#RolandMartinUnfiltered - Remembering George Floyd, one year after his death; Kristen Clarke confirmed; Dylann Roof appeal

Episode Date: May 26, 2021

5.25.21 #RolandMartinUnfiltered: Remembering George Floyd, one year after his death; Kristen Clarke confirmed to be the first Black woman to lead the DOJ's Civil Rights Division; Hello somebody! Nina Turner talks bid for Congress; Rep. Barbara Lee discusses the need for a "Third Reconstruction"; Dylann Roof files appeal to overturn his death sentence Support #RolandMartinUnfiltered via the Cash App ☛ https://cash.app/$rmunfiltered or via PayPal ☛ https://www.paypal.me/rmartinunfiltered#RolandMartinUnfiltered is a news reporting platform covered under Copyright Disclaimer Under Section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976, allowance is made for "fair use" for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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I'm Greg Lott. And this is Season 2 of the War on Drugs podcast. Yes, sir. Last year, a lot of the problems of the drug war. This year, a lot of the biggest names in music and sports. This kind of starts that a little bit, man. We met them at their homes. We met them at their recording studios.

Stories matter, and it brings a face to them. It makes it real. It really does. It makes it real. Listen to new episodes of the War on Drugs podcast season two on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Today is Tuesday, May 25th, 2021. Coming up on Roland Martin Unfiltered. One year ago today, George Floyd was murdered in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

What has changed in America in the one year since his death? We'll explore that. Corporate America promised $50 billion to black America. Most of that has not been spent. We'll explore that. Corporate America promised $50 billion to black America. Most of that has not been spent. We'll break that down. Also, what has changed when it comes to policing, when it comes to public policy, when it comes to holding police accountable? And has America truly confronted the issue of race? We'll cover all of that in a special edition of Roland Martin Unfiltered, broadcasted live from Black Lives Matter Plaza here in the nation's capital.

We'll be joined by the family of George Floyd, who are on their way right now after meeting today with President Joe Biden at the White House and also on Capitol Hill with Senators Tim Scott, Lindsey Graham, as well as Cory Booker. We'll also be joined by Congresswoman Barbara Lee talking about the third reconstruction. Also, Nina Turner. She is running for the U.S. Congress from Ohio. We'll chat with her as well. All that and more. Also, Kristen Clark, today, the first black woman ever confirmed to head the Civil Rights Division in the Department of Justice. All that and more right here on Roller Martin Unfiltered. It's time to bring the funk. he's on it Whatever it is, he's got the scoop, the fact, the fine

And when it breaks, he's right on time And it's rolling Best belief he's knowing Putting it down from sports to news to politics With entertainment just for kicks He's rolling It's Uncle Roro, y'all It's Rolling Roro, y'all It's Rollin' Martin

Rollin' with Rollin' now He's funky, he's fresh, he's real the best You know he's Rollin' Martin Martin I'm Martin. One year ago on this day, George Floyd was murdered in Minneapolis, Minnesota, setting off a firestorm all across the country. Massive protests, in fact, taking place all across the world. A number of African-Americans have been killed over the years by police. But, folks, this was different.

It unleashed something America had not seen since the civil rights movement. The question is how much has changed in this country. Of course, there have been a number of people who have been killed by cops since then. Derek Chauvin, the cop who kneeled on George Floyd for nine minutes and 29 seconds, choking the life out of his body, found guilty, awaiting sentencing on his way to prison. Three of the officers who were involved, they will go on trial in 2022. We've seen other cases where officers in Minneapolis and other places have killed folks as well. And so over the next two hours, we'll discuss this on this particular day. There have been

events taking place all across the country and the world commemorating the death of George Floyd on this day in Minnesota. The governor, Tim Walz, calls for a moment of silence to honor George Floyd. So this is what he posted. Minnesotans, join me today for a moment of silence to honor George Floyd on the anniversary of his death, a day that ignited a global movement for change. Let us pause for 9 minutes and 29 seconds today at 1 p.m. That has been taking place. Folks, also today in New York, the National Action Network, Mayor Bill de Blasio and the New York City mayoral candidates, they took a knee to commemorate the death of George Floyd. In fact, Sean Donovan, who is the running for mayor, was one of the folks who was arrested on this day at a protest as well

in New York City. So a number of different things that have been going on all across this country commemorating today. What you will see here, I'm actually wearing a T-shirt that the George Floyd family sent me. They actually sent me this T-shirt, a hat, and a mask as well, 525, Day of Enlightenment, all the focus on this day. It was this video, folks, this video, a young woman, that changed the conversation in this country and in this world with regards to police brutality. Thank you. Thank you. Folks in this video in this video here, of course, that changed everything that you can hear the pleas of George Floyd, where he was literally was literally pleading for his life, telling them he could not breathe. This went on for nine minutes and 29 seconds. It was this video that where he also and his family talked about him calling for his mother. Some say as he was dying, he was literally seeing his mother. It was it gut-wrenching video. Not only that,

to hear that particular audio. Folks, you see the officers there just simply standing around. This video was shown over and over and over in the trial of Derek Chauvin. And folks, it was this video that boomerang all across the world, changed everything. You see Derek Chauvin sitting there, knee on his neck, hands in his pocket, and folks said literally he is suffocating the life of George Floyd. You can come back to me, folks. Again, nine minutes and 29 seconds. That time has been etched in the memory of so many different people. It unleashed a torrent, a torrent of protests all across the world. Let's show some of that video, folks. We remember that week vividly, what took place in Minneapolis, what took place in the country where people in cities across

America, across the world, held protests in honor of George Floyd. It was the most massive spur of the moment protest that we have seen since the civil rights movement. It changed so much in this country. It changed so much in this world. And what really happened with folks in terms of it caused the consciousness of folks to be raised. It caused people to really begin to demand the answers. What can be done to change this? That's what took place on this particular day. And what really also happened, folks, is we saw we saw how many people who were, many of them white, who responded in a major, major way with regards to what took place, folks. It was, again, shocking and stunning.

There were, again, massive amounts of protests that took place. It also caused folks to demand changes inside of their companies. We saw young whites, we saw Asians, we saw Latinos, and it wasn't just African-Americans who were leading the marches that took place all across the world. I want to bring in my panel right now, while we're still showing that video, Georgia Fort, she's an independent journalist. Benjamin Dixon hosts the Benjamin Dixon podcast. Teresa Lundy, principal founder of TML Communications.

I'm going to talk with them while we wait here at Black Lives Matter Plaza in D.C. for the arrival of the family of George Floyd. They met today with President Joe Biden. They were on Capitol Hill meeting with Senators Tim Scott and Lindsey Graham, Cory Booker. They're making their way right now to Black Lives Matter Plaza for us to talk with them for an exclusive interview here. Ben, a lot changed on Memorial Day in 2020. Roland, one of the things that we saw was in that video, and because of that video, we saw the extent to which the police in this country devalue black lives.

And it was so jarring and so shocking that many white Americans just couldn't put up with it anymore. A lot has changed, but so many things haven't changed. And there's still the pursuit for justice. And even though we have justice in this particular case, I really look at this in a way that my friend Noah Changa puts it. Justice isn't getting a guilty verdict. Justice is stopping them from killing the next person. And we need the legislation to pass and get off the desk of the legislatures and move into action

so that we can address the issues that allow Derek Chauvin to believe that he could get away with murder. Teresa, we talk about a lot changing on this day, and we talk about what it ignited. We also really, really saw, Teresa, we saw white Americans respond in a way reminiscent of how they responded when the dogs and fire hoses were sick on black children in Birmingham when they were there protesting in the 1960s. It was those images that caused a white American to say enough is enough and the exact same thing happened here. Absolutely and that's something that we can never forget. One year ago, we saw, you know, the population, and standing together in unison, we start

to understand that this was the birthplace of what America was built on as it relates to our Constitution. And so if we get the law of George Floyd Act passed, we can start having not only these discussions, but we can have more unification of conversations that could potentially happen across states when people come together. Georgia, to that particular point, again, what it did, it forced people to have to make a decision. Do you sit on the sidelines?

Do you simply allow black folks to step out here and speak to these issues? It forced others to frankly get serious about this and realize they had to use their voices to demand change. Absolutely. I think being here on the ground in Minneapolis and seeing this unfold day after day, week after week, month after month. People have really tried to be on the right side of history. But as we saw in the attacks on January 6th, that there is a double standard in America, very clearly in the way that the law enforcement is trained to respond to a group of white protesters versus responding to a group of black protesters or those demanding justice for black life. And so being here in Minneapolis, even on this day, one year later,

we really thought that there would be more change, that a federal bill would be passed by now. But again, we're being met with more resistance. But here's the thing that I think is that we have to explain to people on this very issue, Benjamin, is that a lot of people are like, why hasn't it happened? Well, the exact same thing was said after Selma, after Birmingham, after Albany, Georgia. And so the thing is, protesting in the immediate aftermath is one thing, but it's a lot different when it means now passing legislation. That was always one of the things that that protest is one thing. Yeah, this is the photo from New York. Folks, y'all should be pulling the photo when Congress kneeled. Right now, folks, I believe the family,

and we're waiting to hear, to see if the family of George Floyd has arrived. But again, this is the thing, this is the thing here that, right now, that's the kneeling at New York, folks. I'm talking about, we can also, we should be able to pull that photo when Congress also kneeled. But the thing being is that people have to keep the action going.

You have to keep the action going and pressuring the legislators to act. It doesn't happen just because. Absolutely right. The pressure has to be put on on a regular basis. And we see that action is forced when the people are in the streets and when people are making their voices heard. That said, it is also incumbent upon these politicians who benefit from our votes time in and time out to actually take the initiative and not always wait for the people. Now, the people need to keep standing up, right? But I think there's some accountability because we've seen, Roland, one of the things I've seen with the Biden administration is they do respond to the demands of the people. And I think if this case, if it's necessary,

we need to go back into these streets to make sure that we get some definitive action that takes place. One last thing, Gianni Floyd, his daughter, she said it last year, right in the aftermath. She said her father changed the world. And, you know, and while we don't have the results that we want and need in terms of legislation, his death really did change something. And we, I believe that we'll see within her lifetime some significant changes to how our country treats black people. When the Floyd family arrives here, we're going to have an opportunity to talk to them about their meetings on Capitol Hill with also President Joe Biden to see if anything has indeed changed. They're on their way, and I believe that this might be them in this SUV that is behind us.

We should be able to switch to that other camera to see if that's them in that SUV just arriving here. And so we're just still waiting to find out, folks. But I did get a text message they're on their way. And so we're waiting to actually see. It is, no, that is, say it again, Anthony? Lil Baby the Rapper? Okay, that's Lil Baby the Rapper, who all the media is again, Anthony? Lil Baby. Lil Baby the rapper? Lil Baby the rapper. Okay, that's Lil Baby the rapper who all the media is following to the restaurant over there.

No, that's not the floor. All the media was following them with two black SUVs pulled up. But, no, that is not the case. Teresa Lundy, folks are demanding, obviously, that George Floyd, Justice of the Policing Act be passed in Congress. But the reality is that most laws that deal with police are state and local. What we've seen is we've seen New York deal with qualified immunity. We've seen, we've also seen in Maryland, they get rid of the Bill of Rights in Maryland, vetoing, overriding the veto of Governor Larry Hogan. That was a huge development, has not gotten lots of attention, but that's the type of

action that's necessary to deal with what has happened with police in this country. Absolutely. So when we reform and police reform, there has to be commissions, there has to be commissions. There has to be statements of support. There has to be some sort of unification, not only with local laws, but also with law enforcement agencies to make sure that the police chiefs understand that the people want change. in the last year since George Floyd's death, where everyone, again, ingrained nine minutes, 29 seconds of a murder that has taken place live on video and really start to understand that this is not only an issue that happened to George Floyd. This has been an issue that has been happening throughout history. And so in order to change history, we all know it's done by legislative action. And so laws have to be made. Laws also need to be amended because there are some laws that essentially are currently in place that also can be amended, but with the right action to do so. And that is the action of our legislators.

So there's some things that we can do locally. That's why local elections are very important. And that's why, you know, the people that we put in position, they have to be focused on the same trend. It doesn't have to be liberal. It doesn't have to be a progressive, but it has to be fair and equitable to every citizen across the board. But, George, I remember last year there were a lot of people who said, hey, I don't believe public policy. I don't believe in politicians. That's why I'm protesting. You can't protest to change things if you do not understand public policy is involved. You cannot be out here protesting and saying we want things to change so a George Floyd is not murdered again if you then act as if what happens on

elections don't matter. They go hand in hand. Roland, I couldn't agree with you more. And I think that's why it's been so devastating when we see what happens in Georgia when they try to suppress black votes. And it's something that we're still fighting to this day. In the Twin Cities here around the surrounding areas where George Floyd was killed, being here on the ground and still being here live right now in Minneapolis, what we saw was protesters start to get strategic, actually, and acknowledging that fact, that they do have to think about the policies, that they do have to get out and vote. And so I covered a number of protests where the civil rights attorneys involved, the organizers and community leaders involved would actually go to the homes of the mayor, the governor, and the county attorneys,

acknowledging the fact that they're the ones who are in position to either change the laws or bring forth an indictment on these officers who have been distributing all of this violence and harm in our communities. And so I couldn't agree with you more. I do think that now is time to take that energy that we had in the streets throughout the last year and take it to the voting polls, take it to even the city council meetings where decisions are being made that affect our lives and affect the ability to prevent another George Floyd from

happening. It is very frustrating to me, Ben, when we have these conversations, because folks say, look, I just don't believe that anything is going to get done. So therefore, I'm going to protest. And I get it. There is righteous anger and indignation. But the reality is, we cannot divorce why it's critically important to vote for district attorneys. When you talk about Marilyn Mosby in Baltimore, Kim Fox in Chicago, Larry Krasner in Philadelphia, we can go on and on and on in so many other cities. These things are happening. Look, Keith Ellison left Congress to run for attorney general in Minnesota.

He took over the case from the Hennepin County DA, and that's why you got the result in the Derek Chauvin case. He has announced he is going to be leading the prosecution of Kim Potter, the officer who killed a black man unarmed there in Minnesota. And so, again, for the folks who were jubilant when Derek Chauvin was found guilty, well, guess what? Those things happen because you elected an attorney general who was a count unto the people. We saw just what happened when Andrew Womble Jr., North Carolina, basically sound like a defense attorney for the police in Elizabeth City, North Carolina. He is running for superior court judge there in Pasquotank County. I would dare say the people of Elizabeth City,

if you're angry by that, make sure he doesn't get elected as a judge in that county. Absolutely, Roland. I was going to absolutely bring up Womble because he reminds me of Bob McCullough in Ferguson. We've seen when you have district attorneys and prosecuting attorneys who are in league with police officers. And they are so in bed with that way of thinking, that ideology. They side with the people who are killing us. They do the role of a defense attorney. They do the role of ensuring that these police can never be held accountable. So it's incumbent upon us to have all the strategies happening at the same time. We have to have an outside strategy where we're applying pressure,

and if it's necessary to take it to the streets, take it to the streets. But we also have to have an inside strategy where we understand that electing people, not only at the federal level every four years, but at the local level, is significantly important for us to make the changes that need to be made because all of our protests are significant.

We can show our strength, we can show our power, but if they still maintain the levers of power, we will never get the changes that we need change in this country. Again, folks, we are here at Black Lives Matter Plaza in the nation's capital. This was one of the places where the mayor of Washington, D.C., painted over the street. We have our our high camera. You'll be able to see this is the street literally that leads to the White House. You see it behind us, which you will see. Look, granted, we've got all this media symbol behind us. If we go to the other camera, what you'll actually see is the mayor, Anthony. Let's get the other camera on, Anthony. Huh? All right.

So bottom line is this here, folks. This particular this street was paved by Mayor Miro Bowser to commemorate the life of George Floyd. We then saw that take place in cities all across the country where the exact same thing happened. It took place in New York City. And there were people who tried to paint over this. They repainted it.

That happened as well. You remember when I was, if you guys could pull it, I was in Houston where we actually had, we actually were there broadcasting from Jack Gates High School where George Floyd attended, my alma mater. Well, they actually created a George Floyd mural in front of the high school with the exact same thing, where Black Lives Matter and had George Floyd's football jersey. And so these signs, we've seen them pop up all across the country. What this did, Teresa, this death, it also forced public officials to have to say something and do something and make the point that Black lives do indeed matter. Yeah. And you know, I love Mayor Bowser. She is a fearless leader. And again, local leaders matter. Because even when she did that gesture, I remember

so many people were in an uproar about the paint on the street, but the significance of it, the significance of people saying Black Lives Matter, and I'm going to now paint it on the concrete so you understand that we are not going to be forgotten and we are at, you know, steps from the White House where change is supposed to happen. And so when we start looking at, you know, again, our local leaders and local effectiveness when it comes to laws, when it comes to accountability, when it comes to equality across the board. We have to really not forget about the lives that have been lost and some of the triumphs that have come in the midst of all these conversations. Because George Floyd has brung a lot of social justice leaders out,

a lot of activists out, a lot of celebrities who are now social justice activists. Because there is never any one person who can't be a change agent. And I think this is a prime time in our history where we are starting to see millennials, we are starting to see the younger generation really step up in a different way that are moving the needle forward with some of these elected officials. And for those who think, you know, like I said before, public policy or don't really understand it, well, you know when it affects you or somebody that looks like you. So essentially, if you don't watch CNN or any other news channel, take a look at some of your local channels and really start to get engaged

on what's going on with your community, but not only your community, your people. Folks, right now, and I know we have Nina Turner, but right now, actually, let me just go ahead and pull Nina Turner right now. Nina, you're running for Congress there in Ohio. I certainly want to get your thoughts on this day. Unfortunately, Nina, literally the George Floyd family is pulling up right now as we speak. They were supposed to be here an hour ago, but they were trapped on Capitol Hill. I just want to get just your thoughts on what has really changed in this country from a year ago. I am awake. I am awake. I am awake. I am awake. I am awake. I am awake. I am awake. I am awake. I am awake. I am awake.

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I am awake. I am awake. I am awake. I am awake. I am awake. I am awake. I am awake. I am awake. really wrong with your audio. We literally cannot understand anything. Audio, can y'all work with Nina on that so we can get that straight on her audio, please, so we can actually hear her.

Okay, all right. So as you're seeing right here, folks, this is the family of George Floyd, who they are arriving here at Black Lives Matter Plaza in the nation's capital. We're going to be chatting with them in just a few seconds. We're also trying to get the audio straight of Nina Turner. And so they're going to be coming over in just a second. And we're going to be chatting with them with regards to this day. And so let's, waiting on them to come on over here. Let me, you see, we got attorney Ben Crump and others. All right. Yeah, go ahead. Gentlemen, we'll just have one sit right here and everyone else who can be

just going to be right behind. Yeah, that's cool. That's what I was. Good seeing you. Good seeing you. Good seeing you. Good seeing you. How you doing?

Hey, how's it going? Good seeing you. Good seeing you. Good seeing you. Good seeing you. How you doing? Hey, how's it going? Good seeing you. Good seeing you in person. What's up, Doc? Doc? Good seeing you. All good. All good. All right. Now, as a lot of y'all, we got one action. So we'll have y'all stand right behind them right here. And so we are definitely live. Glad to have you here. So for the folks who don't know, first of all, let's just give you a name so the folks know who you are. I'm Philonise Floyd, brother of George Floyd. I'm Attorney Ben Crumpton, along with Attorney Tomini Ramanucci, Chris Stewart, and Justin Miller. We represent the family of George Floyd.

We have his brother Rodney Floyd, his brother Terrence Floyd, and his nephew, Brandon Williams. Floyd, I want to start with you. I've had to interview a lot of family members on anniversaries commemorating these moments. How hard is it for you, your brothers, and the family on a day like this where the world's commemorating, but for you, you lost a loved one? It's devastating to us just to wake up today knowing that this is the day that he perished on. My sister called me late, like early in the morning, like 12-something at night, and she called me crying because she was up just thinking about my brother and stuff like that.

But, hey, I told her we got to be strong. I prayed with her. We just talked about how he changed the world, and we're looking forward to being able to get that George Floyd Police Act signed. And we need it because, hey, people are living in fear and nothing's enough. We just want to be able to have the same laws for us, just like white America. We're black and we're living at a time where when we look up, we're seeing people pass.

Every day somebody's being killed, innocent people. Rodney, every King Day, every King Day we have events. And a lot of people don't think about what King Day means to Bernice, MLK III, and Dexter. Dr. King's sister is still living as well. And so although people are having events and they're commemorating, again, for y'all, this is different. This is a true day of grief. Well, definitely Dr. King and his family, we all respect and we all love and respect and honor everything that Mr. King sacrificed his life for and his sons carrying on his legacy as well. But on our end, our brothers is up to date, is martyring, day-timing, and it is...

Take a deep breath for this. But honestly, today is not a remembrance day, and it's very hard for us. We was talking about it last night, like today's going to be a big day. We didn't know what to expect, what to see. Me, my brother, nephew, and sister sister she was on the phone on speaker and honestly if it wasn't for the people on social media my social media pages sending messages and a lot of praising and saying you

guys today is about um i know it's about your brother but honestly i want to say a lot of people sitting there saying how are you guys doing? Are you OK? And honestly, that felt so good. Making today make it say much better for us as well. Give us some courage and a lot of great, happy feelings that a lot of people is caring about what's going on and about how we feeling and about today as well. And they're looking for change. Terrence, go ahead. Yeah, same question.

Well, yeah, as far as the MLK day, yes, that's a very important day, and people should understand that and know who he was and really lift up and let people know who he was. So in our family, George was symbolic as well, especially what's going on now and with his death and how he changed the world and how he changed people's mindsets and how people, you know, in lack of better terms, woke. And that's what we would want people to stay. We want people to stay woke because this is not a moment, it's a movement and we want it to keep going on as well. Just remember him just like you remember MLK and

Malcolm X and everybody. For honest, we're on Black Lives Matter Plaza here in D.C. and in the cities all across the country, these murals were only created after the death of George Floyd. It enforced a reckoning in this country. Your assessment of that reckoning in the last year? Do you believe that America has changed or it has caused a sense of understanding? And, you know, I'm wearing the shirt y'all sent me, Dave Enlightenment. I know I got it. I got it. Y'all sent me the master hat. I got the shirt. I had to wear my show hat now. Come on now. You know, you can't wear three items and look together. But do you believe that this has really caused something in this country, that there has been a shift since May 25th, 2020?

I believe that George represented change when he was tortured to death for nine minutes. People looked at that video. A lot of people didn't know how to explain that to their children. It was horrific the things that what happened the things that happened to him i wouldn't want to see for an animal and you had so many people who stepped out i'm talking about during a pandemic covid was out and they put their lives on the line for what was right. I have many people hit me all the time, constantly. They all say the same thing. Your brother will get justice. We will get accountability for him because the things that happened to him,

we will have to get out and change laws. So we're always going to be active like this to try to help because that George Floyd Policing Act, it needs to be passed because it's blood on that bill. We need meaningful legislation. We have to get out and continue to sit here and preach out loud for everybody around the world. The activists, even the older guys like Al Sharpton, who've been doing this for years, they've all been trying their best for years to stop the things that are going on. But today was a great day that we all had a chance just to sit there and just speak the

same way we always have. Being proud of y'all, proud of y'all coming here. I told the audience that black blood has always been, black blood has always been spilled in this country, unfortunately. If you think about the 64 Civil Rights Act, black blood was spilled that led to that. The 65 Voting Rights Act, black blood was led to spill for that. It shouldn't be the case, but the reality is that that is the case. You've had to deal with other deaths after George Floyd. So the reality is, even though he died, that we still are dealing with these issues across the country. And Roland, we have been fighting this battle since Trayvon Martin, even before Trayvon

Martin. I know National Bar Association President C.K. Hoffler is here with us, and we talked about how many people have been killed since May 25, 2020, when George Floyd was tortured to death. And the fact that we have to pass this bill, and the reason we have to pass this bill is because we see that we continue to have unjustified, unnecessary, and unconstitutional deaths. How many black men have been shot in the back since George Floyd? When you really think about it, you have Anthony McClain, who was shot in the back, running away literally out of his shoes in Pasadena, California.

You have Traford Pellerin in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, shot in the back after George Floyd. You have Dijon Kinsey shot in the back in Los Angeles County after George Floyd. You have Rayshard Brooks in Atlanta, Georgia, shot in the back after George Floyd. You have Rayshard Brooks in Atlanta, Georgia, shot in the back after George Floyd. You have Andre Hill in Columbus, Ohio, shot after George Floyd. I mean, the list goes on and on and on. And until we pass this bill, I predict every week we'll have another black person shot unjustifiably until we can get accountability from the George Floyd Justice and Policing Act. You had me. So you all were meeting today. You met the White House. President Joe Biden went to Capitol Hill. Senators Tim Scott, Lindsey Graham, Senators Cory Booker.

As of right now, where are we with that particular bill? You know, it's funny because Monique Presley, who is on your show and I work with a lot. Monique and Attorney Tony Ramanucci, we literally posed those questions, Roland, and they feel very confident that we're going to have meaningful legislation that will bear the name of George Floyd that is going to be passed by the United States Senate and sent to President Biden. And they said, we literally have never been this close to having meaningful police reform. They are trying to define terms, but they say all the issues are on the table being negotiated. Nobody has walked away from the table. And so, Roland, both Senator Booker and Senator Scott and Senator Lindsey Graham

and Congresswoman Karen Bass, the main negotiators, said if there's anything that we can do is tell people that we should say it's about working together. We should not draw lines in the sand because right now we're so close, finally after 57 years, to having police reform on the federal level in America. Out of all the issues, is qualified immunity absolute, meaning it has to be in the bill? Are there any absolutes that have to be there? We've had a lot of conversation about that. Congressman Jim Clyburn has said, hey, not necessarily. Activists have said, absolutely.

Congresswoman Maxine Waters, for you and the Floyd family, what absolutely must be in this bill in order for you to define it as meaningful? I will go first. It has to be absolute that it is a meaningful bill that will prevent the unnecessary and unjustifiable killings of black people and marginalized people of color. Now, will this bill stop the police from ever killing a black person again? Absolutely not. But we pray that with accountability, that will be a deterrent for seeing this epidemic that we're seeing happen over and over again. I mean, our new hashtag is happening every other week. We can't even keep up, Roland Martin. Right. And so that's what has to happen. It has to prevent some of these needless deaths

at the hands of the people who are supposed to protect the service. Were you going to speak on that? One of y'all want to speak on that? As long as I think you were trying to speak on that. Go ahead. I was saying, Mr. Crump,, he said everything that I wanted to say. I just want a meaningful bill. Anything that my brother's name on it, I want it to be meaningful. When he passed, he was an asset to us. And we miss him.

And we wish he still was here. But many people have passed behind him. And there's a lot of African-American people being killed for nothing. We were in the courthouse 10 miles away. Dante Wright was killed. We had to come out and speak about what was going on. And I also tried to console his mother. Yep.

I would just say, oh. Go ahead. Okay. I do have one more question. Okay. And the only thing I just wanted to add is, you know, globally, the world is watching, Roland, the world is watching. And what happens here is going to have an impact on what happens globally in terms of policing reform. So we stand, many countries stand in solidarity with Black Lives Matter and what's happening here. And so it's very, very important that the George Floyd Justin Policing Act get passed and people need to call their senators and ask them and

beg them to pass the George Floyd Justin Policing Act. Being that you have an update. Yeah, I just want to share with you verbatim what Senator Lindsey Graham said in the hour long meeting with him and Senator Tim Scott and the family, he said, I've never been more hopeful of this police reform bill. I met with people from both sides of the aisle as committed as I have ever been about making sure we pass this bill. We are anticipating a resolution very soon.

So we're going to do this here. So being you and I talked, we had folks meet here like we did last time. So there's a lot of media here. So they'll take questions. We're still live streaming set up. So we can do that. And so who has a question? OK.

Where's the media first? Right here. OK. People of color in the United States is the target of police brutality and policy. What would be the message for the Latino community that has been in the streets during George Floyd's manifestations around the Capitol? So the question he just posed is what would be the message for Latinos when it comes to the death of George Floyd and what they should also be doing? Yeah. Yeah. It's been a lot of our Latino brothers and sisters that have been out protesting with us, saying until we get justice for George Floyd, none of us can breathe. And so often when we talk, we talk about marginalized people of color.

That includes all of us. And most importantly, Roland, is we talk about making America live up to its rhetoric with liberty and justice for all. Well, that doesn't mean just white people. That means black people. That means brown people. That means red people. That means native people. That means all of us.

And so that's what we say to our Latino brothers, all of us included in this historical moment. Right here. You guys were talking about your meeting with lawmakers up on Capitol Hill with President Biden. Is there any kind of middle ground? Is there somewhere that you're willing to be for, say, somebody isn't willing to come full circle on the George Floyd policing act? I'll have Attorney Tony Romanooshi address me. So a question was that, did you hear a question? Can you repeat it?

Yeah, it's mostly just you've been speaking to lawmakers all day. So a question was that, did you hear a question? Can you repeat it? Yeah, it's mostly just you've been speaking to lawmakers all day. You spoke to President Biden, you spoke to lawmakers on the Hill. Are you seeing that there is going to be a consensus on this bill? And if not, is there any kind of middle ground that you're willing to meet with these lawmakers at? I think the consensus that we're seeing across the aisle here is that everybody wants accountability. Everyone wants to see officers accountable. And what I also heard today, which I haven't heard in a while, is transparency. For example, I think everybody is committed to getting the National Registry database done so that we know

which police officers should be on the force so that if they don't belong, they can get fired. I think there's going to be input from the major chiefs, potentially, about what they would like to see. So I think accountability and transparency is something that we do see that there's a commitment from both sides of the aisle. And then just quick for anybody from the family, if you feel like there is actually movement and that there is actually going to be change coming from something like this.

I'm happy to take it from anywhere well all we can do is honestly just stand by and hope and hope is a beautiful word hope is a beautiful word understand the meaning of hope we're just hoping that we get what we want in this building hopefully it get passed that's all we can do is honest as hope thank Yeah, this is a family. They're not politicians. All they can do is come and bear their heart and pray that we have responsible leadership that says enough is enough. CK, did you want to say something on that? And quite frankly, the American people need to fight for justice. Enough is enough for this family. Enough is enough for everybody. Enough is enough for this family. Enough is enough for everybody. Enough is enough for the American people. And that's what this is about.

Money, money, money, money, money, money. Go ahead. She just spoke. She just spoke about in terms of what the American people should do. There were massive amounts of people protesting a year ago. Where are those? What do you have to say to those people, the millions of people who were in the streets? What should they be doing right now when it comes to what's happening in the United States Senate? First of all, protest positively. But more than anything, protest and use your voice. I think it's needed. When you look at a year ago, the way people came out in the middle of a pandemic, it showed that, for one, people understood exactly what's going on in this country and that it was a huge problem and that it needs to be addressed.

And the only way to address it is to stand up, go out, use your voice, and make the people in leadership understand where we're coming from, make them feel us and make us hear us, and lead them with no option but to take action, make changes, change laws, change policies, and just continue to demand that we get a lot of these questions and these situations answered, that these officers be held accountable, that you can't just get away with killing innocent black men and women unjustifiably and monique should they have a day in court and monique should they be deluging capital here with phone calls emails every u.s senator because at the end of the day if you're out there protesting last year for george floyd you should be fighting for the bill absolutely so what i would say is for every person who's marched over this past year, from last year, this day to now, what you did was not in vain. The only reason that we are able to be here today this close is because of the work of this family in the middle of their grief.

The fact that they shouldered their own grief and cared more about this country than their own individual interest. They do not have to be here. They are here because they are patriots. They are here because they care about their community. They care about people who are coming behind them. So what you did, we need you to keep on doing. If you know how to tweet, send one out. If you can hold a talking group for your own family, for your community, please do it now. If you know your member of Congress, call them, text them. Every single one that we spoke to this time and a few weeks ago said that it matters when they hear from everyday Americans of all walks of life who care about this issue. And if you have any means of influence, please, now is the time to use it. Don't at all think that it doesn't matter.

Keep the main thing the main thing. This bill is going to save lives. Don't listen to any messages about how it's meaningless. It is not. If we get the things that we heard today they are working on getting, it's going to save the lives of our children and our grandchildren and make a difference for people of all races and creeds. One of the things that you mentioned earlier at the White House was that you wanted a good bill, not a rush bill. Did lawmakers give you any type of timetable as to when that bill may be a good bill? Well, they have thoughts on when it might happen, but we don't want to pigeonhole them and give any kind of deadlines. What we want is a good bill. And if they're working as hard as they have told us they're working, we'll get a good bill sooner rather than later. Remember, it's been 57 years. So if we have to go a couple more weeks,

then I'm okay with that as long as we can get a good bill. Will you guys be returning to Washington at any point in the next couple of weeks? The families committed, as well as other families, have said they will come to Washington every week, if need be, to get proper legislation passed that will prevent other families from having to go through what they're going through. Any other questions? Right here. If the bill is not satisfying for you, are you ready to say, not in George's name,

we won't sign it, we won't endorse it? Yeah. The family has always said it had to be a meaningful bill if it's going to bear his name because his blood is on that legislation. And I think Philonise can say it better than me. Look, what's going on in America, you can clearly see this right now. It's two justice systems. So we need to get together as one and get this situation straight. Because my brother, like I'm going to say again, we loved him.

And there's so many other families out there who love their family members. COVID didn't take them out. They didn't die of natural causes. They died because of police brutality. They didn't treat them with any respect, any dignity, and they had no support to them. Those people are going to be remembered because just like the fallen soldiers, they are the same thing. They are honorary soldiers because they should still be here living. People have kids. Gianna was here

today and her father, she had to hear people talk about her father over and over again. And she knows that her dad changed the world. But at the same time, you don't know how she's grieving. You don't know what she's going through. You don't know what we're going through. But you see me, I cry all the time. So imagine her behind closed doors. So we need to get this George Floyd Policing Act passed pronto whenever we have that option. Because blood is on that bill. It's others, not just here, all across the world that are standing behind this. This is supposed to be the land of the free.

People fight to get here. Why are they fighting to get somewhere if you're going to have innocent people dying? Not just African-American people, Latino people, Asian people. People are fighting for their lives right now. That's why you are ready to come back to Washington regularly to put pressure on the lawmakers? Whatever I have to do to get this law passed, I will do that. That's why I go to different states like L.A., anywhere we have to, because we're all out there for the same thing. We want freedom. We want to be able to walk in peace.

We want to be able to live without fear. We want to be able to go places and understand that we shouldn't be pulled over for anything that's not resulting for us speeding or something. Don't just pull me over because of the color of my skin. My skin is not a weapon. You had no reason to kill me. Any other questions? Any other questions? Any other questions from media? Final comments. You spoke about Georgia's daughter being here. So many others have had to deal with this and children now growing up without mothers and fathers. Um what how have you as a family? Um how are you dealing with that in terms of embracing her and getting and making sure she understands that her dad is gone uh but she's got a whole bunch of other folk uh who are still with her. Rodney? I didn't hear the question. Well, Gianna has a great support system. And I mean, not just us.

I mean, her mother, her aunties, her cousins, new friends, and family, her mother have a lot of celebrity support. The situation touched everyone. Let's get that clear, everyone. And so many people reach out to us asking how's Gianna doing? How is she doing? How's her mother doing? I mean, so it's a lot of love and mom knows we love her. We give her the same support. But honestly, again, on our darkest days, the best support comes from random people in the streets and the messages you receive on social

media. Ben Crump, final thing for you. There's somebody who's watching, who's listening, and they're like, you know what? I just simply don't think my voice absolutely matters. Look in that camera right there and tell them. What do you have to say to that person who says, I'm in a state, I got two Republican senators, that's a waste of a phone call, a waste of an email. I don't need to give them a call.

What do you say to them? It's very simple, Roland. The reason I fight this fight is because I know we're going to win this war. You know, our ancestors DNA is pumping through our veins and they literally were told slavery would never end. But they kept fighting and we overcame slavery. They said segregation will always be the reality in America, separate but equal. Rosa Parks, Martin Luther King, John Lewis and so many others kept fighting and we overcame segregation. And so when they say to us today, Roland Martin, that, you know, we would never have equality in policing. We won't ever have it where our children can expect equal justice under the law. Well, I say to them, based on our precedence of what black people have overcome in America, what other minorities have overcome in America, your voice will make the difference, not just

for yourself, but for your children, and more importantly, children yet unborn, will know that you stood up for them to say that their lives matter as we sit here on Black Lives Matter Plaza in front of the White House. Ben Polonius, Rodney, Terrence, gentlemen, final comment for you. Hey, I want everybody to understand that you all need to get out and vote because your vote matters. Why do you think they're trying to take it away from you? So if you get out and you get your other friends to get out,

especially the young people that go to the clubs, bring them to the voting section, and I guarantee how happy you all be, because right now you're going through it. You all have to have talks with your own kids. Hey, when you get pulled over, let down all the windows for the police officers when he's walking up. He won't have a reason to kill you because he's saying you're reaching for anything. We don't want to have to go through that. So we all need to get out and vote no matter what race. We all are the same people. We believe the

same thing. And that's red. Gentlemen, ladies and gentlemen, I certainly appreciate it. Thanks for joining us today. Our thoughts and prayers will continue to be with you, your family, and this day and all days moving forward. Thank you so much. Y'all keep representing for A's time. Third one, J.Y. That's right. He won a championship with him. J.Y. until the day I die.

He won a championship with him. Class of 87. Yeah. Oh, yeah. Oh, okay. Oh, yes. Hey. Oh, I appreciate it, my brother. I appreciate it. I appreciate it. What's up, man? What's going on, folks? Excuse me, brother. Excuse me. We're still live.

So if y'all want to cross, walk around. Thank you. Folks, that was the George Floyd family here at Black Lives Matter Plaza in Washington, D.C., with their attorney, Ben Crump, and others as well. This is, of course, as you see, the shirt I'm wearing, this is a day of enlightenment as they, again, spent the day at the White House with President Joe Biden on Capitol Hill with U.S. Senators Tim Scott, Lindsey Graham, Cory Booker, doing all they can to ensure that this George Floyd Justice Act gets passed. Folks, let me know if we still have Nina Turner, who is running for Congress of Ohio.

Did we get our audio straight? Okay, all right. All right, Nina, are you there? I'm here, Roland. All right, got it, Nina. Sorry about that. You know how breaking news works when it happens. You got to go with it. Just as I was saying before, before we broke away from you, just again, your thoughts on this day.

What took place a year ago? And do you think things have changed that we're moving more towards justice for folks like the George Floyd family? Well, it was very heartening to listen to George Floyd's family and also Attorney Benjamin Crump really reflect on why they fight so hard so that George's death will not be in vain and also for future generations. I will say that certainly his murder sparked protests all over the world. And in that spark, people were determined to push for policy measures that will have material changes. So I, too, remain hopeful. It seems as though the conversations that they have been having have been fruitful. And I do agree with Attorney Crump that it will be better to get a piece of legislation passed

that is meaningful than to rush it just for the sake of rushing it. There's lots of work that needs to be done, not just on the federal level, but also on the state and local levels of government as well. You were running for Congress there in Ohio. The bill passed the House. And the reality is this here. What we've seen is we've seen substantive change happen because of progressive voices. Typically, Republicans have been huge supporters of police. And so what we're now seeing is that we're seeing what happens when voices who are serious about these issues are elected,

not just to Congress, but also on the state level and the local level as well. And so when people say, you know, politics, man, it doesn't change anything. The reality is the poly in policy is politics. That's it. That's it. And, you know, again, Brother Crump laid it out. I mean, he took the history part of it. And that is something that I'm steeped in. And I always use as examples. We must never give in, never relent. Justice is not a destination. It is, in fact, a journey. So your point is well taken that even when when it feels as though the movement is not happening, it is. The earth is shaking. Things are changing. Why? Because we who believe in freedom,

you know, to quote the great Ella Baker, cannot rest. And what you see happening right now, because of the death of George Floyd, is people from all walks of life coming out there and visibly showing that we cannot rest. And that means that we keep pushing elected officials, keeping their feet to the fire, and making them

have a consequence, Roland, quite frankly, if they don't come through. Now, there's some things like this matter right here, the George Floyd Policing Act, that we can't play games with it. This must happen. And if it does not happen, then 2022 is right around the corner. There must be a consequence for it not happening. You're running there in Ohio to replace Congresswoman Marsha Fudge. You serve as a state official. Congress is a whole different beast. How is that race going? It's going well, Roland. The progressive movement is fully in support of this race. I am running on an opportunity agenda to lift or center the poor, the working poor, and the barely middle class in ways that it has not been centered heretofore.

And all over the country, we have received donations from all over the country, including the District of Columbia, and certainly in my district in every single zip code. People are taking this race very seriously and seeing that this race is part of that progressive movement that we're talking about. Not only am I running to lift my district, understanding that I have cities in my district who are among the poorest cities in the country, that the needs are certainly great for Medicare for all, for canceling student debt, for a green new deal that also makes sure that people are employed, to make sure that people have paid family medical leave. You name it, we need it.

I also understand that running in this district and winning in this district by extension is really standing up for my state and also this great nation. So I'm excited, Roland, about what is happening here. I have been endorsed by the mayor of the city of Cleveland, you know, Democrats from across the spectrum, those who run a little more moderate than I do, and those who roll progressive just like me. The whole entire gambit has endorsed my race, and it shows very clearly that I am a bridge builder. Yes, I am a progressive. I am an unbossed Democrat, quote the great Congresswoman Shirley Chisholm, but I am, in fact, a bridge builder, and my race reflects that, from elected

officials to labor leaders to grassroots leaders. All right, Nina Turner, running for Congress there in Ohio. We certainly appreciate it. Thank you so very much for joining us on this day, the one year anniversary of the death of George Floyd. We certainly appreciate it. Thanks a lot. Thanks for having me. Folks, right now, I want to go to to our next guest, Tashira Garraway. She's with Families Supporting Families Against Police Violence. Tashira, how are you doing? I'm doing well. How are you doing? Great. You heard the George Floyd family there. They are part of we always say this, they are part of a fraternity or sorority no one wants to be a part of. And it is something, and what people don't realize is that when these cases happen, these are just regular ordinary people who now are thrust

into the limelight, something they never asked for. So they lose a loved one, but they also, in many ways, are being asked to become activists, if you will, for change. That is not an easy thing. No, it's not an easy thing. And also my fiance was brutally beat to death by the police here in Minnesota and thrown inside of a trash dumpster August 19, 2009. And for 11 years, I've been fighting for justice for him. forced to be in a position of becoming an activist and now organizing the families around Minnesota that lost their loved ones at the hands of law enforcement. I'm actually sitting here with the significant other of Travis Jordan, who was killed in a mental health crisis by the Minneapolis police. So we must understand that there was hundreds of murders, literally 470 murders at the hands of police here in Minnesota that led up to George Floyd.

In the last 20 years in Minnesota alone, there's been almost 500 bodies that led up to George Floyd. And today, a year ago, the truth, the truth was revealed about what's really going on here in the state of Minnesota. It is never an easy thing. I'll ask you what I ask them, and that is public policy has to get changed, which means that all those millions who were in the streets last year, they need to be blowing the phone lines up of every United States senator. I'll be perfectly honest with you. I'm shocked that this street is empty.

I know there's a rally happening at Lafayette Park. There's a candlelight vigil. But I'm actually very surprised that we did not see mass mobilization on this day. Yes. You know, I think when it first happened, it struck everyone. But we have to understand that our eyes have been opened. And George Floyd's murder opened the eyes of a lot of people But there is still some people that turn a blind eye and don't want to see or know the truth but we will continue to put for them and We will continue to push for the laws that permit this to happen that led up to George Floyd

We will continue to push for those laws that permitted this to happen, that led up to George Floyd. We will continue to push for those laws, those rules to change. And we have legislation that we are fighting for. And we have people that are pushing back. We must understand that it's not just the police. It is a whole system that has created these murders that have worked together to strategically cover up the murders that led up to George Floyd. The BCA, the Criminal Bureau of Apprehension, the police departments, the county attorneys, the legislators, they have all worked together to keep these murders under the rug. And the truth came out a year ago. So we will continue to push. And we need people to be picking up their phones, calling people like Warren Lemmer,

someone here in the state of Minnesota that's holding up the legislation and won't give hearings to police accountability bills. His name is Warren Lemmer. And so we must hold people like that accountable or get them removed out of the seat. I certainly appreciate it. We thank you for your advocacy, for your work. And please keep it up. We need folks on the front lines of the Shira Galloway family supporting families against police violence.

We appreciate it. Thanks a lot. Thank you. Folks, so we're here right now broadcasting live on Black Lives Matter Plaza in the nation's capital in Washington, D.C. We're now joined by Congresswoman Barbara Lee out of the Bay Area, Oakland, California. She joins us here on Roland Martin Unfiltered. Always glad to have you on the show, Congresswoman Barbara Lee out of the Bay Area, Oakland, California. She joins us here on Roland Martin Unfiltered. Always glad to have you on the show, Congresswoman Lee. It's good to be with you, Roland. Just want to get your thoughts.

Again, this is the first anniversary of George Floyd's death. Do you believe we've had substantive change or significant change in this country since this day one year ago? Well, first, you know, today, Roland, is a very, in many ways, a very sad day. And I still want to offer my condolences and prayers to Mr. Floyd's family and the community, because this was a day that really, I think, showed the world the brutality of what takes place in America as it relates to African-Americans dating back 401 years ago. So in many respects, this is a somber day, but it's a day that we have to recommit ourselves to what the Floyd family, of course, has talked about and fought for since Mr. Floyd's death.

And that's not only dealing with criminal justice reform, but structural racism and systemic racism. And I just have to say, I think what has changed in the last year is that people are beginning to talk about and use the word racism, structural racism. People are beginning to understand or at least see what we talk about, see what we mean when we talk about systemic racism, systemic change. I think people are beginning to understand the trajectory between 401 years ago in terms of the first enslaved Africans being brought to America, the institution of slavery, segregation, Jim Crow lynching, mass incarceration, police brutality, misconduct, murders, disproportionate rates of COVID, the virus killing African-Americans, black and brown people, you know, all of the issues that we deal with as it relates to systemic racism. I think people are

beginning to at least know what we're talking about. Whether they agree or not, it's out there now. This is a day of reckoning. It's a truth-telling moment. And that's why it's so important that we pass, again, H.R. 40 reparations as it relates to African-Americans and begin to repair this damage of the past. We've got to do that. And H.R. 19, calling for a truth, racial healing and transformation commission. I mean, these are some issues that are so deep that now they've been brought to the surface as a result of the horrific murder of Mr. Floyd, that we have to move forward on our fight for true justice in this country. Let's talk about this third Reconstruction resolution that you and the Poor People's

Campaign have been advocating. It is something that I've long said, and I said after George Floyd's death, that this really should be the third reconstruction, that the failure of the first two dealt with the issue of money. It dealt with the issue of economics. The first one, of course, was 13th, 14th, 15th Amendment. The second one, really, after the death of Emmett Till, Brown versus Board of Education, it dealt with Civil Rights Act, Voting Rights Act, Fair Housing Act. But the reality is, unless we deal with the issue of money, we are not going to actually truly have a real reconstruction. That's exactly it, Roman. And so I've been working with Bishop Barber over the last few years in the Poor People's Campaign, Reverend Theo Harris.

And we've worked and put together a resolution really talking about the economics of poverty, first of all, and pathways out of poverty. And it's so important. Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal and the Progressive Caucus have joined us in this effort. A couple of things we have to recognize in that over 250,000 people a year die from conditions related to poverty. Secondly, poverty is a policy choice. It's not a personal one. $7.25 an hour minimum wage. Come on, Roland, who can make it on $7.25? I don't care where you live in the country. So we call for an increase of the minimum wage to a living wage of $15 and more. We're calling for, in this resolution, to really look at the formula as it relates to the standard of living and how the federal government calculates

it. Because based on our calculations, there are 140 million people living below the poverty line. Of course, the percentages of African Americans living below the poverty line. Of course, the percentages of African-Americans living below the poverty line are the highest, but the numbers, of course, are very high for the Latino community, Native American community, AAPI community, and white people who are low wage and low wealth. And so we've got to address this systemically. And yes, it's about economics, but also this resolution with the pathways that we have developed through these legislative solutions really reflect not only a moral vision where we should be as a country, but also reflects how we get there and why economics is so important and how if we lift people out of poverty, provide for

good paying jobs, provide for opportunities for economic growth and business development, black business development, then the country benefits. The economics of it works out where this country will be even would have the ability to grow faster because of the economics of lifting people out of poverty, more money out of the poverty, more money to spend, more businesses created, more jobs created in our communities. One of my panelists got to ask you a question. Teresa, your question for Congresswoman Barbara Lee. Hi, Congresswoman. It is an honor and privilege to be with you today as we talk about effective change here in America.

So what is it that we can do, you know, in order to kind of help move the needle forward on some of these issues? Thanks for that. And I was listening to the prior interview with Roland, and I think the political action is so important. And I'm so proud of Black Lives Matter and our activists, our protesters, our young people who took to the streets and who are demanding change.

And so registering to vote and holding your elected officials accountable. We're talking about now passing the George Floyd Justice and Policing Act. Well, Rowan's right. We need to be on the phone, everyone, calling these senators, making sure they get emails, texts, going to their offices to say, look, you have got to support this modest first step, and that is passing this legislation.

And so I think political action has got to be key so that we can have elected officials who are for the people, who understand the issues that the black community historically has had to deal with, such as police murders, oppression, mass incarceration, and say, okay, we're going to deal with this structurally now. We're not going to tinker around the edges anymore. So on a policy level and on a funding level, at the federal level, we have to have elected officials, members of the House and the Senate who are going to do the right thing. And that requires voter registration, beating back these voter suppression laws, civic engagement, and organizing and hitting the streets and making sure that our voices are heard.

Let's see, Benjamin, your question for Congresswoman Barbara Lee. Congresswoman Lee, thank you so much for being here. I wanted to ask you about two policies in particular that seem to always have a hard time in the conversation, the national conversation, Medicare for all. And even now, just yesterday, the Biden administration mentioned that they may not be doing any forgiveness of loans, at least in this current round of legislation. Could you speak about those two issues, not only from the progressive perspective, but more specifically, how it impacts the Black community? And in context of what you're saying in terms of H.R. 40 and reparations, what would those two bills do potentially for the black community?

Sure. In terms of Medicare for all, first of all, our community, we understand and see these underlying conditions that our community has been dealing with forever as it relates to health care, as manifested in the COVID pandemic, disproportionate rates of transmission of the virus and deaths. There's racism, systemic racism in our health care system. Racism, and we finally got the CDC to declare that racism is a public health issue. And so our community needs affordable, accessible health care. I supported, and when I was in the legislature, the first single-payer bill in California in the 90s, I fully support Medicare for All because we have to have a system, a health care system,

that provides for accessible, affordable health care. And we have to do it for everyone. Health care is a basic human right. And Dr. King and all those who came before us and fought for justice in this country talked about health care as being a right. And so, yes, I support Medicare for All. And we're moving fast, I think, in terms of making sure quickly, in terms of making sure that we bring on co-sponsors. I think we're over probably 100 and some co-sponsors now on the Medicare for All bill. So I hope that our community understands that this is about universal, accessible, affordable,

good quality healthcare, which we have never had in this country because of racism. And on the loan forgiveness, are you talking about student loan debt forgiveness, sir? Yes, student loan debt forgiveness. Yeah, yeah. You know, black, our young black students need this because when they get out of college, they're saddled with debt. I talked to a young man, $60,000, $70,000 worth of debt.

He doesn't know what he's going to do, how he's going to take care of his family because he has to pay off the student debt. And so I am fighting for, and I'm on all of the bills requiring student loan forgiveness. We need to forgive the student debt. I'm not sure why the Biden administration is not going to do that, but that is a policy that directly impacts the African-American community, our young people, because they deserve to be able to get out of college and move forward with their lives without being saddled with student debt. And so I'm not sure what is taking place in the thinking and the analysis over in the White House

about that, but you best to know, I'm gonna find out. Absolutely. Thank you so much. Georgia. Congressman Lee, it is a pleasure to be here with you this evening. My question to you is about solutions for gun violence. I'm headquartered in Minneapolis, and I've been following the developments, following the murder of George Floyd. And it has been heartbreaking to see this community and this movement fractured. There was this call for

reforming the police, defunding the police, all of these different ideas basically centered in reimagining public safety. But before the community could agree on one direction to move, we saw this uptick in gun violence. And now the Black community in Minnesota is divided. Those who feel like police is the answer to solve the gun violence, blaming those who support defunding the police. And so I have struggled as a journalist in really reporting on this and trying to center a message of hope. What are some solutions that maybe you have seen

in your community or other communities across the nation to address gun violence? Sure, these messages of hope are extremely important right now because yes, in my community, the rates of gun violence, gun violence, they're going up, they're going up everywhere. And it's been an upward unfortunate trajectory since the COVID pandemic. And the first thing we have

to do is pass and demand that this gun safety legislation pass. There are too many guns on the streets of America. Too many people, too many young people are getting their hands on guns. And we have to just call it like it is and say we need to get rid of these guns. And I know the dilemma now and the discussion and debate in the black community, because, you know, we've experienced gun violence forever in our communities. And so, you know, it's a very important moment for us to say we still have to stay the course and say no more guns. And then look at our resources and how we put resources into real public safety and give our young people some hope. You know, many people now who have a lot of issues, a lot of stress, trauma, mental health issues. They're

getting their hands on guns and unfortunately they're using them. They're committing some horrific crimes. And so we have to understand the underlying causes and address some of the systemic issues. And that is we've got to find alternatives for our young people. Value them, respect them, make sure that they know that they have people who want them to get their education, who support them, who support them getting a job and who are helping to do the work. But we have to get these guns off the street and we have to understand that this pandemic has created havoc in our communities, which have led to this rise in crime and in gun violence, which we have to address. We can't explain it away or duck and dodge it, but we have to say guns and violence is not acceptable in our community if we really believe in nonviolence and believe in reimagining

policing and public safety for everyone. I couldn't agree with you more. All right, Congresswoman Barbara Lee. Congresswoman Barbara Lee, it's always great to have you on the show. We look forward to I'm a huge believer in Reverend Barbara and supporting the Poor People's Campaign and so certainly in support of this third reconstruction resolution. Thank you so much. Nice being with you.

Thank you for being our voice out there and being a truth teller, Roland. Really appreciate it. Thank you so very much. All right, folks, we're going to go to a break on this day where we are commemorating the life and legacy of George Floyd, killed one year ago today in Minneapolis, Minnesota. When we come back, we'll talk with the head of the NAACP there in Minneapolis. We'll also talk about corporations. More than $50 billion was promised to African Americans. Where's the money? That's next on Roland Martin Unfiltered,

broadcasting live from Black Lives Matter Plaza, the nation's capital, Washington, D.C. Racial injustice is a scourge on this nation, and the Black community has felt it for generations. We have an obligation to do something about it. Whether it's canceling student debt, increasing the minimum wage, or investing in Black-owned businesses, the Black community deserves so much better.

I'm Nina Turner, and I'm running for Congress to do something about it. Shortly after 9-11, America and its allies went to war in Afghanistan to defeat a terrorist stronghold. We accomplished that mission years ago. Trillions of dollars lost, over 2,000 Americans dead, countless Afghans dead. It's time to get out. Many presidents have tried to end the war in Afghanistan, but President Biden is actually going to do it. And by 9-11, over 20 years after the war was started,

the last American soldier will depart, and America's longest war will be over. Promise made, promise kept. Carl Payne pretended to be Roland Martin, holla! Hi, I'm Chaley Rose, and you're watching Roland Martin Unfiltered. We're broadcasting live here from Black Lives Matter Plaza in the nation's capital. On this day where George Floyd was killed one year ago in Minneapolis, Minnesota, the folks in Minneapolis, they took to the streets immediately after his death,

raising awareness all across the country. It was their protest that then spread across the nation and then across the globe, not only raising the attention regarding the death of George Floyd, but also the other cases in Minneapolis where African-Americans have died at the hands of police. One of the folks, of course, who's been on the forefront of that is my next guest, Leslie Richmond. She joins us, a leader there of the Minneapolis NAACP. Leslie, how you doing? How you doing, Roland? Leslie Redmond, and I'm the recent president for the Minneapolis NAACP. Gotcha. All right, then, Leslie, certainly glad to see you again.

Earlier, I had the George Floyd family here. They spent time at the White House on Capitol Hill. They made it perfectly clear that the George Floyd Justice Act needs to pass here. But give us your assessment of what has been happening there in Minneapolis. The attention was on that city with the trial of Derek Chauvin. To see the blue wall crumble, if you will, testifying against him. Then, of course, we had the shooting of a nearby town during that trial. Deontay Wright was killed as well. And so what has changed in Minneapolis? Have things changed? Are people

still taking to the streets? Just give us a sense of what's happening in the city one year later. One year later, and there are hundreds of people gathering at George Floyd Square, the location where Brother George Floyd was murdered. Everyone recognizes that one conviction and a little bit of accountability is not enough. Minnesota has some of the worst racial disparities in the nation. And so to answer your question, no, enough has not changed. People are still struggling. We saw during the trial of former officer Chauvin, Dante Wright was murdered in a nearby city, as you said. And I think that that's just a reminder, right, that in order for us to be true to Brother George Floyd and the fight is that we have to continue to fight for systemic reform.

Similar to the national landscape, we've seen that the legislature has held up a lot of bills. We've been going around them to the post board and trying to make sure that we're banning white supremacists from being in the police department, protecting protesters and their rights. And obviously we have a really good police chief, Chief Arredondo here that's working towards systemic change in the Minneapolis Police Department as well. The thing that I keep saying to people about police brutality is that it's real easy to want to come here. It's real easy. I mean, that's the White House that's right behind me. It's real easy to say, Joe Biden should do this, he should do that.

Vice President Kamala Harris should do this. The Senate must do this. But the reality is this. Most laws that impact police are city, county, and state. A hundred percent. And also a lot of these agencies, right? That's what local organizers have had to be very strategic about, right? Because we have a Senate here that is even less progressive than the national Senate, right? If you could imagine that. Minnesota prides itself on having one of the lowest prison rates, but has one of the highest probation rates.

And when we couldn't get that passed in the legislature, we went to the Minnesota Sentencing Guideline Commission and got a five-year probation cap. And so it's going to require us to be creative because systems of white supremacy are creative. And so, and I was talking with the family about voting and the thing that I lay to people, if Keith Ellison isn't the attorney general, first of all, another attorney general could have done it, but the bottom line is this here. He was the attorney general, he takes over the case. He was elected.

The DA in Hennepin County was elected who was not going to be as aggressive. People forget he sort of backed off with one of the charges. And so what I remember, I never forget, I remember a poll last year where a number of young people said that they did not believe political action was going to create the change they wanted. So therefore they took to the streets. And I remember saying, well, you're not going to be able to get political policy change if you don't impact the politicians, which means who we elect matters, who we call matters, who we influence matters. And so activism in the streets, grassroots organizing, and voting, and running for office, all three of those things must work in concert in order to create the kind

of change that we're looking for. Roland, I couldn't agree with you more. To put it even more in perspective, Attorney General Keith Ellison is the first African-American Attorney General that we've had, right? So that was a big moment. And exactly, the voters did that. The community organizers really pushed for the governor to appoint him for that case. I mentioned earlier about Chief Arredondo, who we all remember fired all four officers immediately after the video was released and the public was able to see Brother George Floyd get murdered. Many people try to just jump over that, but that was historic. That was unprecedented.

That is not something that typically happens. And the reason why Chief Arredondo is in is because activists have been fighting ever since Jamar Clark was killed in 2015 and got a new mayor and got new city council members. And we know the mayor appoints the police chief, and Chief Arredondo is our first African-American police chief. So I echo all of your sentiments around voting. Everything has to be done in concert. Questions for my panel for Leslie, I will start with Georgia. Well, hey, sis, it's good to see you. Leslie is a woman who I know very well.

Leslie, I know that you have spent a lot of time consoling families, the family of George Floyd, the family of Jamar Clark, Philando Castile. has been launched will likely produce a lot of evidence that will result in them being seen for the corruption that we've seen. Could you speak to that? Could you shine some light to all of these families that you have been advocating for and working with even prior to George Floyd that led to this historic moment in Minneapolis? Thank you, Georgia, and I want to thank you for all of your amazing coverage. I really appreciate you. Yes, the brutality that we all have seen is horrific. I really encourage you all to dive into the local activists

who have been on the ground doing the work. I can't tell you how many Black women, right, who really don't always get brought to the center stage, are not only killed by the police, but just abused by the police, are tased by the police, are violently arrested by the police. And one of the reasons why this doesn't rise to the surface often is because we have to put so much energy and effort into just getting their charges dropped, right? Not the officers. The officers typically aren't charged with anything, but what they'll do to cover up their brutality is charge the victims who have been brutalized by them. And so now we're fighting to get their charges dropped and it goes on the back end of

actually holding them accountable. And one of the things that I'm really looking forward to is not only seeing the Minneapolis Police Department held accountable, but the sheriff officers and all of the other police and institutes that exist in Minnesota, because they are all operating to oppress Black people here. Next question, Teresa. Yeah, well, thank you so much for your activations and what you have been doing as the president of the NAACP in Minnesota. What is the NAACP doing as a holistic approach? with them. And I'm like, what can we do to help support our neighboring chapters in other cities that would help amplify, you know, your efforts? A hundred percent. Thank you. So you are, I'm the recent president. I was the president when brother George Floyd was murdered, but there's been a transition. Angela Rose Myers, my really good friend who was my vice president

is now the president. But I will say we're in really good conversations with President Johnson from the National NAACP. They actually came and did a trip down here. One of the things is amplifying our voices on the ground, right, and us building relationships ahead of time. One of the things we saw, I was very involved with helping Mayan Burrell to get released. You all may remember when Amy Klobuchar was Senator, Amy Klobuchar was running for president. We brought attention to this injustice of this young black man who was given a life sentence for a murder that he didn't commit. It was very instrumental to be connected to other NAACP chapters to elevate the story of Mayan Burrell and Brother George Floyd and so many others. And so I would say really amplifying what's going on on the ground and amplifying local activists and leaders is key. And then obviously sending resources when you can.

Benjamin, what has been some of your biggest challenges in that amplification in terms of not only just getting the message out, but also having the message resonate and not only with our elected officials, but more specifically with the community? Are there any disconnects that you could speak to specifically and how we can overcome those? Thank you, Benjamin. That's a really great question. One of the things that I would really like to see, you know, a lot of the NAACP work, especially locally, doesn't end up on a shade room, right? How do we help bridge that gap with some of these major media outlets? Because I think national outlets have a lot of relationships and connections to them, but the local ones don't. And when you have situations like Brother George Floyd being

murdered, we know that it's the local activists who are here on the ground and who can really elevate those situations. And so I would love for us to build better connections with these national outlets. And I thank people like Roland Martin for always making sure that the local activists' voice are made or heard. And so things like this is very important. Well, that's precisely why we created the platform. That's why we are here today. And the bottom line is we're not interested in asking other folks for permission to be able to cover our stories. Amen.

Amen. So, Leslie, we certainly appreciate it. Thanks a bunch. Keep up the great work. And hopefully, I was actually going to be in Minneapolis today, but then when Ben told me the family was going to be here and they wanted to talk to me here, I stayed here in D.C. But hopefully we will bring our show to Minneapolis real soon. And so maybe what we do is we'll do a big old block party to broadcast Rollerback Unfiltered from Minneapolis. Yes, that would be wonderful.

We look forward to seeing you, brother. All right. We'll work on that. We appreciate it to seeing you, brother. All right. Well, we'll work on that. We appreciate it. Thanks a lot. Grace and peace. All right, then, folks, we're going to take a quick break here. And when we come back, we're going to talk about corporations.

They pledged a whole lot of money, $50 billion in the wake of George Floyd's death. A lot of people talking about Black Lives Matter, posting comments on their social media. But guess what? A lot of that money ain't being spent. We'll talk to Mari Williams about that next on Roland Martin Unfiltered, broadcasting live from Black Lives Matter Plaza on the first anniversary of the death of George Floyd. Y'all take care on the death of George Floyd here in the nation's capital. We'll be million shots a day. 200 million doses so far. 150 million stimulus checks delivered. A million jobs created.

More jobs in the first two months than any administration in history. Plans to rebuild America's roads and bridges and create two million more jobs funded by corporations paying their fair share. President Biden getting America back on track. The Democratic National Committee is responsible for the content of this advertising. Black TV does matter, dang it. Hey, what's up, y'all? It's your boy Jacob Lattimore, and you're now watching Roland Martin right now. We've been frozen out. Facing an extinction level event.

We don't fight this fight right now. You're not going to have Black Army. Who needs a little love today? Who needs some love sent their way? Who needs love? Who needs love? Who needs a little love today? Who needs some love sent their way? Who needs love? Who needs love? I believe that it's movement time again.

In America today, the economy is not working for working people. The poor and the needy are being abused. You are the victims of power, and this is the abuse of economic power. I'm 23 years old. I work three jobs. Seven days a week. No days off. They're paying people pennies on the dollar compared to what they profit and it is time for this to end. Essential workers have been showing up to work, feeding us, caring for us, delivering goods to us throughout this entire pandemic. And they've been doing it on a measly $7.25 minimum wage. The highest check I ever got was literally $291. I can't take it no more. You know, the fight for 15 is a lot more than about

$15 an hour. This is about a fight for your dignity. We have got to recognize that working people deserve livable wages. And it's long past time for this nation to go to 15 so that moms and dads don't have to choose between asthma inhalers and rent. I'm halfway homeless. The main reason that people end up in their cars is because income does not match housing cost. If I could just only work one job, I could have more time with them.

It is time for the owners of Walmart, McDonald's, Dollar General, and other large corporations to get off welfare and pay their workers a living wage. And if you really want to tackle racial equity, you have to raise the minimum wage. We're not just fighting for our families, we're fighting for yours too. We need this. I'm going to fight for it until we get it. I'm not going to give up. We just need all of us to stand up as one nation and just fight together. Families are relying on these salaries and they must be paid at a minimum $15 an hour. $15 a minimum anyone should be making

just to be able to stay out of poverty. I can't take it no more. I'm doing this for not only me, but for everybody. We need 15 frozen out. Facing an extinction level event. We don't fight this fight right now. You're not going to have black on you. All right, folks, we're broadcasting live from Black Lives Matter Plaza here in the nation's capital, Washington, D.C. A year ago, George Floyd murdered in Minneapolis. Billions of dollars all

of a sudden being pledged by corporations. $90 million went to Black Lives Matter. The NAACP received more than $100 million. Donations started flowing to HBCUs, numerous organizations, National Urban League, and so many others. Again, some $50 billion that was committed by corporate America. Most of that not spent. Joining us is Attorney Bari Williams. that was committed by corporate America. Most of that not spent. Joining us is attorney Bari Williams. She a Silicon Valley executive, someone who often talks about what's happening

in the corporate world. Bari, glad to have you on the show. I'm sure your mom is glad to see you on Roller Barton Unfiltered. She a big fan, I know. I knew you, oh man. She gonna love that you gave her a shout out. Because I've been sick for the last four days.

You know your mama. She's been over here with soup. And then there was a whole thing. You know your mama loves Uncle Roro. Yeah, she loves Uncle Roro. And she loves Return of the Mack. And I don't know what's wrong with her. I don't know if we're related.

But apparently we are. Y'allall inside joke barry cannot stand mark morris's return of the man and every chance i get i send her uh a video of me dancing to it uh but eventually she'll uh she'll like it all right let's talk about go from return of the mac to where the hell is all this money? All these corporations, Bari, sent them, made announcements, and they posted stuff. Now all of a sudden, where the money? I would say about by the end of the summer, so by August 1st last year,

everybody and their mama had a whole pledge. We stand with Black Lives Matter and we're doing a pledge for x y and z amount of money to naacp and black lives matter foundation or we're gonna donate and do more for diverse founders or do more for diverse suppliers and my thing is like okay cool all that sounds great but my grandmother raised me literally her words were watch people speak and i'm watching your feet and i you your feet haven't shown me anything so it's a year later what have you done like if we want to get all jenna jackson on you what have

you done for me lately where where is it where is it and they haven't shown anything and the other problem that is wrong with that roland is you're like oh we're gonna self-audit well what the hell is self-audit that's like if i put gabriel in punishment right now and say okay we'll choose your punishment he's like okay well i'll stand on the corner but while i stand here i want cookies and ice cream. And he just walked by. So I was like, I want cookies and ice cream and a cheesesteak. Like, that's not actually punishment.

And that's actually not accountability. So you need outside auditors to do this work. And I'm not saying it needs to be me. It needs to be somebody. Because this isn't going to really happen unless you have somebody that's going to do that. But you know what, though, Barri? Here's what also should be happening. And what should be happening, we just had Leslie Redmond on from Minneapolis NAACP.

This is also where grassroots organizers, this is what I would call on them to do. They should be showing up at the company saying where the money? Where the money? I work in one of those companies and I know that that doesn't work. You're going to need

Congressional Black Caucus. You're going to need actual legislators to come and say, you need to do this. It's not going to work any other way. And I know that that's not what people want to hear. No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no.

Follow me here. No, but follow me here, Bar. This is what I mean. First of all, I believe that one, you have to raise public consciousness. So I told him to say, okay, so, okay, okay, X company, last year, y'all released a press release, put it on social media. You announced you were going to spend $100 million.

We're here to find where's the report, where's the money, who got checks. We want to see the canceled checks or the positive whatever, and then we're going to come back. See, again, to me, you've got to shine light on them. And I'll be straight up honest with you. I'm just going to give you an example. Yeah, I don't disagree. That's what I mean by saying you cannot say that we're going to do an internal audit. What is that?

That internal audit means I'm only going to show you the numbers that are in my favor. And the other numbers, I'm just going to put away in a closet and keep it to myself. Like, that doesn't work. And I think what we also have to do is we also have to be, but Barrett, we also have to be jamming up the black board members saying, hey, what you doing? You sitting here behind on the board. Are you holding them accountable?

Well, and so in terms of black board members, what I will say is there aren't a lot of them. And my father-in-law, he is Barry Williams, not to be misconstrued with Bari Williams. And he spent two years doing this because he wanted to retire and get off of boards. And he kind of just did a look around and then spent two years looking at what was the, you know, basically the succession plan for each of those boards. And they didn't have black people they didn't know black people and he was like this is a problem because even when you do find black people it's the same like three do better so i will give snaps to barry lawson williams all day every day for that um he's one of your people he's not not Alpha, but one of your other people. But he spent two years doing that.

So there are people who are watching. There are people who are watching and listening right now. What are you telling them that they should be doing to force these companies to pony up the money? Well, and that's the other thing that I always tell Roland. Diversity is a four-legged stool. So it's your employees, it's your suppliers, it's your customers, and it's your board members.

And people always forget the suppliers and the board members. If you are not looking at your board membership, you doing it wrong, period. That's the end. And that's what Barry spent two years doing was like, there's nobody that can succeed me. Like, I would love to bring somebody up, but you don't know who this person is. So even if I brought them to you, you would be like, who is this? Even if they have an impeccable resume. And that's a problem. So that's something else that we need to tackle is there are

tons of black people that we have that are board ready who own their own businesses people like you very easy and but they're like i don't know who that is girl no no no no no no boy you know doggone well they ain't gonna put put me on no board. Lord, no. I thought they couldn't put me on one either, but yet somebody put me on one. I don't know. No, no. No, I don't know, boy. I think you a little safer.

I think you a little safer than me. I'm just having Negro spirituals right now because I don't know. Well, again, I think I think Bob line is we have this segment called Where's Our Money? This is where our people. But that's where our people are. Where the money is. If you are not investing in black founders and you are not investing in black board members, that's where the money is. And that's where the influence is. And if you're not doing either of those two things, then it's not going to happen. Period.

Yep. I agree a hundred percent. I appreciate it. Thanks a lot. Get better. Tell your mama what's up. Not, not, not just saying return to the Mac. I'm going to send that. I'm going to send a link to you right now. I'm going to have a link to you right now. I'm going to have Mark Morrison deliver a special birthday shout-out to you. Oh, wow. Thanks a lot. Bye. Thanks a lot. Hey, Benjamin, look, bottom line is,

this is where folk need to be knocking on their door saying, what a check. Yeah. What a check. Y'all door saying, what a check. Yeah. What a check. Y'all sitting here, what a check. Roland, one of the things they got the advantage of was all the good publicity that came with announcing that they were going to give this money, right? And it's almost as, it's analogous to them simply saying Black Lives Matter, but never doing anything. They get the publicity, they get the PR, they get the news cycle, but then the silence comes and they're able to get away without

delivering on their promises. And we see this with corporations a lot of times. They do what is in their best interest, obviously economically, but they also do what's in their best interest in terms of public relations. And they know how to play these games. They know how to make a big PR release, a press release, and they get the headlines that they need, and then they back away and not deliver, but they still got all of the benefits from identifying. And it's an aesthetic for them, Roland. They love the look because it benefits them to say Black Lives Matter, but they don't want to put their money where their mouth is. Teresa, look, you deal with companies, deal with PR, and yes, they got the PR value.

And I'll give you a perfect example. When YouTube announced that they were creating this $100 million black content creators fund, they announced it, we put in a call to them immediately. And then what happened? All of a sudden, we hit them, oh, well, actually, you know, it was just an announcement. We really hadn't put the thing together. Now, originally they did, but they just threw it out there for the hit, but hadn't actually thought of what the plan actually was going to be.

We called them, like, you know what, and I literally said to the person, hey, we ready. Oh, well, we got to meet, we got to put this thing together. Yeah. And so that was a response, and that was a whole lot of companies. Yeah, and so what you'll see, and Brother Benjamin was totally right in terms of how some companies utilize the relationship with public relations. So sometimes there are those instances where an initiative sounds great, it seems like everybody's getting on board and corporations are hopping on. But the follow-up

plan on some of those initiatives and programs never really get televised or they never get as much of a splash that some of the small businesses need. So then you'll see corporations just do the easy part and they write a check to a nonprofit organization that has an existence with some of the topics that they may be working with, which is social justice, entrepreneurship, or something that had to do with COVID-19. I think a lot of times when we did see the pandemic dollars,

I like to call them, that was stemming down from the corporations, there was this huge frenzy of opportunity where they wanted to impact small businesses. And I can't tell you how many applications me and my firm personally filled out in order to be a recipient of one of those. And the criteria, even just, you know, seeing four years of tax returns and just the hardship just to get some of the grant funding. And then the announcement would only be, you know, out of this pool of hundreds of people, they would narrow it down to between 10 to 20 small businesses. You were just amazed as the amount of heist and angst, really, some of those initiatives and some of those programs.

People are going to remember them. And we're going to remember when you, you know, excellent. You're telling us to subscribe or buy your product or access and even promote. So, you know, those are, I think, some of the bigger goals that they need to think about versus just doing the press release. Absolutely. All right, folks. Hey, big news on Capitol Hill today. Finally, Kristen Clark was confirmed today. The first African-American woman confirmed to run the Justice Department Civil Rights Division. It was a 51-48 vote. It was contentious. Of course, Republicans doing all they can to stop her and, of course, Benita Gupta from being confirmed. Both of them confirmed. Krista Clark, formerly head of the Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights Under Law,

she now goes to run the Civil Rights Division of the Department of Justice. Joining us right now is Melanie Campbell, Black Women's Roundtable National Coalition on Black Civic Participation. Melanie, finally! It was a long, hard fight. They tried to keep her from getting a job, but folks persevered, and Kristen Clark makes history at DOJ. Yes, indeed.

With a 51-48 vote margin, with one Republican, Susan Collins, from the state of Maine. So we have to ask ourselves, what are the white boys doing over there on the Republican side when it comes to black women? But we're not going to take away from the fact that Kristen Clark was confirmed and she was running that civil rights division. She made history today. So we're really excited about that. And ready to get, you know, she's going to be, she's ready on day one. That's the other part of it. And for it to happen today, the day of George Floyd's, you know, this commemoration moment of his losing his life,

she'll be dealing with issues around police reform, criminal justice reform, voting rights, hate crimes, and all these, many of these kinds of issues of injustice. She'll be right in there dealing with all kinds of things, dealing with equity and opportunity and justice. So we're excited about that. America is in a much better place than Christian Clark. Civil rights division. And it's important, Mel, you mentioned Susan Collins, a senator from Maine, voting for Christian Clark. I want every black person who is watching, Ron Johnson, Senator Wisconsin, up for reelection next year, not voting for her. You have, of course, the senator, North Carolina, Burr, not running for reelection, did not vote for her. Toomey not running for reelection, Pennsylvania, didn't vote for her. Rubio in Florida, Rubio in Florida, who is running next year, did not vote for her.

Don't forget that when it's voting time. That's right. That's right. And we were paying attention to that today. I was on a holiday, you know, but still paying attention. And so that's what elections are all about. But it really is. And Tim Scott, I was disappointed, quite frankly, from South Carolina, did not step up and join in voting for a sister who is exceptionally qualified for that position.

Well, to your point, he's up for reelection next year as well. Again, so again, explain to people who don't know why that position, heading the Civil Rights Division, is so important. I want to read, point blank, what is the Civil Rights Division? Let me ask you that question. If you don't mind, I want to read this. What does the Civil Rights Division do? It enforces federal statutes prohibiting discrimination on the basis of race, color, sex, including pregnancy, sexual orientation, and gender identity, disability, religion,

familial status, national origin, and citizenship status, right? She also will be dealing with, as I stated earlier, issues around civil rights, voting rights, women's rights, LGBTQ rights, dealing with issues around hate crimes. So she has a large portfolio. I think I said, I hope I didn't miss the saying,

police reform and sentencing reform. So all these things that have a major impact on black and brown communities. This sister, who has dedicated her life to issues around justice, understands the law and has a lived experience that she brings to this position.

And I'm just excited for her to be able to continue to serve the people. At the end of the day, it's about service, public service. And they founded Not Robbery to put her in that position. With her colleagues, I think we're seeing justice coming back to the Justice Department because we didn't have it for four years, at least four years, but it was four years. Absolutely. Absolutely. Melanie Campbell, we certainly appreciate it.

Thank you so very much. And we also thank you and the coalition for being up. Can I shout out to all of the black women, and you, and many others, who really, Dr. Janetta Cole, who partnered with us, and all of the sisters, Joteka Eady,

all of the heads of sororities, and links, and so many other organizations, and all of our civil rights organizations, Damon Hewitt, so many folks, black press, everybody chipped in

to really get her across the finish line. So I want to thank everybody who, if I missed your name, it wasn't on purpose. LDF, Leadership Conference, and so many others that came together to help push this through. Absolutely. And as I said, we certainly also want to thank you and the coalition being partners with us here at Roller Mark Under Filter. We certainly appreciate it. Thanks a lot. Thank you. I'm gonna go back to my panel real quick here.

Ben, again, I don't want people to really overlook why this matters. You know, I love all these fools, Ben, who send me tweets. Oh, man, you sit here, sold black people out supporting Biden. This is real simple. Yeah. It was going to be a Trump Department of Justice or a Biden Department of Justice. This is real simple. Here's what we already know.

A Biden Department of Justice has already announced investigations of patterns and practices of the Minneapolis and Louisville Police Department. But everybody who's watching me, I'm trying to let y'all understand, I can guarantee you that Kristen Clark running the civil rights division under President Joe Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris is infinitely one hundred thousand percent better than anybody who Donald Trump would have had running the civil rights division of the Department of Justice? I mean, you could tell by his, you could tell by Jeff Sessions, the first pick. You could tell by William Barr.

You could tell by all the things that Donald Trump stood for. But, Roland, I think what you're speaking to is this intentional obtuseness that we get from a lot of people who observe politics but don't get engaged enough to understand that sometimes you're going to have to make a vote that's a lesser of two evils. And in this case, you can see very have to make a vote that's a lesser of two evils. And in this case, you can see very clearly that this is not even just a lesser of two evils. This is a most affirmatively a good thing. And so we're dealing with we're dealing with people who like politics of simplicity and the politics of talking points and the idea that they're too woke to participate.

And that's kind of a simple reduction that goes on with people who make those type of comments that you get. I get them all the time about, oh, you voted for Joe Biden. Yeah, you're damn right. I voted for Joe Biden. The alternative was Donald Trump. What's wrong with these people? You know, the thing again, Georgia, I can tell you we will have a far more responsive Civil Rights Division, Department of Justice under Christian Clark than anybody who would have been in Donald Trump's Department of Justice. Absolutely, without a doubt. And I think historically speaking, when you look at the track record of black women in leadership, oftentimes that is when we see the most change. And so I am excited to see how they transform, not just the way that we've been looking at civil rights, but the way that we're prioritizing issues that affect Black communities the most. In hearing, you know, about pregnancy and women's issues, LGBTQ, so many things that I think often get left out of the spectrum of civil rights,

injecting that into the priorities. I'm very excited to see how this shifts, what is happening across our country. And we know that the more people of color that we get into positions of leadership, for the most part, generally speaking, that is going to produce change in our favor. So I am excited for her. And I think it's also important for young women to see people like Kristen in that position because it gives black girls something to aspire to outside of maybe the traditional professions. And so I'm excited.

I'm truly elated. And I want to send a huge congratulations to her and her team because I know it was not an easy feat. Hold on. Do you want to speak, Theresa? You speak on this, Theresa? Absolutely. I have to speak on it.

So, yeah, Kristen Clark, I think, you know, I agree with my fellow colleagues and panelists about Kristen Clark's appointment. And I just wanted to add on to say the Civil Rights Division is seeing exactly what Kristen Clark is all about on day one. And that's exactly what we need in this country is a proactive civil rights division that are putting people first. She's going in without an agenda, but she's going in knowing the law and making history in the same time.

And she looks good doing it. So I wish her well. And I pray that, you know, we still have the support that she needs while in that position to really upheld, you know, what really criminal justice reform looks like in America. Absolutely. And so, again, we certainly want to congratulate Kristen. We have been huge

supporters of her. I have since putting her on Tom Joyner, my TV one show, elevating her voice for the lawyers community for civil rights under law. We certainly congratulate her now being confirmed as the first African-American woman in history confirmed by the United States Senate to run the Civil Rights Division of the Department of Justice. Folks, that is it for us. We want to thank all of our panelists for being with us today on this special day, May 25th, one-year anniversary commemorating the death of George Floyd. George Floyd, of course, from Houston, Texas. He and I went to the same high school a few years apart.

And we want to thank his family for stopping by, for them speaking to us first and exclusively, which is why black-owned media matters. And so I just want to give y'all a shot. Anthony, give folks a shot. So we're out here, you know, with our tent. Folks have been driving by. So y'all might have been hearing people shout out. Anthony, why don't we switch that camera here and give people a view of our setup. So folks have been literally, y'all, driving by, honking horns. Folks have been riding their bikes, shouting us out. And then they've been, in fact, earlier, that was a brother. I actually, he was from Switzerland. He's from Switzerland.

And he was telling me he watches me in France. He talked about, there's a whole bunch of folks in France who watch Roland Martin Unfiltered. I know I got fans in the UK. Matter of fact, they've been emailing me about doing a UK edition of Roland Martin Unfiltered.

I'm trying to figure out what the hell that would look like. They're trying to get me to host the British version. So we'll see. But I want to thank all of our fans. Y'all make all of this possible, allow us people to do what we do. So y'all see our tent out here. You see we're here, right here on Black Lives Matter Plaza. And, again, your support makes all of that possible.

So please, if you could join our Bring the Funk fan club, we certainly would appreciate that. Of course, you can go to Cash App, dollar sign RM Unfiltered, PayPal.me forward slash rmartinunfiltered, Venmo.com forward slash rmunfiltered. Zelle is Roland at RolandSMartin.com roland at roland martin unfiltered.com uh and it's also great being here because folks uh y'all next month i'm gonna be uh gonna be broadcasting actually in july from new office space right here on black lives matter plaza so get used to to this look you're gonna be seeing a lot more of it and so again i certainly appreciate all of you for watching us today i want to thank Attorney Ben Crump for him having the family here. Ben said,

Roland, as we leave the White House in Capitol Hill, we come and talk to you first. And that is important, y'all. And let me just say this here. Black-owned media matters. It matters for us. And what I appreciate, I appreciate when Congressman Barbara Lee comes to us, when Melanie Campbell, when Kristen Clark, when the Floyd family, all the other, y'all didn't realize, it was a whole bunch of media people. I keep Henry's switch to the GoPro. There's a bunch of media people who were over here. He showed y'all that shot. They all had to wait. They all had to wait till I got done asking my questions and that matters. And so I appreciate those folks, celebrities and lawyers and others

who understand black media matters and who understands that our voices matter and they don't make us wait behind mainstream media. They make mainstream weight behind us. And so thank you so very much, folks. Y'all, of course, share this video. I want y'all to hit that like button as well, because that matters when YouTube is recommending our videos. So please do so, like as many of our videos as possible. We certainly would appreciate that and all our support. Tomorrow, we're going to be broadcasting from Fort Worth, Texas. Deborah Peoples is running for mayor of Fort Worth. We're going to be at the church there. Let me go ahead and pull the name up. Kenan, where's that

graphic? We're supposed to have that graphic, Kenan. Let me get this straight, y'all. Let me tell y'all right now, Bishop Kenneth Spears Church, that's where we're going to be in Fort Worth tomorrow. Five to seven Fort Worth time. We'll be broadcasting from there. And so let me get the name real quick here, y'all. First St. John Cathedral in Fort Worth, Texas. First St. John Cathedral in Fort Worth, Texas. Broadcasting tomorrow.

And Deborah Peoples, the sister, she's trying to become the first black mayor in Fort Worth. Let's do for her what we did for Tashara Jones in St. Louis. So for all of my Alphas, all of my Masons, all of my Boulay brothers, and all of my folks I know in Dallas, Fort Worth, I used to be a city hall reporter for the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. I want to see y'all tomorrow when I'm there in Fort Worth. We're going to have a drive-in broadcast. It's going to be a drive-in broadcast. So folks are going to be there.

And so we want to see y'all in Fort Worth tomorrow for Roland Martin Unfiltered. And then don't forget, Thursday we'll be broadcasting live from Tulsa, Oklahoma for the 100th commemoration of the Tulsa Race Ride. We'll be broadcasting from Thursday through the following Wednesday. And so we're going to be on the road. That's why your support for what we do absolutely matters. Folks, thank you so very much. I'll see you guys tomorrow from my home state of Texas

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