous. Have you heard anything from the owner? Because first of all, people don't realize nearly all McDonald's franchises are actually owned by operators.

Starting point is 00:10:02 Have you heard from the owner of that McDonald's? Have you heard from McDonald's corporate? I have not. And I have sent letters to the franchisee. I've sent letters to McDonald's corporation, and I have yet to receive anything from them. Wow. Unbelievable watching this.

Starting point is 00:10:23 And again, it wasn't her fault. She literally just simply wanted, she paid for the cheese. Look, I've done it before. Like you, you, you screw my burger up. I, first of all, I don't like cheese on mine, but they put cheese on mine. You screwed it up. Make me a new burger without cheese. And so what do you do? You make a, you make a new damn burger. And this is a perfect example where the manager, this is where that manager should be fired and held accountable because the manager is the one who called the cops. Absolutely. McDonald's has policies and procedures of how to handle customers. And I don't think one of them, when a customer is just not happy with their service and not

Starting point is 00:10:59 happy with their meal, calling the police should not be one of those things that happens to a customer. You saw her from her demeanor with the police. She wasn't angry. She wasn't yelling. She wasn't upset. She said, I want my burger. Yeah, she just wanted what she paid for. All right.

Starting point is 00:11:15 Michael, keep us abreast of how this case goes forward. We certainly appreciate it. Thanks a lot. Absolutely. Thank you. Folks, we come back. I'll talk about this with my panel on Roller Martin Unfiltered right here on the Black Star Network. On the next Get Wealthy with me, Deborah Owens, America's wealth coach, we're talking about the difficulty of being able to acquire wealth for black Americans. We'll be right back. trees like this. That's right here on Get Wealthy, only on Black Star Network.

Starting point is 00:12:07 Next on The Black Table with me, Greg Carp. Our legal roundtable is back in session as we look at yet another potential landmark case being considered by the United States Supreme Court. This one is called 303 Creative versus Elenis, and may be the most important and far reaching First Amendment, that is freedom of speech, case of our time. It could, depending on how the court rules, open the door for a return of Jim Crow segregation laws. It's true.

Starting point is 00:12:38 If you say we can discriminate against one, you're saying we can discriminate against all. That's on the next Black Table. Don't miss it, right here on the Black Star Network. If you discriminate against one, you're saying we can discriminate against all. That's on the next Blacktable. Don't miss it right here on the Blackstar Network. We're all impacted by the culture, whether we know it or not. From politics to music and entertainment,

Starting point is 00:12:59 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. Hi, I'm Eric Nolan. I'm Shantae Moore. Hi, my name is Latoya Luckett, and you're watching Roland Martin Unfiltered. We'll be right back. Alright folks, let's talk about that unbelievably crazy video that we just saw with our Thursday panel.

Starting point is 00:13:45 Joining me, Greg Carr, Department of African American Studies, Howard University, host of The Black Table here on the Black Star Network. We have Erica Savage, of course, the reframed brain, Recy Colbert, founder of Black Women Views, and also Recy is now hosting her own show on Saturdays on SiriusXM Radio. So, Recy, congratulations.

Starting point is 00:14:10 You went from cussing on Twitter, defending Kamala Harris, to coming on this show to become a contributor on SiriusXM and Clay Kane's show, now having your own show. Thank you, Roland. I told you earlier on the phone, but

Starting point is 00:14:25 I give much thanks and appreciation to you for being the first one to put me on there. And of course, I have to thank Clay Kane and Karen Hunter and the whole SiriusXM Urban View family. Yes, I will have the Reese and Colbert show. And I had to remind y'all, when Reese first came on, y'all, she tried to be like the rest of the people.

Starting point is 00:14:42 I was like, Reese, what the hell are you doing? I said, I need you to do you. Don't be trying to sit here and y'all, she was all the people. I'm like, Reese, what the hell are you doing? I said, I need you to do you. Don't be trying to sit here. And y'all, she was all sedate. I'm like, you on drugs or something? I'm like, uh-uh. I need you to do you. And so I'm like, she's like, hold up.

Starting point is 00:14:54 I can cuss. And then, of course, she was right at home. All right, let's get right into it. Let's see. Watching this video here is utterly ridiculous. What's crazy to me, Erica, is she's right. She paid for something. They need to remake the burger.

Starting point is 00:15:15 The cook gets pissed off. That's what a manager should have told the cook, get your ass in the kitchen and remake the damn burger. Yeah, Roland. Absolutely. And I just want to kind of say that, you know, a burger not being made well or right, especially from McDonald's, should not equate a brain injury. And one of the things that I'm most concerned about with this sister is the amount of violent force that she took on to her head at least three times. I've said this on this show and on my platform that black people are disproportionately, disproportionately more apt to develop dementia and Alzheimer's. And so events like this don't help. My injury, I sustained it on March 15th. The language, not being able to read, having difficulty walking,

Starting point is 00:16:20 those set of symptoms, those set of issues did not come into a few days later. So while she's standing upright and her attorney is saying that she's recovering, I want people to bear in mind that this is something that just happened recently. So they're still long-term ahead of her as well. It's the way that folks who have authority and just people in general feel very comfortable with levying this type of violence against Black people and Black women is categorically demonic. And so in addition to her attorney, I hope the community joins in bankrupting that damn McDonald's because that was excessive and unnecessary. And the price that this sister will have to pay is one none of them can afford on a raggedy ass salary. This right here to me, Recy, again, if you are the owner of that franchise, you have a responsibility. First of all,

Starting point is 00:17:25 you don't call the cops on a customer. When the customer is right, you check your employees. That cook, that manager, and that cook both should be fired. Yeah.

Starting point is 00:17:42 First of all, who the fuck has an ego over a big Mac? Like, that show, your big accomplishment is you won a trophy for making a Big Mac and you still forgot the damn cheese? Like, that is crazy to me that somebody would have such an ego about fucking up a Big Mac that they would get out there and argue with a customer. So that's crazy. For the manager to sit up there and call the police instead of directing their employee into the back and to make the damn burger is crazy. But what we saw happen is exactly what people want to happen to us when they call the cops, these paddle rollers, as Dr. Carr would say, in to inflict this kind of violence. They, mission accomplished for them. It might cost McDonald's money. It might cost the cops money. But this is exactly what they were hoping for. The cops showed up and delivered the service that McDonald's wanted against this woman. And it's despicable. It's disgusting. I'm so glad that Erica talked about the potential

Starting point is 00:18:46 long-term impact of being on the receiving end of such violence. It's crazy. We see white folks act the fool all the time with the cops when they don't necessarily consistently have this kind of treatment. So the cops decided

Starting point is 00:19:01 probably within seconds they just wanted to fuck with her and fuck her up but i'm not i don't want to be a victim blamer i don't want to be a victim blamer in any way shape or form but last week we talked about this and i'm gonna say it again please do not present yourself to the police if you don't have you know if you don't have to i'm not giving you legal advice but i'm just saying part of the story was she waited for the police to come she talked to the police to come. She talked to the police. The police are not your friend.

Starting point is 00:19:28 They don't want to hear your side of the story. You actually really shouldn't talk to the police and volunteer information anyway because next thing you know, now she has charges for open liquor container, which could be fake. You know what I'm saying? They throw shit out there trying to justify their violence afterwards.

Starting point is 00:19:43 But now she's facing all these charges because they have to try to retroactively justify their violence. So please, I'm just going to say it again, not to be a victim blamer. I hope that she sues the shit out of them. I hope they drop the charges. I hope they pay. But please, Black people, the cops are not your friend.

Starting point is 00:20:00 They're not here to hear your side of the story unless it's going to be a situation where you're going to be on a high-speed chase. Get out of Dodge, please. Greg, the thing that just, again, perturbs me here is that if you look at the video, she's explained to the cops what happened. She's a customer. She obviously is perturbed. Roll it back further. No, no, no. I don't want to see that part. No, roll it back further. I want to show people again,

Starting point is 00:20:31 look at her demeanor. She's talking to them. She's explaining to them exactly what happened. Okay, here's what's going on. But then they want her removed for trespassing. She still ain't got her burger. She's not trespassing. She was a customer who went there who should have been taken care of. Yeah, absolutely. And we don't know whether or not that McDonald's is a franchise or if it's owned independently. There are probably six or seven McDonald's, it appears, north of Dayton. It's out near the airport. So I agree.

Starting point is 00:21:08 You know, the owner, the franchisor person, the manager, as you say, Reese, they got what they wanted to get done. You're using the police as a weapon. They should certainly be drug into this. But, you know, there's might and there's right. Of course she was in the right. But as you say, Recy, I mean, this woman is charged with failure to identify. Wait a minute. And she's not in a moving vehicle. So the charge of driving under suspension, having an open container, this lady is not moving. Now, these two punks,

Starting point is 00:21:39 Sergeant Todd Stanley, who I assume is the guy behind her, sneaking a woman in the back of the head to Erica's point, busted lip, loose teeth, hip, neck, back injuries. You know, this man, this piece of a man. And then the guy, Officer Tim Zellers, who's appointing some kind of weapon at her, either a taser or a pistol, holding it like he's Sergeant Voight on Chicago PD. These two pieces of men, you know, they should be made poster children. Social media, do your thing. Todd Stanley and Sellers. Please understand that they then said that they were there to de-escalate.

Starting point is 00:22:13 So the punk police department out there in Butler Township with the language, you know, all the language of de-escalating. You weren't trying to de-escalate. You had your damn weapon in the face. And then finally, you know, as you say, Roland, you made this point. This isn't on the body cam. This is a bystander. Use your cell phones as weapons.

Starting point is 00:22:32 Anytime you see these funky paddle rollers, pull it out and start filming. Because these two punks, Todd Stanley and Tim Zellers, need to be held to account. The reason you charged like that is because they know they in trouble, so they're going to try to negotiate now if you throw the book

Starting point is 00:22:48 at the sister. But this is pattern and practice. Again, it is just crazy this particular story. We're going to be reaching out to McDonald's to get an answer to exactly

Starting point is 00:23:04 what happened here. Again, the owner of that franchise, whoever owns that franchise, that owner really needs to be held accountable and needs to hold the folks accountable. That manager should be fired. That cook should be fired. They should be paying for her medical bills because they caused this. She was the customer. I thought the customer was always right. And you admit that she proved it? She actually paid for the cheese?

Starting point is 00:23:36 Nobody deserves to get punched in the head and arrested by cops for paying for a 30 cents worth of cheese on a damn hamburger. It makes no sense whatsoever. All right, folks, got to go to a break. We come back. I'm Roland Martin Unfiltered. Lots more to talk about. Part two of our conversation with Dr. Rowe about healthy eating.

Starting point is 00:23:52 We'll have that conversation. Also, a lot of people are preparing, getting ready for a recession. Companies are laying people off. You still got employees also leaving companies, choosing not to come back to work because of COVID. So we'll be talking to an HR expert, plus taking your phone calls with regards to that. How do you as an employee operate in 2023 with these changes?

Starting point is 00:24:12 Guys, pull the phone number up, please. And so if you want to give us a call, you can get in line for that. 202-890-1199. 202-890-1199. Taking your phone calls for our segment, talking about employees again in 2023 as companies are preparing for these various layoffs. Also, folks, do me a favor. We've been nominated for an NAACP Image Award, and so we want you to vote for Roland Martin Unfiltered. So what you do is simply go to NAACP vote dot NAACP image awards dot net.

Starting point is 00:24:47 Look for the category that we have been nominated in. Scroll down. Outstanding news information series or special. Select the category. Scroll to Roland Martin Unfiltered. Click our name and then click on vote. And then, of course, you can register your vote with an email. If you got more than one email, you can vote more than one time. But only one vote allowed per email. And again, you must confirm that you're not a robot. And again, you have until February 10th at 9 p.m. Eastern to vote.

Starting point is 00:25:13 So let's make this possible. Voting for us here at Roland Martin Unfiltered for an NAACP Image Award. Our first one since we launched this show. First time, y'all. We've been applying every year. So we finally got one. So please vote for our election night special, Black Votes Matter Election Night 2022.

Starting point is 00:25:43 Also support us by downloading the Black Star Network app, Apple phone, Android phone, Apple TV, Android TV, Roku, Amazon Fire TV, Xbox One, Samsung Smart TV. Join our Bring the Funk fan club. Your dollars make it possible to do what we do. Send a check and money order to PO Box 57196, Washington, D.C. 20037-0196. Cash App, dollar sign RM Unfiltered. PayPal is RM Unfiltered. Venmo is RM Unfiltered. Zelle, Roland at RolandSMartin.com. Roland at RolandMartinUnfiltered.com.

Starting point is 00:26:05 We need 20,000 of our fans giving annually at least 50 bucks each, $4.19 a month, 13 cents a day. We hope you make that possible. So please join our Bring the Funk fan club. Everyone who gives during the show, I will personally shout you out on tonight's show. I'll be right back. Hatred on the streets, a horrific scene, white nationalist rally that descended into deadly violence. White people are losing their damn minds.

Starting point is 00:26:40 There's an angry pro-Trump mob storm to the U.S. Capitol. We're about to see the rise of what I call white minority resistance. We have seen white folks in this country who simply cannot tolerate black folks voting. I think what we're seeing is the inevitable result of violent denial. This is part of American history. Every time that people of color have made progress, whether real or symbolic, there has been what Carol Anderson at Emory University calls white rage as a backlash. This is the rise of the Proud Boys and the Boogaloo Boys. America, there's going to be more of this.

Starting point is 00:27:15 This country is getting increasingly racist in its behaviors and its attitudes because of the fear of white people. The fear that they're taking our jobs, they're taking our resources, they're taking our women. This is white fear. On the next A Balanced Life with me, Dr. Jackie, people can't live with them, can't live without them. Our relationships often have more ups and downs than a boardwalk roller coaster,

Starting point is 00:27:52 but it doesn't have to be that way. Trust your gut. Whenever your gut is like, this isn't healthy, this isn't right, I don't like the way that I'm being treated, this goes for males and females. Trust your gut, and then whenever that gut feeling comes, have a conversation. Knowing how to grow or when to go, a step-by-step guide on the next of Balanced Life on Blackstar Network. 007 007 Hi, I'm Sally Richardson-Whitfield. And I'm Dodger Whitfield. Hey, everybody. This is your man Fred Hammond, and you're watching Roland Martin, my man, Unfiltered. All right, folks, why did I write the book,

Starting point is 00:28:56 Why You Fear, How the Browning of America is Making White Folks Lose Their Minds? Because it's actually happening before our very eyes. Look at what's happening in Florida as we speak. Governor Ron DeSantis has been involved in this culture war because he is trying to appeal to white voters, white Republican voters, as he is trying to run for president in 2024. He, of course, decimated black congressional districts, ignoring the state legislature and choosing to push forward his own illegal maps. Then, of course, he pushed for this so-called Anti-Woke Act that bans the teaching of critical

Starting point is 00:29:34 race theory. It has led to all sorts of drama in Florida because they frankly are labeling anything dealing with race, critical race theory. Now he's blocked a new advancement placement course for high school students on African-American studies. His Florida Department of Education Office of Articulation, which approves the AP curriculum, vetoed the program because it was inexplicably contrary to Florida law and significantly lacked educational value. The FDOE did not elaborate on what the agency found to be objectionable. The rejection of the Advanced Placement African American Studies course is, again, part of DeSantis' continuing effort

Starting point is 00:30:17 to ban anything dealing with race from being taught in Florida schools. This is what you're dealing with there in Florida. And trust me, what you see is this happening across the country. The state enacted a law that banned the teaching of the history of systemic racism in the United States and materials from the 1619 Project. Yeah, seriously. Last year, again, he signed a bill restricting how schools can discuss race with students.

Starting point is 00:30:43 In addition to that, remember, he was also pushing this bill that anything that made white people uncomfortable could not be discussed. Not just in schools, but even by companies. Even a judge said, okay, you went too damn far. Let's stop that. Joining us now is Fentress Driscoll. She is a state representative. She's, first of all, the Florida State Representative Minority Leader. Glad to have you on the show.

Starting point is 00:31:08 What's shameful here is to have the Florida Department of Education refuse to say what they found to be objectionable, why they say it lacked any educational value. That's right. So thank you, Roland, for having me. And you're right. They did not name the law that this high school class violated or even which part of the curriculum went against Florida law. The state didn't offer any course of remedy, just a blanket rejection. And so to say that it offers no real value, I think that's the greatest insult of all,

Starting point is 00:31:39 because you have to ask yourself the question, what was so offensive about this course? This AP African-American Studies course was designed to teach students about ancient African civilization. So think about that. Traditionally, our current introduction to black history in the United States starts with the enslavement of black people, not the centuries of rich culture that preceded slavery. We existed way before the slave markets in Charleston and New Orleans and St. Augustine. So, you know, why does this course about that begins African-American history at the point of freedom in order to show the progression of a group of people working their way back to that freedom scare this governor so much? And here's the deal. You're actually

Starting point is 00:32:15 scared of history. I mean, and that's what but the real deal here, they are scared of they don't want anything black. And I keep telling people, this was always the strategy. You have these moms for liberty. They're taking over school district, school boards. I've been warning people about this here. They've taken over a significant number of school boards in South Carolina. They're pushing out black superintendents. This is white fear. They want to hold to power and they do not want white children and other children taught anything about the reality of race in the United States in our history. Yeah. And I just wanted to point out, Roland, that we cannot look at what happened,

Starting point is 00:32:59 what's happening here with this AP African-American history course in a vacuum. What I need you to know is this, and I think you teed this up perfectly in your intro. You know, first, they gerrymandered black congressional districts from four to two, meaning that they took Floridian's black representation in Congress and cut it in half. Then they overreacted to CRT allegedly being caught in grade school, which let me be crystal clear, Republicans in Florida have been in control of the state legislature and the governor's mansion since the 90s. So they've been in control of educational policy. Let me tell you, they would not allow CRT to be taught then. It's not being taught now. They keep creating these boogeymen to try to

Starting point is 00:33:40 entice their political base and get them all scared about things that are not really happening. Now we're watching as Governor DeSantis is trying to roll back diversity, equity and inclusion efforts, telling employers what they can and cannot do with that and opening them up to lawsuits if they have diversity, equity and inclusion efforts that make people feel uncomfortable. And then they also are attacking hiring practices and DEI and our university system. I don't believe that he's going to stop here with this AP African-American history course. This really is first of many attempts to whitewash history in order to soothe emotionally fragile people. And I'm just so glad that you are covering this story tonight because we need people to pay attention to what is

Starting point is 00:34:21 happening in Florida. Please note, too, that Ron DeSantis wants to run for president of the United States in 2024. We need not just Floridians to pay attention, but the entire country, because this is dangerous, a very dangerous progression of events. This is him. This is a direct appeal to white conservative voters. Donald Trump, when he launched his campaign, he purposely pushed the buttons of white fear. This is Ron DeSantis trying to ride that same white fear rollercoaster into the Republican nomination and into the White House in 2024. Yeah, and I feel like he's trying to out-Trump Trump is kind of what we're watching happen. Well, because he knows it works. He knows. Look, we saw it. We saw it in 2022. We saw,

Starting point is 00:35:15 first of all, the election in 2021. All of a sudden, Fox News and everybody, CRT, CRT, CRT, the migrants showing up on the border. Anything dealing with race, they are ramping up because it's a direct appeal to white conservative voters saying, see, they're coming. They're coming. They're taking over. The whole freaking out about great replacement theory, the exact same thing. It ain't our fault white folks stopped having babies. The reason the white population is dropping, they stopped having kids.

Starting point is 00:35:48 And you even had some of them state their opposition to Roe v. Wade was because they were losing numerical numbers. Well, the point I want to make, though, is that the collateral damage is really just too much. Yep. We're watching this play out in Florida. Right. We're now you have just the tensions are high. The temperature has been ratcheted up. We know this is already was happening throughout the country under Donald Trump, but it's happening here in a very acute way. You look at what happened in the 2022 midterm elections and the rest of the country rejected extremist policies, actually, where the Trump candidates were on the ballot. Typically,

Starting point is 00:36:24 they tended to lose. That was not the case in Florida, right? Like, it looked like, you know, Ron DeSantis won by 20 points. But what we're seeing from the data that's now released about the election, it wasn't so much that there was a red wave. It was more so that Democrats stayed home. We need people to be educated and to understand what is happening and what is at stake, because he won't stop at Florida. He wants to take this brand of divisiveness to national politics. And we really need to make sure that that does not happen, that he does not succeed. That is exactly the case right there. Representative Driscoll, we certainly appreciate you joining us. Thanks a lot.

Starting point is 00:36:58 Thank you. Game recognized game, Greg. And people need to understand this is the Republican Party. This is their strategy. And this is DeSantis trying to say to white folks, I'm your man. Greg, you're on mute. My bad, because I was cussing for some of it. But I'm sorry, Reese, there's your bailiwick, sis. I can't hear you.

Starting point is 00:37:27 You chefs, I'm not good at that. I like Ron DeSantis. I embrace him. He is a wonderful example of a failed white man, a rumpled puffer fish of a man with no charisma, a couple of Ivy League degrees, and has failed upward. He will crash and burn on the national scene. He gets away with this, and I'm glad Representative Driscoll said what she said. You know, people have to go out and vote. It's easier to do what Ron DeSantis has done when people don't get in and wage war.

Starting point is 00:37:59 And war includes the ballot. It isn't the only thing, but it is one of the things. Now, I worked on that course. I was one of many scholars, academics, teachers, K-12, who came in with ideas over the last several years and put their course together. Here's what that puffer fish in his little, you know, a little bit too big suit with no charisma, who will fail when he gets on the national stage. So hold on one second. So Greg, Greg, you say the particular course that they're rejecting, you worked on that? I was one of many. There were a number of scholars. Two summers ago, I spent the summer looking at the curriculum framework. So it's very satisfying to hear Representative Finch talk about the fact that that course doesn't start in slavery.

Starting point is 00:38:41 Now, you know, that's one of our deep things in Africana studies. You don't start your history with slavery. And so the fact that it made it in there, I take great pride in being one of the people who pushed for that. But here's where the rubber meets the road. This punk in Florida and his punk legislative friends and all his buddies down there, they'll be in court. See, this is the pilot program. In fact, we hosted the kickoff pilot convening of the teachers, the 60 or so, including a couple of master teachers from Houston, by the way, Roland, two sisters who piloted the course in Houston this past fall. We hosted them at Howard this summer for a kind of convening to talk about how to teach the class and this kind of thing. So it's a pilot right now,

Starting point is 00:39:18 which means students taking it won't be able to take it and get the AP score for college credit. Beginning around 2025, however, they will. That means that becomes federal. You punk. But, see, this ain't about being able to enforce this. Why? Because if you get an AP score of a four or a five, you then transfer that credit into the university. Well, what happens to every student in Florida who couldn't take that class and then wants to transfer that credit to Princeton or Howard or North Carolina State or North Carolina Central, well, they've been deprived of that. This won't stand up in court. This is a puffer fish, a punk, and he's going to burn out on the national stage. And I'm for one, I'm here for it. I am here for it. You know, Donald Trump, Paul,

Starting point is 00:39:58 let's let's dance. Hold tight one second. I'm going to continue the conversation. We come back from this break, folks. It's St. Louis takeover this weekend, folks. I'm going to be in St. Louis with our White Fear book tour. That's right. I'll be joined at the St. Louis Area Urban League on Saturday at 3 p.m. with Michael McMillan as well as rapper activist Tev Poe. We'll be in conversation of Grouting White Fear taking place at 3 p.m. at 1408 North Kings Highway.

Starting point is 00:40:23 They're in St. Louis. It's free, open to the public. We want to pack the joint out, so let everybody know. If you want to register, just simply send us an RSVP. We just want to make sure we get a good head count. Send to info at rolandsmartin.com. The next day, of course, we'll be at a church there in St. Louis as well. And so we're going to be there.

Starting point is 00:40:46 So let me see if I can pull that graphic up. I thought y'all headed there in the control room. Looking forward to joining them there as well when we visit the church there. Give me one second. Let me pull this up so I can show y'all. Hold on one second. And here we go. Let me see.

Starting point is 00:41:05 Do we have it yet? And there we go. All right then, folks. We're going to be at Northside Baptist Church again there. So looking forward to being there as well. And so again, in St. Louis this weekend at Northside Baptist Church on Sunday and of course with the Urban League on

Starting point is 00:41:21 Saturday. And so cannot wait. And then of course on Sunday night, I'll see you on the Dave Chappelle, Chris Rock comedy show as well. So, looking forward to a great weekend in St. Louis. I'll be right back on Roller Martin Unfiltered. When you talk about blackness and what happens in black culture. We're about covering these things that matter to us, speaking to our issues and concerns. This is a genuine people powered movement. A lot of stuff that we're not getting.

Starting point is 00:41:57 You get it and you spread the word. We wish to plead our own cause to long have others spoken for us. We cannot tell our own story if to long have others spoken for us. We cannot tell our own story if we can't pay for it. This is about covering us. Invest in black-owned media. Your dollars matter. We don't have to keep asking them to cover our stuff. So please support us in what we do, folks.

Starting point is 00:42:19 We want to hit 2,000 people, $50 this month, raise $100,000. We're behind $100,000, so we want to hit that. Y'all money makes this possible. Check some money orders. Go to P.O. Box 57196 Washington, D.C. 20037-0196 The Cash App is Dollar Sign

Starting point is 00:42:35 RM Unfiltered. PayPal is RM Unfiltered. Venmo is RM Unfiltered. Zelle is Roland at RolandSMartin.com Most people think that these television shows that tell stories about who we are as black men

Starting point is 00:42:53 and then they paint these monolithic portraits of us. They think that they're being painted by white people. And I gotta tell you, there are a whole bunch of black folk that are the creators, the head writers, the directors of all of these shows,

Starting point is 00:43:14 and that are still painting us as monoliths. So people don't really want to have this conversation. No, they don't. Hi, I'm Eric Nolan. I'm Shantae Moore. Hi, my name is Latoya Luckett, and you're watching Roland Martin Unfiltered. Brandon Tavon Smith was heading into his Arlington, Texas home on January 1st. The 27-year-old never made it. Brandon is 6 feet 3 inches tall, weighs 170 pounds with black hair and brown eyes. Brandon was driving his graphite gray 2019 Toyota Camry.

Starting point is 00:44:12 The Texas tags M for Mary, C is in cat, G is in God, 5401. Anyone with information about Brandon Tavon Smith should be called, is urged to call the Arlington, Texas Police Department at 817-274-4444, 817-274-4444. Let's pick up on that conversation we left off with regarding Rhonda Santas these folks. And I mentioned Moms for Liberty. I mentioned them for a reason, because just recently, a brother who was ranked as one of the most effective superintendents in South Carolina. He, you know, led a number of initiatives there. Well, those Moms for Liberty took over the school board and they basically fired him. Now, they came to a decision. He quit, but they were attacking him. And remember, he was the one who bucked the governor's mask mandate.

Starting point is 00:45:26 And he said, no, we're going to keep that going forward. They launched an investigation into him, an eight-month investigation. Now, what was discovered is that they had many issues in the district, but it was with the board. And the investigation concluded, damn, he was great. Things are working out well for him. And the thing here is, he quits, but what's happening, I think I saw a story, 10 of the top 14 school districts in South Carolina, those Moms for Liberty have taken over. And they have fired a variety of black superintendents.

Starting point is 00:46:10 And y'all know, because you've been doing it, I've been doing it, and we've been telling these black folks all across the country that they are targeting school boards. They want to target what our kids are taught. And we're sitting our asses at home, not voting. There was a massive drop-off. We had Tom Bonior on the other day. A massive drop-off of black voters in South Carolina. And while we sit at home, they're turning out.

Starting point is 00:46:35 So they're firing superintendents. They're getting rid of staff. And they're changing the curriculum because these white folks do not want, and they got some crazy black people with them, but they do not want, and they got some crazy black people with them, but they do not want us confronting the issue of race

Starting point is 00:46:50 in this country, and Ron DeSantis is trying to ride that right into the White House. Right, and you know, the thing about it is, they're playing without anybody on defense. They're on offense, and it's no defense.

Starting point is 00:47:05 So they're making every three-pointer, they're making every free throw. It ain't really much of a game. But you and the folks with you last week really demonstrated the antidote to that or the solution to that, which is be louder and more active than they are. The reason why they're winning is because they're out there consistently, relentlessly, and loudly. But what we saw demonstrated on this show is that we have a voice too, and we have power, and you guys were able to defeat the attempts to get rid of the Jack Yates high school principal. And so we have just as much agency as they do.

Starting point is 00:47:46 They're better funded, but they're not an organic movement in the same way that we have the capacity to do ourselves. And so the work doesn't stop at the ballot booth, especially when your ass don't vote. But it doesn't stop there. Even when you do vote, you have to get active and you have to be louder than the other side. And the one other thing I want to say is Dr. Carr mentioned the college credit aspect, but I also want to mention the GPA aspect. In a lot of places, I know at least in California, that's where I went to school. When you have AP courses, even if you don't pass the AP test, your grade gets an additional point added to it, which gives you a higher GPA cumulatively, and it makes you more

Starting point is 00:48:33 competitive. And so part of what this is, by denying the African-American history, the AP credit, it's also going to artificially, I think, lower the grade point averages of people who are seeking that kind of information. And it makes some people less engaged and less enthusiastic about it. If European history, not if European history is an AP course in Florida, so goddammit, African-American history needs to be a course. The one other thing I just want to say is the fact that this is against the law is something that we have been talking about so much on this show. They're very smart in how they frame the arguments when they're trying to push these laws through them. Well, it ain't going

Starting point is 00:49:16 to do this and it ain't going to do that. And then it turned out to do exactly what Hillary said it was going to do. This is a prime example. We cannot let DeSantis take this nationwide, but even if he doesn't, it's doing real damage and harm in places like Virginia, in places like Texas. Y'all let Kemp ass get in again in Georgia and in Florida. So, like, get your

Starting point is 00:49:38 ass out there to these school board meetings. Run for school board. But if nothing else, use your voice. We know how to be loud and proud, black and proud, and all that good stuff. People talk all this shit in the comments on YouTube, so take that commenting energy from YouTube to Zoom or to

Starting point is 00:49:53 the actual boardrooms where these meetings are being held. This is the thing, Erica. When I saw all them white women outside of Supreme Court after the Roe v. Wade decision, protesting, and there was some black people too, and they were all upset and crying.

Starting point is 00:50:10 I'm like, they told you what they were going to do. So it wasn't like that was a shock. They've been telling you for 40 years. Mm-hmm. Anybody who's black or white and conscious, or Latino,

Starting point is 00:50:26 they been telling you what they gonna do. So if you sit your ass at home and don't vote, I'm sorry. That's on you. If they sitting here are turning out to vote at school board meetings... Look, Loudoun County, Virginia. Them fools were out there. Superintendent says, we don't teach CRT. They were showing up in massive numbers. The folk who know they were lying were at home. News media covers it, gives the impression, building, building, building. The point that Reesey just made, you have to be,

Starting point is 00:51:05 not just play defense, you got to have a counter-offensive strategy. That's what you have to do. To her point, look, when I went before the school board, I said, point blank, fire the principal, I'm taking all my money. That was

Starting point is 00:51:22 offense. That wasn't like, well, if y'all, and I didn't like Well if y'all And I didn't say if y'all fire her I'm going to think about it I said make the move I'm taking all my money The award y'all giving me Y'all can keep it

Starting point is 00:51:35 And then I said I will bring my show here And report on your ass every single week I don't care who you are You don't want that scrutiny I'm saying this to everybody who's watching, and this is why when I spoke in Wichita, Kansas on Monday,

Starting point is 00:51:52 I said to them, and I said this in all my speeches, I've called out the Divine Nine, the Prince Hall Masons, Eastern Star, the Lynx, all these black groups. We can't be so focused where we're just meeting internally while shit is happening outside.

Starting point is 00:52:07 I call a damn boo layout at a convention in Bahamas. I say, how in the hell we got so-called the most prestigious black men in America and we ain't got no public policy conversation at a convention. We got all this damn entertainment going on. I said, we got a black attorney general from Nevada sitting right here, Aaron Ford, who's a them, who's a Archon.

Starting point is 00:52:25 I said, we ain't discussing the election? I'm like, what the hell is this? Yeah. To all y'all folks who are like, oh, the Boulay. Yeah, I called the Boulay out while I was there. And if they want to kick me out, knock yourselves out. But the point is, shit is happening. And folks are sitting here acting like, oh,

Starting point is 00:52:43 we can just stand around, look around like it's no big deal. No. They ain't window shopping. They are organizing and mobilizing. Absolutely. And co-opting and appropriating, Colombusing, all of that along the way

Starting point is 00:52:59 because there's such an appetite for white nationalism. So let's be very clear while this message is really permeating. And I said this on Twitter today, and I've been saying it for some years. Don't forget who sold the roads of the Klan. These folks, these women, these organizations, they're not going to stop. One of the things that it made me think about also is when we're thinking about in terms of Ron, I thought about the Reagan years when he

Starting point is 00:53:26 was governor of California, and then he travels to Philadelphia, Mississippi, and he starts talking about states' rights. He was speaking the language of people that he knew were locked and loaded for white nationalism. We're seeing it here again. So again, the examples that are made and that are demonstrated on this program are for all of us. Black people, we are the number one consumers when it comes to all things business. We also need to make application of where we spend our dollars into spaces where there are people that are doing the work as well. We have the money, Recy pointed out, that they are well-funded. I want to also point out that we have money as well, too.

Starting point is 00:54:09 So we actually have the money that we could be putting into, if there's not an already standing organization that's in our community that we can fund, into starting something of our own and connecting back to those legacy organizations that people don't seem to think that there's a need for the NAACP. They're still on their job. The CDC is still on our job. We have a job to do as well, too. Remember the formula, information plus engagement equals power.

Starting point is 00:54:37 And as Recy and as Roland also just stated, that that was made clear last Thursday here on the program. And so I think it is, as Recy just said, taking that common energy and making it real life. We have got to stop thinking that singing, we shall overcome, knowing all four lines to lift every voice and sing, that is not going to cut it. I said in 2019, welcome to the new era of civil rights. We are here. How are you engaged? And so I think that that is a question that we also need to be answering daily. And what I said last week about what's going on in Florida, student athletes, I feel like need to be involved as well. If we had black athletes, which we know

Starting point is 00:55:16 just across the board, student athletes, black student athletes comprise about 60 percent of that whole population, especially with all of the sports that's happening in Florida, that would definitely send a message to Ron and everyone else. And bottom line is here, and I'm telling y'all, okay, once y'all can get engaged in all that BS about Biden and Harris, this, that, and the other, I know what I'm fighting, and I know who I'm fighting against, and I'm here to ride the hell out of Biden and the Democrats to deliver.

Starting point is 00:55:47 But I can tell you one damn thing. What you see in Ron DeSantis doing in Florida, that's exactly what he did how he screwed up and they are trying to perfect the plan To not to fix it and to go even further y'all had better pay attention But go ahead keep joking around and that's as they say and go fuck around and find out Go ahead. Yeah, I cussed and I know some of y'all don't like me cussing But you need to hear that. Go ahead and play around. And you're going to look up and say, did that just happen? Yes.

Starting point is 00:56:28 And then they're going to be in power. And then what we're going to do? You're watching Roland Martin Unfiltered on the Black Star Network. Next on the Black Table with me, Greg Carr. Our legal roundtable is back in session as we look at yet another potential landmark case being considered by the United States Supreme Court. This one is called 303 Creative v. Alenis and may be the most important and far-reaching First Amendment, that is, freedom of speech, case of our time. three creative versus elenis and maybe the most important and far-reaching first amendment that is freedom of speech case of our time it could depending on how the court rules open the door

Starting point is 00:57:13 for a return of jim crow segregation laws it's true if you say we can discriminate against one you're saying we can discriminate against all that That's on the next Black Tape. Don't miss it right here on the Black Star Network. Most people think that these television shows that tell stories about who we are as black men, and then they paint these monolithic portraits of us. They think that they're being painted by white people. And I gotta tell you, there are a whole bunch of black folk that are the creators, the head writers, the directors of all of these shows

Starting point is 00:57:55 and that are still painting us as monoliths. The people don't really wanna have this conversation. No, they don't. Hi, how's it doing? It's your favorite funny girl, Amanda Seals. Hi, I'm Anthony Brown from Anthony Brown and Group Therapy. What up? Lana Well, and you are watching Rolling Martin Unfiltered. All right, folks, Microsoft announced they'll be laying off 10,000 people,

Starting point is 00:59:14 their biggest layoff in almost a decade. Amazon announced 17,000 layoffs, 7,000 more they were going to lay off. Tech companies have already announced some 60,000 layoffs. Some companies also are shutting down the recount. A digital website, they raised some $32 million. They launched four years in 2018 when we did. They raised $32 million. They're going out of business as of Friday. What the hell did they do with $32 million? Lord, yeah, y'all give us $32 million. I'm going to show y'all how to run a company. So all these things are happening. People are preparing. You keep hearing recession, recession, recession. But we're still seeing, though, that job numbers are going well. Plus,

Starting point is 00:59:53 you have people who are starting the new year, leaving companies. You still have a lot of employees out there who don't want to come back into the office. Companies now requiring them. So a lot of different things are happening when it comes to the job market. And so I wanted to talk about that. Laryn Wagner is an HR expert, been in HR about 14 years. She joins us now from St. Louis, has her own company as well. Laryn, glad to have you here. There's so much upheaval and stuff we want to get into. We're also going to be taking folks' phone calls on this topic as well. If you want to ask Laron any questions, call this number, 202. Let's pull the number up, 202-898.

Starting point is 01:00:34 Come on, y'all. Pull the number up. Let's go. Y'all got to be quicker than that. 202-898-1199. 202-890. 202-890-1199. 202-890-1-9-9-2-0-2-8-9-0. 2-0-2-8-9-0-1-1-9-9. 2-0-2-8-9-0-1-1-9-9.

Starting point is 01:00:48 Don't have no folks in the control room joining people on the unemployment line, y'all being so slow. So, Laron, let's get into it. First off, New Year, and again, people are like, oh, my goodness, I don't know what's going on. They're trying to figure out where should individuals who are unsure that they might be getting laid off because this possible recession. What should they be doing? Don't wait to get called to the office. What should they be doing right now? Yes. So, first of all, when these situations are happening, the first thing an employee should want to think about is my house. Is my house in order? And if my house is not in order, how do I get my house in order? So a lot of times that's looking at what the current market is looking like, where are my skill sets? Like where do I need to transfer my skills? Is now a time to consider a different industry?

Starting point is 01:01:46 Looking at what industries are easier to get into and what your stance is compared to what's out there in the market. So understanding what that is from an internal perspective, look at your role. One thing that would be great would be to understand if you're trying to determine whether or not you're going to be laid off, how strategic are you? How does your particular role contribute to a company's bottom line? Another thing is from an external perspective, what is your network looking like? Do you need to polish up your in-person and professional network? If so, do that. Are you on LinkedIn? If you're not on LinkedIn, you need to get on LinkedIn. Is your resume okay? You need to anchor yourself and where you want to be to

Starting point is 01:02:30 all of these items here. And so a lot of that requires help. I really tell people all the time. I tell people, I start a job with the premise I'm going to get fired anyway. Because three things are going to happen. You either going to get fired, laid off, you're going to leave, or you're going to stay. That's it. Three things are going to happen. You either going to get fired, laid off, you're going to leave, or you're going to stay.

Starting point is 01:02:47 That's it. Three things are going to happen. And one of the biggest mistakes that I think a lot of people do is they aren't constantly updating their resume. They're not constantly building relationships. They're not joining professional organizations. They're not preparing. I tell people all the time, look, when you start seeing moves making in companies, when you start getting the memos, hey, we're cutting back on travel or we're cutting back on different

Starting point is 01:03:14 things, that means something is happening economically. Prepare yourself. But it kills me. People go, like, I didn't see it coming. It was like, oh, it was carnage all around you. But a lot of people aren't paying attention because they're not. They're just thinking this this job will never, ever end. I'm safe. Right. You're absolutely right. And I think it's important to not only just focus on these things when you think you're about to be laid off or let go from a job.

Starting point is 01:03:44 But you should always have opportunities in at least on the forefront of your mind. You never know, especially post COVID or what we think is post COVID and where we're headed. Another thing that people tend to think about too is that six month stash. Like what are my finances looking like? Where can I eliminate some hazardous spending? On top of that, is now the time for me to hop into entrepreneurship? Is now the time to increase my streams of income? Those are all things that we should always be thinking about. Well, what I tell people on this point, and I'm going to my panel next with some questions, I tell people this all the time. You don't wait until you get laid off to then say, oh, let me now do my side hustle. No, no, no, no. You do that while you're there. When I was at CNN, I knew in

Starting point is 01:04:37 2009 and 10, oh, y'all not giving me my show? I ain't going to be here long. So I began to plan for post-CNN in 2010. I left in April 2013. Even when I was at TV One, I was buying equipment while I was at TV One because I'm like, this ain't going to last. And so when the show ended, I actually had already invested a significant amount of money in myself. And so I easily transition. People come to me all the time after they get fired or lay off to go, hey, I'm trying to start this thing. It's now harder because now you're still trying to live and pay your bills while you're trying to start something. And that's much more difficult to do when you don't have a job. And so I say, use your job as your personal venture

Starting point is 01:05:25 capitalist to fund whatever your side hustle is and build that up while you have your main job. Yes. Roland, these days in today's economy, it's taking up to a year to land a new job. If you find something within three months, you should consider yourself lucky.

Starting point is 01:05:42 So again, people get complacent. Be strategic. That's my best piece of advice. Questions. Yeah, absolutely. Questions from our panel. Let's see here. I'll start with you, Recy. Yes, thank you. My question is, what is your take on headhunters, recruiting agencies? I know that, you know that they're incentivized monetarily to land new people, but I know they also take a big chunk too. So what is your position for people who are looking for a job? Should they be trying to go direct to the companies themselves or should they let other people do the work for them? Yeah, so great question.

Starting point is 01:06:25 Thank you for that. So headhunters, executive search firms, recruiting agencies, they are there to help you. Now, there are some that are direct hire and that, yeah, they get a percentage of an incentive to place you. At the end of the day, their goal is to, they want to get paid, so they want to help you lay the job somewhere you can get paid. But I say go for it. They're there to help. A lot of times they even offer free services to review your resume, help you polish things up, help you with explaining gaps on your resume, and even talking you through some of what your career plans may be that you may even be unsure of. They know what's out there. They know what's in the market. So it's always good to

Starting point is 01:07:08 utilize them as a resource. Erica. Erica, you on mute. Lord, y'all need to see right there. I'm about to fire you. All right, go. Yeah, I don't have a job and I'm good with that. I'm so good with it. Praise God. So my question for you is, and so glad to have you on this evening. You mentioned LinkedIn. So could you share a little bit around social media presence, since it seems that in this case, the employer would have the upper hand. Could you talk to us a little bit about how a person would need to position or if there's a cleanup or if there's a cursory look that they would need to have done

Starting point is 01:07:55 for a professional with regard to gaining new employment? Yeah. So, and thank you. I'm happy to be here today. So as far as your professional, I'll say your professional brand, your social media presence, all of that is important. First, the person's going to want to literally look at what their brand is, what their end goal is, what type of industry they want to be in, and then cater to that. Make sure that your social media presence anchors to that. You don't want to go into a professional field and your social media pictures are half naked. Us employers, we can see that. We look, and many of them do.

Starting point is 01:08:33 You don't want to be misrepresenting companies, bad-mouthing other companies on your social media, especially depending on which direction you want to go. So it's always good to have that. When it comes to websites like LinkedIn, your entire profile is on there. Employers sometimes skip the whole resume process and they'll reach out directly to you without you even having to apply for jobs. Hey, I came across your LinkedIn profile and I see you have this skill set that matches what I'm looking for. Would you like to talk? That happens all the time. So always have that polished up and buttoned up in the best way that you possibly can. If you have any employment gaps on your social media presence, your LinkedIn page is what I'm

Starting point is 01:09:17 specifically thinking about. Again, make sure that you're polishing that up. Overall, you just want to make sure that you are well represented on your social media platforms. If you're not, you might want to consider going private. No, no. Here's the whole deal. That private stuff don't work either. But look, I keep trying. It doesn't work.

Starting point is 01:09:34 But if you're not going to clean up your social media. Right. But I try to explain to people, do understand, just because you private don't mean it's not public. Okay? You're right. It's not. So the reality is when you're posting stuff, think before you hit send. Now, listen, for what I do, I can give opinion.

Starting point is 01:09:55 I can give my stuff. But there still may be a cost. There are things that I do that might piss off a funder or an advertiser. And so it comes with the job. But there are a lot of people out there who sit here and they post stuff, and then they wonder, it comes back. That was a guy. He was a white guy, quarterback, got an offer from the University of Florida.

Starting point is 01:10:18 He's posting on Instagram Live on Snapchat, and he's singing a rap song, and it got the N-word, and he's using the N word. Guess what? Scholarship got pulled. You don't have a guaranteed right to that scholarship. And so people need to understand that employers are looking at all of that stuff and they are now, and we've actually made it easier, used to be actually harder to vet people. People got all their personal business out there. So it's actually a lot easier to search for people's information. And so, folk, use caution when it comes to social media, even when it comes to giving your political opinion, depending upon what that job is. Because guess what?

Starting point is 01:11:01 Like it or not, your boss might be a liberal or conservative. You don't know who you're interviewing with. Just understand all that stuff has an impact. I got to go to break. We're going to take your questions. I'm going to get Greg's question also. If you got any questions for Laron, look, you might be thinking about leaving your job, how to prepare to leave, how to leave the right way.

Starting point is 01:11:20 I don't advise you to abruptly quit. You might want to put in your two weeks notice. Okay, I'm just saying because your new employer sees how you left the last one, they might do me the same way. Just saying. Call 202-890-1199. 202-890-1199. Roland Martin Unfiltered. We'll be right back. I love y'all. All momentum we have now, we have to keep this going. The video looks phenomenal. See, there's a difference between Black Star Network and Black-owned media and something like CNN. You can't be Black-owned media and be scared. It's time to be smart.

Starting point is 01:12:17 Bring your eyeballs home. You dig? 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. 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.

Starting point is 01:13:27 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, A Balanced Life with Dr. Jackie. Hello, everyone. It's Kiara Sheard. Hey, I'm Taj. I'm Coco. And I'm Lili.

Starting point is 01:13:47 And we're SWB. What's up, y'all? It's Ryan Destiny. And you're watching Roland Martin Unfiltered. All right, folks, if you've got any questions about when it comes to where you work, you got any career advice, give us a call right now, 202-890-1199. 202-890-1199. Again, 202-890-1-9-9-2-0-2-8-9-0-1-1-9-9. Again, 2-0-2-8-9-0-1-1-9-9.

Starting point is 01:14:34 Our guest is Laren Wagner, HR expert for the last 14 years. And again, a lot of things are happening in the country when it comes to jobs and companies. This week, we're focusing on employees. Next week, she'll be back. We'll be talking about employers. Trust me, it's a whole different perspective when you're on this side of the business. Greg, your question for Larry Wagner. Thank you. Thank you, Roland. And thank you, Sister Wagner. I have a question. I'm an academic and a teacher. And a lot of times, folks who are in those kind of positions tend to stay over long periods of time.

Starting point is 01:15:05 I wonder if you have any thoughts about how we should be thinking about our money and managing our money in terms of moving it, maybe putting more into retirement or moving things into CDs or 401ks. Any thoughts about how those folks who are in those kind of jobs, which are kind of more long range, should be thinking about planning, financial planning? Yes. So my best answer for that would be really the same as though you would be leaving any job. Understand what your budget looks like, what your finances look like, what you need for your home in order for you to continue to survive and make it. The stability behind your organization is going to allow you, and also, too, what your current income looks like is going to allow you to map out what all of that is. So if you need to,

Starting point is 01:16:00 get a financial planner. Get someone who can talk with you through, okay, what the long-term plan looks like for your budgeting and your spending. Cut costs where you can. That's what these organizations are doing. So you may have to do the same. Again, even within that framework, even in academia, you're seeing how layoffs are happening there as well. I just think part of the thing, Laren, a lot of people get so comfortable and entrenched in a job, they think it's never going to end. And then it does. And now they're totally shocked. Yeah. Have to stay prepared. You have to stay prepared. I can't stress that enough. I can, of course, speak for what individuals need for their households. But again, sometimes you have one, most households, most households are two incomes. There are times when you have one where you have a spouse who can

Starting point is 01:17:10 carry the entire household in case something, the other person loses their job. That's great. But you got to know what that looks like for your household. I'm going to do this. First of all, if y'all are calling, stay on topic, y'all. We're talking about, again, from an employee standpoint, we're not talking about some of the other topics. And so the number to call, 202-890-1199, 202-890-1199. Call with your question. We'll put you on the air. Let's talk about now requiring people to come back into the office after COVID.

Starting point is 01:17:44 It's a lot of people are resisting this. They have gotten used to being at home for the last couple of years. There are people who are choosing to leave companies as a result. And so what do you say to the person who's watching or listening? And they say, I do not want to go back into the office, but they don't want to lose their job. They got a decision to make. Yeah. And here's the thing. And I've seen this. I currently see this. You need to

Starting point is 01:18:12 understand what your company's policy is and anchor yourself to it. These companies are cracking down. Us as employees have discovered, oh my gosh, I can do my entire job from home. Why do I have to go in? But companies are making this a policy. And understand that if you are violating the policy, there are repercussions for that. And sometimes that ends in termination. Doesn't matter what you want to do. Companies have their own bottom line. They have their goals that they want to achieve. So I would suggest you stick to that. There you go. And I'll ask this question before I go to the caller here. Also be smart as an employee when you're asking your boss for a raise. So let me say that again, okay? You're hearing all of these stories that we're going to be having a recession in 2023. It's called read the room.

Starting point is 01:19:10 People are getting laid off left and right. Hiring freezes are also in place. Be smart about asking your boss for a raise when right now folk are actually looking at laying people off? Roland, my best advice when I see that situation, because I see it often, is I tell employees the inflation of your salary that you're asking for today could be the elimination you face tomorrow. Sometimes it's, and I'm not just saying that we should be complacent and just be happy to be somewhere and be happy to have a job because there's always going to be something out there. But in these times, it's good to know your, know your company, know your stance, understand what the company is going through and ask those questions. Ask

Starting point is 01:19:58 those questions to your senior leaders. All right. We got to call on Jimmy. I don't know where Jimmy is from. Y'all need to give me the city. Jimmy, you have the phone line. What's your question for H.R. expert Laron Wagner? Yes. My question is, how can we know when an employer is going to give us our raise? How can you know when an employer is going to give you your raise? Laryn? Okay, so, yes. So, Jimmy, so companies usually have this outlined. And it's a lot of times based on when their fiscal year ends.

Starting point is 01:20:38 Some companies do their annual merit performance reviews and increases between January and March. Some do them between June and October. It'll all vary, but your company will be able to tell you that. Sometimes they do them in the middle of the year. And of course, you'll know whether or not you are applicable to receive an additional increase based on performance. If they don't bring it to you, you feel like you're contributing above where they have you, have that conversation. Have your talking points in order, but be ready to talk to your leader or your employer about, hey, these are my contributions. This is my salary.

Starting point is 01:21:14 This is where I feel like I should be. How can we come to a middle ground? What are your thoughts? If I'm not ready or if this isn't attainable for me from a compensation perspective, what do I need to do to get to this level? Have those conversations. Anything else, Jimmy? Yeah. One last thing. Now, I know you guys mentioned throughout the show about jobs are cutting back on wages. Now, if you currently have a job that pays you well, but you feel like you're not being valued there and you go to another job, should you expect, like, a pay cut,

Starting point is 01:21:57 or should you, like, ask or demand for what you were getting at your prior job? Well, before Landon asks, I'll tell you this. If I leave one job to go to another, I'm expected to make more money where I'm going to. Otherwise, why in the hell would I be leaving where I'm at right now, Larry? Absolutely. And I will say some people want to do, maybe want to take a step back and maybe tend to other areas in their lives. But what I will say to that is before you go into an interview process with another employer, understand this. The grass is not always greener.

Starting point is 01:22:36 I have seen several companies lay off on LinkedIn and new employees that have left their stable jobs have been laid off after three and four months. Last hired, first fired. Yep. Understand and know the bottom line. So do the research of the company that you're going to because the grass is not always greener. Understand about the role. When you have that first phone screen with the recruiter for that company, let them know what you want. But also understand, does what I want

Starting point is 01:23:06 align with the range for this role? Am I out of line? Because here's the thing, don't go through an interview process and get to the end and find out that they're not paying you what you want. So understand what job you're applying for, the market for that, what that company's bottom line, and how you can align to that. Don't settle. So if the company is not paying you what it is that you want to make and you want to make more money, there's plenty of other companies out here. The sky is not falling. The sky is not falling. We're having tough times and a lot of companies are having challenges, but I suggest waiting to find what it is you need out there. And of course, that's going to vary based on what you want. Jamie, we certainly appreciate it.

Starting point is 01:23:45 Thanks a lot. I do want you to answer this here. Again, as somebody who owns a company, there are a lot of people who are employees who really have no understanding about raises. First of all, companies are not handing out 10, 15% raises. In fact, 5% is actually a high number. Can you talk about that? Give people a realistic understanding about raises? Yes. So raises

Starting point is 01:24:17 aren't just about what the company has in their budget, your performance and how you get your job done plays a major part in that, too. You can do wonderful at your job, but if you're not aligning, if your behaviors and actions are not aligning to the company's values, that can have an impact on your merit increase. The state of your performance, of course, currently makes a big difference in what your performance increase looks like, but also, too, a piece of that is what the company has in their budget. How did the company perform the year before and what they have room for? A lot of leaders are going to allocate their merit dollars to the top performers on their team.

Starting point is 01:24:58 So do what you need to do to make sure that you're in that bucket. And I'm going to say this here. Even if in a place where you have top performers, I need people to understand this as well. And I know this is hard for people to understand. When you are an employer, you're also forecasting. You're looking at the entire year. You're saying, I need to be able to pay people and then for them to still have a job six, nine months down the road. A lot of people don't understand that concept because they think, well, look, I need to get paid right now, which I totally understand, but realize you're not the only person that's actually in a company. You have other employees.

Starting point is 01:25:38 You have other expenses. And if you're forecasting and you're seeing potential revenue decrease, 10, 20, 30, 40 percent, you've got to realize the biggest hard cost in any company are people. And the easiest way to cut your expenses is to cut people. And again, it's a lot of people don't really understand that unless they've been on the business side. I'll do this here. We're going to go to a quick break. I want you to speak to that when we come back. And I'm going to take a couple of more phone calls right here in Roland Martin Unfiltered on the Black Star Network. I'm Deborah Owens, America's Wealth Coach, and my new show, Get Wealthy, focuses on the things that your financial advisor and bank isn't telling you, but you absolutely need to know.

Starting point is 01:26:39 So watch Get Wealthy on the Black Star Network. Pull up a chair, take your seat. The Black Tape with me, Dr. Greg Carr, here on the Black Star Network. Every week, we'll take a deeper dive into the world we're living in. Join the conversation only on the Black Star Network. We're all impacted by the culture, whether we know it or not. From politics

Starting point is 01:27:14 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. Black Star Network is here. Oh, no punches!

Starting point is 01:27:34 I'm real revolutionary right now. Thank you for being the voice of Black America. All the momentum we have now, we have to keep this going. The video looks phenomenal. See, there's a difference between Black Star Network and Black-owned media and something like CNN. You can't be Black-owned media and be scared. It's time to be smart. Bring your eyeballs home, you dig?

Starting point is 01:28:00 That's Kim Whitley. Yo, what's up? This your boy Ice Cube. Hey, yo, peace, world. What's going on? It's the love king of R&B, Raheem Devon, and you're watching Roller Martin Unfiltered. All right, folks. Welcome back to Roller Martin Unfiltered. We're talking about HR expert Laryn Wagner about, again, this job situation, employee situation.

Starting point is 01:28:31 If you've got any questions you have for her, if our panel, if you've got any more questions as well, let me know, 202-890-1199, 202-890-1199. We were going to break there, Laryn. I was just talking about, and again, it's not the employee's responsibility to fully understand the employer. At the end of the day, your responsibility is your personal finances, your job. a lot of times, and I've worked in a number of companies where employees have a completely different reality than what is actually happening in the business. And I've seen where you've had staff meetings and I'm sitting there going, you clearly are not paying attention to what is going on around you. It's important for employees to be present in the company, be about the business of your business. You have, so I, and I, I agree with you there. There is one thing I would say,

Starting point is 01:29:35 the employee, like you said, they, they're responsible for knowing what works for them. They're responsible for knowing their stance with the company. I will say, though, you can't go into certain situations, especially with your employer in the job market, merit increases, you can't go in uninformed. You have to be intentional. And I know we've talked about this, but you have to be intentional about understanding your company to an extent, to an extent. The companies, a lot of companies pride themselves on their communications. And when it comes to these employee engagement surveys and stuff, that's always a pain point for some organizations.

Starting point is 01:30:13 But I do agree with you. There's the employee, the employer needs to make sure that the employee is educated, but the employee does have to own their piece. And so I did a so I did a call. It was a master class with Felicia Butterfield-Jones. It was during COVID. And there was a whole bunch of different sisters on it.

Starting point is 01:30:34 And I forgot what company this one woman worked for, and she felt she deserved more money. And as she was talking, as I was listening to her, what I realized was she had hit her cap in the company. And what I said to her was, I need you to understand something. You got to leave. I said, if you, you need to understand that not every company is making the same amount of revenue. So you can be a lawyer or an accountant or $100,000 or $150,000. The size of that company dictates what they're able to pay. I said, you want to get, I told this woman, you want to get paid $150,000,

Starting point is 01:31:40 but the position you have in that company actually can only pay you $100,000. You're going to have to go. And she was like, damn, you're actually right. Because she was just thinking, well, I should get paid here. But the reality is what the company makes dictates what they're able to pay. And a lot of people just don't think about it in that way. Yeah. And that's going to vary from industry to industry. I'll say for myself, in the role that I'm in now at my company,

Starting point is 01:32:08 I'm doing the same job I did at the last company. And I have the same title. The companies are different. The industries are different. But you want to know what changed? The salary. There you go. You can do the same job for $40,000 more. Size of company and revenue of company dictates again, salaries. It's a money game. Absolutely.

Starting point is 01:32:32 Absolutely. Let's go to callers here. I want to go to Ron from Los Angeles. Ron, you're on RollerMart Unfiltered. How are you both today? How are you both doing today? Great.

Starting point is 01:32:46 Can you hear me? Yeah. What's your question? Good, good. I'll be real brief. I'm on LinkedIn. I'm working in a renewable energy, solar to be specific. And I've been getting hit up quite a bit for different opportunities.

Starting point is 01:32:59 But what seems to happen is that I'll go out and, you know, I'll fulfill their requests and the resume, do all these things. They say, hey, excellent resume. But I'm also not getting the follow-up. Now, my concern is I look at my – I have to bring up my LinkedIn page is that I do have a background. You know, I have my picture and a suit and tie. But I have amplified black voices as sort of my splash page in the back. Do you think that me sort of referencing that on my page has a lot to do with how employers see me?

Starting point is 01:33:31 Ron, thanks for your phone call. Larry? Yes. So, and this is strictly my thought about that. I think it can play a difference or it can play a part in how employers view you. However, your page should always represent your brand and who you are. If this is who you are, leave that there.

Starting point is 01:33:51 The right employer will recognize who you are and understand your LinkedIn page is your LinkedIn page. And while it illustrates your skill set, your background logo does not determine how well you meet the criteria for the role. It does not determine whether or not you are a fit for the role. If an employer is looking at that, honestly, I would even ask myself, if this is what matters and if this is what's counting me out, do I want to work for you? Yep. That's not the company I want to be in. William Gracie from D.C.

Starting point is 01:34:25 William, what's your question for Laron Wagner? Hi, how are you doing today? Thanks for taking my call. Great, how about you? My question, I'm great. My question is technology. AI, chat, GBP, for example, is potentially impacting or can impact a lot of industries in regards to getting rid of a lot of jobs or making you more efficient at your jobs. From an employer's perspective and an

Starting point is 01:34:51 employee's perspective, one, how, for an employee, employer, how do you think that's going to impact how you staff? Then from an employee's perspective, how can we position ourselves to make ourselves more valuable or valuable in the event of technology? Because it's definitely going to take away jobs. All right. William, thanks a lot. Okay. So my best answer to that would be look at your skill set.

Starting point is 01:35:16 Find yourself in a position to elevate yourself. Understand where you are now and look for opportunities to develop yourself. Don't leave that in the hands of the employer. Own that. And of course, one thing I always tell people, and I posted this on my page last week, always find yourself in a position to add value and make that value be tremendous. That is how you are going to show yourself approved in this case, but also too, that's how you set yourself apart. So that's, so I heard that part of the question. So that's my answer. But is there another part of your question that I didn't

Starting point is 01:35:50 answer? Cause I feel like I may have missed a part of that. Uh, it's already hung up there. I do. I will add this again. This is a mistake that I've, and I've, I've seen this in my industry when you're not paying attention to your industry, okay? When you're seeing contraction in your industry, when you're seeing downsizing, when you're seeing massive jobs eliminated, your industry is going through a shift. What it used to be ain't what it's going to be tomorrow. There are people right now in media,

Starting point is 01:36:24 and I was saying this 15 years ago, all y'all who don't understand technology, who are old school reporters, all y'all going to be out of 300. It's now 50. And so technology changes it. And so many people, I used to go to the National Association of Black Journalists Convention, and folks were resistant and odd rolling. You keep saying it.

Starting point is 01:36:58 I'm like, y'all, the train is coming. I'm telling y'all. A bunch of y'all about to get run over and left off of the train. And when it came, they were like, oh my God, what do I do? Because you weren't preparing for where the industry was going. They weren't paying attention to the business side of the business. And so he was asking about artificial intelligence. If you are in a job that is about to be impacted by robotics and AI, yeah, you better start thinking about if I got another 30 years of work, what am I going to be doing 15 years from now? No, you're absolutely right. You mentioned 30 more years of work, you will be surprised, and this isn't to pick at anybody or

Starting point is 01:37:48 judge anybody, but you'll be surprised that people who are working all these years and not even looking at what their future looks like, and that's a part of determining where you need to be and what you would like to see in another job offer or in your next opportunity. You have to plan. You have to plan for retirement. You have to plan for if something was to happen that would take you out of the workforce and put you on disability or some type of restricted income. I think a lot of people tend to gloss over that, but it's definitely a real thing. A phone call from Danita. I'm going to try to squeeze two in. Danita, what's your question? Hello. I'm a civil service and public employee, and I have about 25 years at my job.

Starting point is 01:38:39 Not quite 25 yet. Should I wait until I'm at 25 to try and see whether or not I should go to another type of civil service employment, or should I just ride it out at my job and retire from it? I'm job and retire from here? I'm a ways away from retirement age, though. So what advice could you give me for that? Prepare for both. Do not wait till you're at that 25-year mark to determine what to do next. And we were talking about this earlier in an earlier segment. Your last day could be tomorrow. You know, knocking on wood that that doesn't happen, but we are in such times of uncertainty. Anything could happen. You have to plan now. But also, Danita, I want you-

Starting point is 01:39:14 And I would advise anybody to do that. Danita, I want you to also start to sit down and look at the finances of that. And so, for instance, the question is, can you take early retirement? And then when does your pension kick in? How much is that? And the only reason I'm saying that, I know some people who are getting two pensions. They worked at a public position job. They said, okay, I'm retiring here. I got that pension.

Starting point is 01:39:40 Now I'm going to go work over here as a public worker. Now I'm going to create me a second pension. Then when they do retire, they got two pensions coming in. And so you should be sitting down looking at the finances of your decision that then dictates what you then do. Because you have an advantage that yet you got almost 25 years and you're still young enough. You can walk away from that pension, that job, and go to another one. And that pension is safe. And so you should be looking at the number game and see how that works for you. Laryn, we appreciate this. We're going to have you back next Thursday. If folks want to

Starting point is 01:40:15 reach you, how can they do so? So I am on LinkedIn at L-apostrophe-E-R-I-N Wagner. And I am also on Instagram at Laryn W1. But catch me on LinkedIn. That's where I'm most active. All right, then. And I look forward to connecting with you all. Yeah, LinkedIn, Instagram, Facebook. Go to all of them. We appreciate it.

Starting point is 01:40:38 Next week, we're going to talk about the employer, because a lot of people are people out there who own businesses, and there are some important things that they also need to understand navigating 2023. Laryn Wagner, thanks so much. I appreciate it. Thank you, Roland. Have a great night, everybody. All right, folks, coming up next, the Texas

Starting point is 01:40:56 Black State Representative wants to get rid of the Confederate holiday in Texas. He'll join us next on Roland Martin Unfiltered on the Black Star Network. If you're on, of course, YouTube, hit the Like button. Y'all wish him easily over 1,000 likes. Hit the Share button on Facebook. Same thing on the Black Star Network app.

Starting point is 01:41:12 Download the Black Star Network app. Apple Phone, Android Phone, Apple TV, Android TV, Roku, Amazon Fire TV, Xbox One, Samsung Smart TV. Join our Bring the Funk fan club. Send your checking money orders to PO Box 57196, Washington, D.C. 20037-0196. Cash app, dollar sign, R-M unfiltered. PayPal is R-Martin unfiltered. Venmo is R-M unfiltered.

Starting point is 01:41:32 Zelle, Roland at RolandSMartin.com. Roland at RolandMartinUnfiltered.com. I'll be right back. Hatred on the streets. A horrific scene. A white nationalist rally that descended into deadly violence white people are losing their damn minds there's an angry pro-trump mob storm to the u.s capital we're about to see the rise of what I call white minority resistance. We have seen white folks in this country who simply cannot tolerate black folks voting. I think what we're seeing is the inevitable result of violent denial.

Starting point is 01:42:14 This is part of American history. Every time that people of color have made progress, whether real or symbolic, there has been what Carol Anderson at Emory University calls white rage as a backlash. backlash this is the wrath of the proud boys and the boogaloo boys america there's going to be more of this this country is getting increasingly racist in its behaviors and its attitudes because of the fear of white people the fear that they're taking our jobs they're taking our resources they're taking our women this is white people. The fear that they're taking our jobs, they're taking our resources, they're taking our women. This is white fear. 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.

Starting point is 01:43:09 Join me each Tuesday on Blackstar 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 Blackstar Network, A Balanced Life with Dr. Jackie. Hey, I'm Antonique Smith. Hey, I'm Arnaz Jane. Hi, this is Cheryl Lee Ralph, and you are watching Roland Martin, unfiltered. I mean, could it be any other way?

Starting point is 01:43:40 Really, it's Roland Martin. The greatest defender of the Confederacy today, white Republicans. It continues. You have these Confederate Memorial holidays in South Carolina, Mississippi, Alabama, and in Texas as well. Black state rep, he wants to stop that in Texas. Representative Jarvis Johnson joins us right now. Glad to have you on the show. So today is what?

Starting point is 01:44:21 What is it actually called in Texas today? Celebrate Stupid People Hero Day. It's actually called Confederate Heroes Day in Texas. So what's their rationale for still celebrating domestic terrorists who were traitors to the United States? You know, over and over again, you hear the same comments, you hear the same statements, that this is their history, this is their culture, this is their legacy. Why would we want to erase history? All of those things. So, you know, it's a revisionist history of which they want to continue to make out like the Civil War was fought for a different reason other than truly what it was all about, and

Starting point is 01:45:00 that was for the protection of the institution of slavery. It was quite frankly said by the vice president of the Confederacy when they created the Declaration that they wanted to preserve the institution of slavery. And that was the very reason why the secession happened, and that's the very reason why the Civil War took place. And so those today want to keep with the revisionist history and say it was states' rights when we know it was states' rights to continue the institution of slavery. And those people are still trying to use that mindset and that lie to believe that there were Confederates

Starting point is 01:45:40 that fought nobly for the South. Oh, yeah. States' rights in the Northern Aggression, the Lost Cause. I love how they love to change the narrative when at the end of the day, that's exactly what it was about, to keep the institution of slavery. And so these Republicans in Texas, when you proposed this bill a couple of times before, what have they said to you why they have rejected your bill? Well, this is the third time I filed a bill, and I think this is the fourth time that the bill has been filed. I think it started back in 2015, and it skipped a year. But over the years, we have seen some progress when it was first introduced. There

Starting point is 01:46:23 were a lot of people that came out against the bill. But then when I filed the bill in 2019, the bill was filed. We had several people that came out against the bill, but we had a lot of people that were for the bill. And I didn't have one Republican that signed on to the bill in 2019. In 2021, I will say that I had about 10 Republicans that signed on to the bill that wanted to join Arthur and wanted to support the eradication of this particular holiday. And even today, there are many Republicans that are standing up and saying, look, we are the party of Lincoln, and if we're the party of Lincoln, then we can't be for the Confederacy. And so I will give credit to some, not all, because it still takes Republican support, because we are a Republican-led House

Starting point is 01:47:12 and a Republican-led Senate with a governor and a lieutenant governor, that oftentimes these type of issues fall on deaf ears. But I do believe that we will be successful because we are gaining more momentum. More and more people are talking about it. More and more of the media is putting it out there. And more and more people who didn't even know this holiday existed are starting to say, wait, we have what? A holiday in our state called Confederate? That just doesn't make sense. That's oxymoronic.

Starting point is 01:47:39 And I don't think this state should be defined by this small minority of people that are loud and now we see have become very violent when wanting to protect a supremacist ideology that they want to kind of embrace. And as we continue to allow this to embrace, we'll see it fester and we'll see it start to move all across this country. We saw a Confederate flag being flown in the nation's capital. We see Iowans literally flying Confederate flags. And you don't even know anything about the Confederacy, but it is dog whistling a mindset and an ideology that they all embrace.

Starting point is 01:48:17 And that's why it's important that we stop this holiday today. We stop it this year and never have to look back and say that we're celebrating something. Because I will say this, there's no holiday that we should be celebrating. History is supposed to be studied, not celebrated. And so that's why I challenge all of my colleagues, especially those across the aisle, to if you want to continue to teach it, then let's teach it. But we're not going to celebrate it because that flies in the face of my ancestors that were killed simply because of a mindset and an ideology that the Confederacy embraced. Well, Erica, when you think about Republicans who did not want to get rid of the renaming of army bases, they did not want West Point removing Confederate plaques and other monuments. They call this a woke run amok.

Starting point is 01:49:06 They want to maintain those symbols of white supremacy. Yeah, absolutely. And understanding that those symbols were erected within the 20th century as markers to let black people know that they must obey. And so those type of violent symbols treason is pranced about really do leave an indelible mark. And I do believe that the representative, the gentleman is still with us. He's still there. He's still there. OK, excellent. So I just had a quick question around that state, the state holiday in Texas, in Georgia, my home state, right up until 2015, that Confederate holiday, Robert E. Lee, was celebrated. Right now, I believe the case is that it no longer bears Confederates' name, but that state holiday, that state capitals and things of that nature have

Starting point is 01:50:02 closed. So my question is, have you communicated with anyone in the state of Georgia that's been successful to some degree to at least have the Confederacy removed from the state holiday, or have you gotten any type of feedback around that fight? Well, the feedback that we're getting across the country is that I think, again, a lot of people who did not know that this thing exists have become more and more shocked. Texas has grown. Texas has the largest population of black people in the entire country right here in Texas. And I think this mindset is starting to take shape that we can put on the elected officials, the pressure that we can put on the governor, lieutenant governor, and the Senate to get this thing seen all the way through.

Starting point is 01:50:52 Those that are going to be afraid are going to be afraid. You know, I'm not for just renaming it or simply moving it, because when you look at what the Confederacy is all about across this country, they celebrate dates on different days. They celebrate them in June. They celebrate them in April. They celebrate it in January. They celebrate it, you know, all over. So it's kind of like it doesn't even have a basis for which they can celebrate.

Starting point is 01:51:16 But we do know they're doing it for a particular reason. And here in Texas, they purposely put it on January 19th because they wanted to be in the front to what Dr. Martin Luther King had meant to this country, not just to black people, but to this country. And that was the reason why Confederate Heroes Day had even been in existence today in Texas, because in 1973, some Republicans took exception to the fact that the dean of our house, Safronia Thompson, filed a bill that simply recognized the works of Dr. Martin Luther King. And those said, oh, he's not even from Texas, so why should we even, why should we do that?

Starting point is 01:51:55 And that was many of their conversations, and it's the reason why they didn't vote for it. But they then turned right around and voted for, to create Confederate Heroes Day for Robert E. Lee and Jeff Davis, who are neither from Texas. So again, it's the contradiction and the lies. But the conversation has been very positive. While I have not had conversation with those from Georgia, the conversation for those in Louisiana that helped eradicate theirs has been there. And so we're, I don't think it's one formula that you have more than the formula of sending

Starting point is 01:52:32 a message to the governor, lieutenant governor, that we're watching and we're going to be persistent. I'm not going to just say, well, you know, let it go, as most of them would want to say, look, why don't you just let it go? If it was so long ago, why don't you just let it go, as most of them would want, to say, look, why don't you just let it go? If it was so long ago, why don't you just let it go? Because I don't believe in allowing an ideology to fester in the annals of what Texas is. And unfortunately, if we don't get rid of this bill, that's what we'll do. And you'll see those sympathizers take the Confederacy, as you saw what happened in South

Starting point is 01:53:03 Carolina when the boy shot up the church. He used that Confederate mentality and that hate to do what he did. And that's why it's important that we get rid of this holiday, so that we kill the notion and the ideology that those sympathizers can use it to embolden their behaviors. Greg Carr. Thank you, Ron. And thank you, Representative Johnson. And maybe if you wouldn't mind giving us a word on the fact that I think I read somewhere in an interview, you said you actually have a Confederate in your bloodline, a white rapist

Starting point is 01:53:39 that goes back to your great, great, great, great grandmother, if I'm not mistaken. So maybe, maybe if you say a word about that. No, I'm not mistaken. So maybe you said a word about that. I'm curious, as you continue to fight this fight, and ultimately we know we're going to win, in the interim, if January the 19th became a day where we embraced Confederate Heroes Day and used it as a day of day-long teach-ins to eviscerate the Confederacy, I wonder if that might be a tactic as we're getting it banned. I'm thinking Texas Southern and Prairie View and maybe get Texas Austin together and maybe have some college teach-ins on the 19th to destroy the Confederacy.

Starting point is 01:54:15 We're going to embrace this holiday until we can get it off the books. I wonder if that might be a tactic that could be used as we're moving to get rid of the holiday. About 45 seconds, go. The one thing that is happening across the state and across this country is that they're trying to ban teachings of anything that has to do with blacks. You understand what Florida just did was banning black education in public schools. But, yeah, the issue is that we have to continue to educate our own people so that they understand how painful and

Starting point is 01:54:45 harmful this particular bill is. And yes, to those that want to say that this is their heritage, this is their culture, I tell them this is mine, too, because my great-great-great-grandfather fought for the Confederacy as to where my lineage came from. And so we have to—but I'll never celebrate an individual like that, but I will teach my children about what that individual did to our ancestors. And so never to be celebrated, but certainly to be taught so that we don't forget their heinous crimes. All right. Representative Johnson, I really appreciate it, man. Thank you so very much. Appreciate you, brother. Keep up the good work. All right, then. Next time, you can remove that crap in the back.

Starting point is 01:55:22 I knew you was going to go there. I just wanted to let you know. I mean, next time, don't, don't. Look, look, look, you can remove that crap in the back. I knew you was going to go there. I just wanted to let you know. I mean, next time, don't. Look, look, look. You can move to anywhere else. You can move anywhere else in your house or your office. Don't be showing that nonsense on this show. You're right.

Starting point is 01:55:35 It's your show, but, you know, it's my house. So at the end of the day. But no, no, no, no. It's Alpha House. Remember who's your daddy. Okay. All right. Tell the folks in Texas what's up your daddy? Okay. All right. Tell the folks in Texas what's up. Thanks a bunch.

Starting point is 01:55:48 All right. Greg, they should know how I'm going to roll. Greg, I appreciate it. Reesey, thanks a bunch. Erica, thanks a bunch. Folks, we'll see y'all tomorrow right here on Roller Mark Unfiltered on the Black Star Network. We keep it real. Keep it unapologetic.

Starting point is 01:56:04 And so we'll see y'all then. Holla! Oh. Oh, no punching! A real revolutionary right now. Black power. Support this man, Black Media. He makes sure that our stories are told.

Starting point is 01:56:24 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.

Starting point is 01:56:46 You dig? 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. Hi, I'm Dr. Jackie Hood-Martin, and I have a question for you.

Starting point is 01:57:13 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'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. I'm Deborah Owens, America's Wealth Coach,

Starting point is 01:57:51 and my new show, Get Wealthy, focuses on the things that your financial advisor and bank isn't telling you, but you absolutely need to know. So watch Get Wealthy on the Blackstar Network. you you This is an iHeart Podcast.

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