#RolandMartinUnfiltered - Remembering Icons, Nichelle Nichols & Bill Russell, St. Louis Flooding Relief, OH Cop Convicted

Episode Date: August 2, 2022

8.1.2022 #RolandMartinUnfiltered: Remembering Icons, Nichelle Nichols & Bill Russell, St. Louis Flooding Relief, OH Cop Convicted Massive Rainfall and flooding have overtaken parts of the midwest, leaving several people dead. We'll speak with the Mayor of St. Louis about the recovery efforts. This weekend, we lost two legends: actress Nichelle Nichols and NBA Hall of Famer Bill Russell. Tonight, we pay tribute and honor the ancestors the only way we know how. An Ohio officer gets convicted of assaulting a black man. Airbnb was advertising former slave quarters as rental properties. Support RolandMartinUnfiltered and #BlackStarNetwork via the Cash App ☛ https://cash.app/$rmunfiltered PayPal ☛ https://www.paypal.me/rmartinunfiltered Venmo ☛https://venmo.com/rmunfiltered Zelle ☛ [e-mail] Annual or monthly recurring #BringTheFunk Fan Club membership via paypal ☛ https://rolandsmartin.com/rmu-paypal/ Download the #BlackStarNetwork app on iOS, AppleTV, Android, Android TV, Roku, FireTV, SamsungTV and XBox 👉🏾 http://www.blackstarnetwork.com #RolandMartinUnfiltered and the #BlackStarNetwork are news reporting platforms covered under Copyright Disclaimer Under Section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976, allowance is made for "fair use" for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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The video looks phenomenal. See, there's a difference between Black Star Network and Black-owned media and something like CNN. You can't be Black-owned media and be scary. It's time to be smart. Bring your eyeballs home. You dig? សូវបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបា� Să ne urmăm în următoarea mea rețetă. Thank you. Să ne urmăm. Today is Monday, August 1st, 2022, coming up on Roland Martin Unfiltered, streaming live on the Black Star Network.

Massive rainfall and flooding have overtaken parts of the Midwest, leaving several people dead. We'll speak with the mayor of St. Louis, Tashara Jones, about recovery efforts there. Folks, this weekend we lost two legends, actress Nicole Nichols of Star Trek fame and, of course, NBA Hall of Famer and activist Bill Russell. Tonight, we pay tribute and honor the ancestors the only way we know how. And a how officer gets convicted of assaulting a black man. Airbnb was advertising former slave quarters as rental properties. Really?

President Joe Biden catches COVID a second time. A second time. What's going on there, folks? We'll cover that lots more. It is time to bring the funk on Roland Martin Unfiltered on the 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 Uncle Roro, yo It's Rollin' Martin, yeah Rollin' with Rollin' now He's funky, he's fresh, he's real the best You know he's Rollin' Martin Martin The mayor of St. Louis has issued a state of emergency following record rounds of flooding to the St. Louis region, prompting firefighters to help dozens of people escape the floodwaters. St.

Louis officials say at least one person may have died from the extreme conditions as a result. Also, we have seen a record flooding in Kentucky, where more than 20 people have died. Tashara Jones is the mayor of St. Louis. She joins us now on Roland Martin Unfiltered. Mayor Jones, always glad to see you, unfortunately, not in this case. It is always a tough task for a top elected official in the city to deal with natural disasters. That's exactly what is happening there in St. Louis. Yes, thank you for having us, Roland, or having me here today to talk about what's going on in St. Louis, especially when we have experienced a one-in-1,000-year flood event just last week.

And talk about that, because you say it's a one in 1,000 flood event. But what we are seeing across this country, we are seeing the effects of climate change. We are seeing what is called one in 1,000 happening a hell of a lot faster. Whether we're talking about fires, whether we're talking about floods, whether we're talking about tornadoes and hurricanes, I mean, we literally are dealing with a changing climate. And unfortunately, there are folks, especially those in the Republican Party, who don't seem to want to do anything about it. Right. If somebody is telling you that climate change isn't real, they're lying to you.

We had nine inches of rain over the time of maybe an hour and a half. And that just totally overwhelmed our systems. There's no way that we can plan for this kind of rain. And most of it happened, I would say most of the damage is in black neighborhoods. So I've been going door to door with our cadets, with our first responders, just trying to make sure that people have what they need. Because right after this rain today, we have triple digit temperatures.

And that's a bad combination when you have people whose electricity has been shut off because of the rain, because their HVAC systems and blowers are in their basements. And we have tons of people whose basements were flooded. So we have established command centers across the city to make sure that we can connect people to resources. We've started raising money through the United Way. And I'm just talking about in the city. This is also magnified in St. Louis County as well.

Talk about that, because when you say is magnified in black areas, we know this is the case. We talk about climate change across the country. And unfortunately, we're talking about environmental issues. A lot of times you don't have the same emphasis by African-Americans, but we are impacted by environmental racism. We talk about, again, if we think back to New Orleans or the Lord Ninth Ward, who was most impacted as well. And so whether we talk about floods or heat, things along those lines, I mean, black and brown people are going to be impacted. So therefore, we must be ensuring policy that can do something about it. Yes, absolutely. And we are taking those steps as we speak. Actually, before this rain even happened, I was having conversations with our local sewer department, with our Board of Public Service about what infrastructure projects we needed to be putting forth through the bipartisan infrastructure law.

We have a water system that even though St. Louis' water isn't in danger, it still costs $400 million to upgrade. Our sewer systems also, we've been cited for the EPA on our wastewater versus stormwater and how how those are commingled. We there are a lot of infrastructure projects that need to happen in the city that directly affect black and brown lives. The short term issue, obviously, is making sure that people are safe. And so what resources are being provided right now? And also, what help do you need? Yes. So we are raising money through the United Way of Greater St. Louis. You can look them up online, as well as we are collecting items for people, you know, obviously because people's electricity is out, they need food, water. They need things to help clean up their basement, cleaning supplies. We're thankful to Procter & Gamble for a healthy donation of cleaning supplies.

And we're thankful to the St. Louis community for really coming in and putting their arms around our community. So, you know, they need fans and dehumidifiers, window AC units. We need HVAC technicians to help fix a lot of the HVAC units that, again, that were flooded. And so we are seeing the community come together, but it's going to be a lot of digging out over over the next several weeks. Indeed. And so if there's anything that you need from our audience, certainly please let us know. We have seen what happens in the past. I remember there was probably about 20 years ago.

There was a major flooding that took place there in the Midwest, in that area. And it was just devastating to so many different people. You know, thankfully, you have not seen the kind of catastrophe with flash floods that we've seen in Kentucky, where 25 people are dead, including four children, as a result. Yeah, my hearts go out to the people of Kentucky that experienced that flooding as well. And, you know, water is going to go where it's going to go, and you can't control it. And unfortunately, we've had several, you know, over 1,000 people who've had their basements flooded or their houses affected, and we've had to move families out. I remember I spoke to a 100-year-old former police officer,

just a beautiful woman. She refused to leave her house. But so her neighbors are coming to take care of her and try to make sure that she's OK. But her basement flooded, so, but she refuses to leave. So we have a lot of elderly and seniors who were affected who were going to need help restoring their homes and getting things back on track. All right, then, Mayor Tashara Jones, we certainly appreciate it. Thank you so very much.

Give my best to the folks there in St. Louis. Thank you, Roman. All right, folks, as I was saying, in Kentucky, some residents of Appalachia are returning to flood ravaged homes. As Kentucky's governor said, search and rescue operations continue in the region, swamped by torrential rains days earlier. At least 25 people, as I said, including four children were killed after flash flooding swept through the state. Rescue crews are continuing the struggle to get into hard hit areas, some of them among the poorest places in America.

We're bringing my panel right now. Dr. Julian Malveaux, Dean of the College of Ethnic Studies, California State University, L.A. Dr. Alma Congo, being a professorial lecturer, School of International Service, American University in Washington, D. Alma Congo Dabinga, a professorial lecturer, School of International Service, American University in Washington, D.C., Renita Shannon, Georgia State Representative. Glad to have all three of you here. Folks, first and foremost, I want to talk to you, Representative Shannon. Look, this is one of the most critical tasks of any elected official, really trying to help your residents when there is a natural disaster. Absolutely. And but the thing here that elected officials really need to focus on is, of course,

like you mentioned, helping folks now that this event has happened, but also the federal government and state governments have to act to become proactive about dealing with climate change, because as many of us have said for a long time, we know that a lot of times these climate events affect black neighborhoods, decimate black neighborhoods that don't have the ability to quickly rebuild. I grew up in Florida where, you know, hurricane season was a common thing that we had to deal with every year.

And so I know how devastating it can be to rebuild your community once your community has been demolished. This is just something that we've all got to take seriously. And we're going to need leadership from the federal level as well as the state level to really just get serious about climate change. Dr. Malveaux, you also are an economist. You heard Mayor Jones talk about this economic impact when you have these disasters. Look, poor folks, it's not as easy to pack up and go to high land, go to dry areas. It's a lot more

harder for them. And this is one of the things that we often see, we often talk about when we're dealing with these natural disasters. Well, anytime there is a negative effect, a negative event, it's going to affect black people and poor people more. When black people were concentrated in certain neighborhoods, as you say, we don't necessarily have the mobility. You think back to New Orleans. I mean, people didn't have the kinds of basements that could drain. And so they basically, many people lost their homes. I'm very frightened for St. Louis because St. Louis had been one of the more under-resourced cities in Missouri. And I'm not sure what kind of cooperation our mayor is going to have from state government

and from federal government. But this is the short-run issue, really, is the economic devastation from these floods. St. Louis hasn't seen anything like this since 1915. But Kentucky, these floods, it's not just the floods. It's our willingness to ignore climate change, literally to ignore it. And we're paying the price. All this flooding, this is not natural. It's not normal. It's that we have ignored every piece of writing on the wall. We don't want to deal with this because when we deal with it, follow the money, you're going to have to upset somebody's apple cart. However, I will say this to my progressive friends, especially those white progressives who talk electric. Electric car costs about 20 percent more than a regular car. They'll tell you get a rebate, but you've got to pay for the car, and then you get the rebate.

So when you're talking about people who are at the bottom of the income distribution, they're just trying to get by with the piece of card they have, basically environment not withstanding. And so we really have to talk about climate change and how we respond to it from a holistic level, not just saying, well, we have these electric cars, electric, solar. There's also this notion you can get a tax credit for going solar. But if you don't have any money, the tax credit doesn't mean very much to you in the short run. So we have to basically change our system of incentives to make sure that everyone gets an incentive

when they embrace basically the climate differential that we're experiencing all over the country. Fires in California, we can go down the list, but Roland, we've got to do better. On the Congo, you'll have the critics say, well, you know, we've always had natural disasters, but what we're dealing with now is the frequency of these disasters in different places all across the country. Absolutely. And it's that frequency that's going to continue to destroy communities across the country. And when you look at what's happening in St. Louis, you look what's happening in Kentucky. And, you know, I hate to politicize this, but we have to politicize this. When you look at what President Biden has been working to do with his infrastructure plan that Republicans have blocked on so many levels,

there are programs in place to work with those communities in Kentucky that are struggling. Those are white folks over there who are struggling. And we know that there are black people and brown people there as well. But we know the majority of those poor counties in Kentucky, places like Alzee and places like that, are white people, rural communities. These are also the type of people who should be banging down the door of their Republican representatives to get the support for infrastructure that they need. Because even these infrastructure projects, they can break ground tomorrow on these projects, but like you said, the frequency of what's happening, it's not going to help folks a year, maybe even two years from now.

But we have to start putting the structures in place to save more lives. You're talking about four children who are dying. And so my question is, when are we going to wake up and not look at a red agenda or a blue agenda, but an agenda that's going to save lives? Because people are dying unnecessarily because, as Dr. Malvo and Representative Shannon said,

we are not paying enough respect to climate change, but we are also not paying enough attention to our dying infrastructure in this country. And too many people are dying because of that. And that is solely on the backs of our leaders and the enablers who vote for them. The thing, Representative Shannon, that we have to just be honest about is that part of the problem here is that when it comes to public policy, lawmakers, let's be clear, Republicans and Democrats, consistently don't want to deal with something until something breaks, until something blows up, until the bridge crashes. And it's always, oh, we can't afford it. But then we look at the stuff that actually money is being spent on, then we do it.

But when there's a crisis, all of a sudden, we move very quickly. I mean, to me, this is one of the fundamental problems, as far as I'm concerned, with the United States, is that we wait until something breaks or blows up before we go, yeah, I guess we ought to fix that. And you're right. Not only do we wait until something breaks or blows up to fix it, the other thing is you've got environmental racism at play, and you see this not only with environmental issues, but with issues across the board, which is that when Black and brown folks are being largely affected, whatever the issue is, it's not an emergency. It is not until you have suburban white communities being affected in the masses that government will decide to move forward.

And so, you know, not doing anything about climate change, just allowing these communities to be devastated, that is a form of environmental racism. So I think that that is actually an even larger problem than the just kind of waiting until it blows up. But as another panelist mentioned, there are a lot of powerful people, including gas and power companies and others that, you know, keep folks in office through their campaign contributions. And it is that direct connection and the money in politics that makes it so hard to work on issues that, to work on policy that will really deal with climate change. And I'll just sum it up the way that you did, which is we have money for everything, including Space Force,

but never for the priorities that really help everyday people. And that, Julianne, has me maddening as an economist, knowing full well what we're going up against, what we're facing, and folks just refusing to actually deal with this massive problem. You're absolutely right. It is maddening. I mean, I've talked to several Black economists in the last couple of days because we've been talking about this, talking about what can we do. And the answer is, we don't know the answer because we can't move these politicians. I mean, the fact that Manchin and Schumer got together to do this inflation reduction act, which has mixed use. But to do that is a promising sign.

But Manchin has hugged, he has cleaved closely to coal, even though coal is a dying source of energy. And as long as you have politicians who are on the payrolls of certain industrialists, we're not going to get anything done. The only hope I see rolling is some of these younger people who about had it. The younger people, see, they will be gone, and they will inherit this putrid planet with all of its flaws. We will have drank up all the water. We'll have chopped down all the trees and left them with a mess. And many of them are saying now, no, we're not having it. And so if they take that energy and go to the polls, and I know a lot of them say, you know, the Democrats aren't spit and neither are the Republicans. Well, you know, they may be better spit than the Republicans. And that's that. It's not a short run electoral victory. It's a long run structural change. So I think Omicongo said something about

dying infrastructure. Our country gets like a C-minus from the National Association of Civil Engineers a mediocre infrastructure that we have not bothered to improve. And in doing that, we're basically strangling not only our planet, but also the young'uns who will inherit it. All right, indeed. All right, folks, got to go to break. We come back, more news of the day. Biden gets COVID for a second time.

Also, we will have reflections on two legends who we lost this weekend. One in Hollywood, one in sports. You're watching Roland Martin Unfiltered right here on the Black Star Network. Folks, don't forget download our app. All

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If you want to send a check or a money order, do so to PO Box 57196, Washington, D.C., 20037-0196. The Cash App is dollar sign RM Unfiltered. PayPal is RMartin Unfiltered. Venmo is RM Unfiltered. Zelle is Roland at RolandSMartin.com. We'll be right back. On the next Get Wealthy, with me, Deborah Owens, America's Wealth Coach, you see the headlines. All frightening, right? Interest rates are going up. The recession is on the way. The stock market

is up and down. But you know what they say, scared money, don't make money. That's why I'm excited on our next Get Wealthy to have a conversation with someone who has written a new book, Fearless Finances, and she's going to share exactly what you need to do to secure your bag regardless of the ups and downs of the economy or the stock market. Oftentimes you can start with as little as $5. That's right here, only on Get Wealthy on Black Star Network. Pull up a chair, take your seat at the Black Tape with me, Dr. Greg Carr, here on the Black Star Network. Every week, we'll take a deeper dive into the world we're living in. Join the conversation only on the Black Star Network. Sexy to me is the exact same feeling

as running water, ever flowing. Water always finds a way to get through. And so when you know that you're sexy, there are no questions about it. It is an ever-flowing emotion. It is an ever-flowing feeling. When you question it, though, you stop the water. Mm. I-I actually, I struggle with this a lot, mainly because I've been told what sexy should look like,

what it should feel like. As a model who did Sports Illustrated, you're told that this is what sells sexy. But then you travel the world and what's sexy to one person is not sexy to another person. I'm more of a mind fuck kind of person. How can you stimulate the brain? To me, that's sex. Hi, everybody.

This is Jonathan Nelson. Hi, this is Cheryl Lee Ralph, and you are watching Roland Martin, Unfiltered. We'll be right back. Folks, Kennedy Johnson has been missing from Fort Lauderdale, Florida, since June 1st. The 16-year-old is 5 feet 2 inches tall, weighs 105 pounds, with brown eyes and black hair. Kennedy recently dyed her hair reddish brown. She is piercing in her ears and nose. Kennedy has a tattoo on her right forearm of the word blessed. Anyone with

information about Kennedy Johnson should call the Fort Lauderdale, Florida Police Department. Their number is 954-831-8700. 954-831-8700. In Ohio, a Euclid cop has been convicted for assaulting a black man five years ago. That's right, folks. Friday, a jury found Michael Amiot guilty on two counts of assault and infringing on Richard Hubbard's civil rights. Amiot claims self-defense, but the body camera footage said otherwise. The seat of Euclid has paid Hubbard a $450,000 settlement and the outfaces a maximum of 360 days in jail. His sentencing hearing has yet to be scheduled. You know, the thing that jumps out right here, Omicongo, again, cop lies, body camera proves otherwise.

This is why, and again, let me be clear, folks, the body camera is not a panacea. But I remember when there was a California police department, accusations of police brutality dropped dramatically when they got body cameras. Folks who were claiming it, it proved they didn't do it. And so the reality is body cameras serve a purpose of protecting the citizens, protecting the cop, if somebody's lying. Absolutely. And we just got to add that they do those things only when they're turned on, right? And we've seen that some police have gone out of their way to figure out ways to not have the body cam go on or be blocked. Look, if I was a police officer, I would want the cameras.

You also see in some states now, right, you have some legislators putting out laws or bills that you can't even record. You have to be at a distance of eight feet away. They're trying to do everything to block people from recording these incidents. And our thing is, like, what do you got to be afraid of? And the fact that you have this body camera video,

but it still takes, what, four or five years for this brother and his family to be able to-to get some form of justice, and this man's just gonna serve a-a year in prison, may-or maybe he's gonna lose his job, but we all know we don't have the George Form, uh, George, uh, Floyd Police Reform Act bill, so even if he gets fired, he can come out and possibly go right down the street

because there's not gonna be a national registry documenting where this cop goes. This is clearly a cop who should not be on the force. And what is this amount of money going to do to really help this brother and his family and the life that he's lost in terms of what he's not able to do? So I'm thankful for the camera. I'm pissed off that it's taken so long. But at the end of the day, this is what Black people have to continue to do to get a modicum. I'm not even going to say justice, Roland, but accountability for these

actions that are taking place all across the country. And we know what's happening in the small districts. It's happening in the large cities and every single day. And I'm just thinking about what about those of us who didn't have that camera turned on or those of us who nobody was around to, you know, pull out their iPhone or Android and get a recording from it. All of those people have had their whole rights and lives denied. So I'm very happy for this brother, even though the justice or the accountability has been delayed but has not been denied.

And this officer has no business on the force in any way, shape, or form. He shouldn't get another job. And yet, like you said, Roland, the body cams are not going to be the perfect thing, but we need them in cases like this because people will not believe us otherwise. And that's just how it's always been. The thing here that jumps out at me, Representative Shannon, and I'll say at this point blank, every officer should be

equipped with a body camera. If they don't turn it on or turn it off, that should be automatic firing. I don't want to hear that crap. Same thing when it comes to the dash cam video. We have got to have that form of policing, policing of the police, because when they have a badge and gun, they literally can use lethal force to kill people. And so this must be mandatory, as far as I'm concerned, in every law enforcement agency across the country, from federal, state, county, city, school board, doesn't matter. And it should be state law, because a lot of states just leave this question open. So you still have states saying, oh, we can't afford to give every police officer a body camera. But again, we have money for Space Force and other nonsense. But we don't have money to take care of this issue. And then

a lot of states don't put any type of laws around making sure that it's mandatory that officers have to actually keep their cameras on. This story, you know, as, you know, another panelist said, I'm glad that there was a little bit of accountability that was done in this case. But for far too long, police officers have been given an unearned benefit of the doubt by society. And I have always said, I have always maintained that we have no clue what police officers are doing in this country. And finally, people are starting to wake up and question and realize that this is something that we need to be looking into. And we do need police accountability.

Folks are getting upset about communities wanting to divest from police. This is the reason, because when you see that police officers are coming into your neighborhood and they are causing more harm than help, then, of course, people don't want to spend their tax dollars on that. So, I mean, this is another, you know, issue that folks have got to get serious about. Elected officials, that is. Well, I absolutely agree. And Julianne, again, you know, I also find it interesting, Julianne, do you hear any of the fiscal conservatives saying anything about these cases? Not at all.

You notice how quiet they are. You know how quiet they are? I mean, I would think fiscal conservatives would be offended that the city has to pay $450,000 for one of their cops beating somebody and lying about it. Oh, but they're kind of quiet. Well, fiscal conservatives are hypocrites. They want to spend money on some things and not on others. When you end up with these kind of settlements that these cities and states and towns have to pay

and they can't afford to pay it, maybe they could have afforded some cameras, which are cheaper than these settlements are. But, you know, watching that video, Roland, I mean, you can't help but become angered, especially with the point that you made and Omicongo made about these rogue officers being able to walk down the street and get another job. The man who massacred young Tamir Rice

is now working in a small town in Pennsylvania. What is wrong with those people? You know, I mean, it boggles the mind that people who have that kind of predilection are going to do it again and again and get away with it. And what can we do? Well, the George Floyd Justice and Policing Act was one step in the right direction. didn't work. The wuss there was, what's his name, Tim Scott, who basically played games with Karen Bass and others and said he was going to meet them halfway. Well, he didn't meet them at all. And you could go down the list and talk about the attempts that Democrats and progressives have made to try to get some

accountability here. But the accountability is elusive because those there are people who pledge allegiance to the cop. I mean, literally, they believe that police officers can do no wrong. And that's where we come in. That's what we have trouble. Indeed, that's exactly what we have. Speaking of trouble, the mayor of New York City has declared monkeypox, a public health emergency that took place on Saturday. In a joint statement, Mayor Eric Adams and Dr. Ashwin Fasan, Commissioner of Health, estimated that approximately 150,000 New Yorkers are at risk of exposure to monkeypox. New York State Governor Kathy Hochul issued an executive order declaring monkeypox a state disaster emergency.

This order will expand the number of people eligible for monkeypox a state disaster emergency. This order will expand the number of people eligible for monkeypox vaccines, as well as sending vaccine data to New York's health department. These measures come after the World Health Organization declared monkeypox a public health emergency of international concern, with cases rising and vaccine supplies decreasing. You know, it's crazy to me how we are in this situation, Representative Shannon, of people who are so anti-vax. They don't want to take vaccines. And we are seeing diseases that should have never been the case. There was someone who got polio the other day. Hasn't happened in decades.

It's because they refused to get the vaccine. Absolutely. And leaders, so Georgia is one of the top five states right now that is having the most monkeypox outbreaks. It's Florida, Georgia, New York. I think Illinois might be one of the states that's having a ton of outbreaks. But we are hearing from leaders that it's similar to COVID New York. I think Illinois might be one of the states that's having a ton of outbreaks. But we are hearing from leaders that it's similar to COVID in that we don't know how to control it.

We don't really know a lot about it. And so it's really tough on leaders and it's really tough on those who work in the health care space, because we're not even out of one pandemic before they're trying to figure out how to deal with monkeypox. And so this has been really difficult, particularly in the state of Georgia. And it is difficult getting folks to, you know, really take being vaccinated serious and understanding that you cannot continue to put stress on top of stress on top of stress of the healthcare system without it breaking. We don't have unlimited resources. I just, it's baffling to me, Julian, that there are so many people who are willing to play with their health this way. I've seen some of the videos folks are posting who caught monkeypox. That shit don't look interesting at all. I am not trying.

I mean, when I see it on the legs and thighs and the face, and I'm like, man, y'all can keep that. I'm good. Well, the irrationality of people who refuse to be vaccinated, who refuse to basically take care of their own health. I mean, this is a public health issue. And many people refuse to deal with it. Our public health, we talked earlier about the infrastructure crumbling. Our public health structure is also crumbling. You look at the number of people who still haven't been vaccinated, boosted. Some of

them will brag to you about it. And then we have this new thing, this monkeypox. It does look gross. I mean, it really looks gross. But in any case, if you want to look like that, go for it. Just stay away from me, because apparently even if you brush up against somebody with this stuff, you could catch it. It's highly contagious. So I don't know what's wrong with people, but I lay all this at the feet of the Orange Orangutan, the previous president, who basically politicized public health. And doing so basically turned COVID into an issue. They may have turned monkeypox into an issue. Just because these people who follow him about COVID, it's like passing a baton,

and they're going to just regurgitate the same old nonsense. It's a frightening situation and people need to grow up and grow up, wake up and vax up, frankly. Folks, Airbnb is under fire after former slave quarters were listed as rental properties on the app. Civil rights attorney Wynton Yates posted a TikTok video showing the listing in Mississippi. Watch this. This is not okay in the least bit. And I know there's going to be somebody that says, oh, you're looking for controversy where it doesn't exist. No, this is an 1830s slave cabin that is up on Airbnb as a bed and breakfast. How do I know that this is slave quarters other than just using my eyes and looking at it? Well, they say it in the listing. This

particular structure, the Panther Burn Cabin, is an 1830s slave cabin from the Panther Burn Plantation. How is this okay in somebody's mind to rent this out, a place where human beings were kept as slaves, rent this out as a place where human beings were kept as slaves. Rent this out as a bed and breakfast. Here it is, that's it right there, the slave quarters next to the big house. It's in Greenville, Mississippi. That's the host, Brad, the super host.

But what really kills me is reviews. Memorable, highly recommend watching the Sunset. We stayed in the sharecropper cabin and ate in the main house. Enjoyed everything about our state, the cottage, the history, the tour,pper cabin and ate in the main house, enjoyed everything about our state. The cottage, the history, the tour, the breakfast and all was great. We stayed in the cabin and it was historic but elegant. A slave cabin is elegant.

What a delightful place to step into history, southern hospitality and stay a night or two. Cool spot, way better than a hotel. Maybe you're thinking, okay, maybe this will give people insight on how enslaved people had to live, their living conditions. No, not at all. Clawfoot tub, running water, tile, you know, nice lighting fixtures, water, towels, dresser. The history of slavery in this country is constantly denied, and now it's being mocked by being turned into a luxurious vacation spot. On the Congo, since Yeats' video was posted, the listing has been taken down. However, other listings have been found in Georgia and New Orleans. Yeats suggested

that the properties should be memorialized as historical sites to educate citizens about the cruelty generations of African-Americans withstood. Your thoughts. My first thought is imagine Airbnb having a listing saying, you know, we have a site here that was used where people stayed during the Holocaust. How long would that be up? So I don't believe Airbnb, when they're acting like they kind of just noticed this, similar with Zuckerberg and Facebook and all of the hate things that they let proliferate on Facebook,

they know how to track these things down. And I applaud the brother for bringing this to our attention, because really at the end of the day, we know better here, but people out just out there in general may look at this as an individual issue. But this is part of a larger issue of what people are doing in this country to try to minimize our experience

in America. The fact of the matter is there was another comment that says something to the effect of now we know what it's like to have experienced living in slave quarters. Like they just said that like it was all good, like it was all cool. Like, seriously? But when you couple this role with people trying to remove conversations about slavery from the books, you can't talk about slavery without making white people feel uncomfortable in certain states. When you look at, you know, President Trump,

who, when he was in office, tried to get rid of things like diversity trainings and the like, this is all part of it. This is why these guys like Brad on Airbnb are able to get away with it, because they are part of a movement to destroy and disrespect and ultimately make our contributions

to this country disappear. And let's not forget those history books coming out of Texas, where they're talking about slavery as forced migration or migrant workers or involuntary relocation. This is all part of it. Like the brother said, it should be a historic site, but people are using it to diminish our

experience. I'm glad Airbnb has taken it down. They need to act faster because like you said, this is not the only one. And we need to keep calling. We are the defenders of our culture. And we need to keep calling it out wherever we see it and be willing to pull our dollars from any place that is willing to support something like this in any way, shape or form. I don't get the damn fascination, Representative Shannon. I don't? Well, I think it's two things. I think it's like Omicongo said, there are some people who are trying to advance a concerted effort to whitewash history so that they don't have to talk about it anymore. These are the same folks who push back on CRT in schools. These are the same folks who don't want any race conversations to be had. And so I think it's that. But I also think it is that

some companies have just decided that they are going to market to racists. They have decided that that is a great way to make money. And I think until they are held accountable, they're going to continue to make money off of the folks who want to see this stuff. So I think that we've moved into a new segment where, you know, a new time where folks are not, you can't really shame a company, not all companies, you can't shame all companies into, you know, not outwardly making money and just marketing to racists. And I think that's what this is. Julianne? This is why we need ethnic studies.

This is why we need – this is why California in so many ways is on top of it. Secretary of State Shirley Weber introduced legislation a couple years ago that required anyone who attends a Cal State to at least take one ethnic studies class. It's trickled down to the community colleges and even to the high schools. And this is why, because then you have these people who are in pure denial. And this really is about cultural erasure so that it didn't happen. I mean, I remember years ago when somebody wrote a piece and a white boy responded saying, well, enslavement really wasn't that bad. Really wasn't that bad. You know, you got fed.

You know, you got clothed. This was a comment out of somebody who seemed to have a little sense until they opened their mouth. Our country is in denial. And until we get real with what happened to Black people, we will never prosper. We truly will never prosper. We're relitigating the 60s and the 70s. And 50 years now, if we don't fix it,

we'll be relitigating them again. And this guy at Airbnb, I just want his address. That's all. This is address. This is absurd. And all those people are kind of lovely, elegant. want his address. That's all. This is absurd. And all those people kind of lovely, elegant, elegant. Let somebody put an iron collar around your neck and have you outside for 12 hours and then you tell me what's elegant.

These people have no cultural sensitivity, but they don't have to. They're not forced to. And we have to be the ones to force them. Got it. Folks, President Joe Biden has tested positive again for COVID-19 and is now in isolation again. Biden began isolation on Sunday after testing positive for a rebound case of COVID-19 on Saturday.

White House officials say Biden had six close contacts before testing positive. A day earlier, we'd sent him back to isolation. None have since tested positive. Biden emerged from isolation last week after testing negative on rapid antigen test on Tuesday. Sunday is considered day one of positivity in Biden's latest isolation period. He is now isolated in the executive residence where he continues to work. In NFL news, Cleveland Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson will be suspended for six games of upcoming NFL season after being

accused by 24 women of sexual assault and harassment. But there's no fine. The allegations began to surface in October and stem from a series of massage sessions that were booked outside of the medical and training protocol of his former team, the Houston Texans. He was traded to the Browns in March after two Texas grand juries declined to indict him. The NFL had wanted an indefinite suspension for Watson, which would make him ineligible to play until at least the 2023 season. But the NFLPA signaled that it believed Watson would land a sentence far short of an indefinite ban, releasing a statement that they would abide by any ruling without any appeal and urge the NFL to do the same.

Now, it was a federal judge, a retired former federal, a retired federal judge who actually heard the case and who ruled here deciding that it that it was necessary for the six-game suspension as well as no fine. This has actually roiled a lot of different folks. It's been a lot of controversy, not only this ruling, but also, of course, people are still pissed that the Browns signed Watson to a 10-year fully guaranteed contract worth $230 million. It was interesting about this case, Omicongo, is that you have folks who are saying, hey, 24 accusations by these women against Deshaun Watson. Then you have folks say, well, wait a minute. Two grand juries looked into it and chose not to indict him for any of this. Now, the NFL's personal conduct policy does not require someone to be indicted or convicted.

They could actually meet out their own penalties based upon the actions. They went to an arbitration, went to this hearing. This former federal judge made the decision and said six games, no fine. Your assessment. Talent trumps everything. And when it comes down to it, at the end of the day, that the league is racist and it's misogynistic. I mean, we can talk one or two accusations.

But when you get into 24, at the very least, you got an issue of character, at the very least. And sports is all supposed to be about leadership and building character. But apparently, this man has so much talent that he's only going to get this six-game suspension. And every time people feel like the NFL is making some form of progress in some way, shape, or form, it always gives us a case like this to remind us that it's still a racist organization and a misogynistic organization. And when I say racist, I mean it's not going to take a stand to really support Kaepernick and what's happening with the owners. When I say misogynist, it's always going to side, generally, it's going to side more with the players than what's happening to the women. And I was pissed

off that I saw more stories about him on the news today than about Bill Russell on these sports networks. Really, at the end of the day, I don't feel he has any business in the league. I feel like there should be some type of rehab or something that he needs to go. I personally feel like the brother needs some help in some way, shape or form. But ever since the situation with Ray Rice happened years ago when he was found to knock out his fiance, I just realized how deep the misogyny in the NFL goes. And that was when I stopped watching.

And that was before all of the kneeling stuff happened with Kaepernick. And so I feel like he should be gone a lot longer. I think that he got a pass because he's apparently good. And I feel like this is an embarrassment for the league and an embarrassment for a league that's saying that they're trying to move forward into the new era that we're living in as it relates to respect for women's rights. And this is not the time for it right now. I think it's a really bad look on the organization. This retired judge issued a, first of all, the disciplinary officer is Sue L. Robinson.

And she issued a comprehensive 15-page report where she laid out exactly why she came to this conclusion of six games and no find. And she made a point that she also took into account the previous cases, the previous 32 suspensions by the NFL under their personal conduct policy since 2015. Yeah, but the thing is, is that for her to say that she took into account how the NFL has acted in previous cases doesn't really mean much, because we all know the NFL has a reputation for not holding folks accountable no matter what the issue is, and they have a long history of covering up domestic abuse. We've seen documentaries. We have seen testimonies from folks talking about what happens when you are the spouse of an NFL player and you say that this person has battered you

and the number of people that show up to make sure that your story is never told publicly and that it doesn't leave, you know, sort of the private conversations. So the NFL, you know, I'm not surprised about the six suspensions because I don't expect anything from the NFL because they have shown over and over again what their ethics are in that they have regularly covered up domestic abuse. When the stuff started happening with the concussions, they downplayed the effect that concussions were having on football players. They're always in this mode of operating where they are always trying to cover up scandals. And so I don't expect much from the NFL. I was not surprised about this. And I think that is very interesting because the NFL can't have it both

ways. If you suspended him for six games, that clearly means that you do think that he has done something wrong and that there is a problem, even though he was not indicted or else you wouldn't have suspended him at all. So again, it's the NFL just trying to do window dressing on a longstanding problem. But at the end of the day, we know that if a player has a certain amount of talent, they are not going to do anything about any type of allegations. But, Julianne, in her ruling, she did lay out where he violated the personal conduct policy. And this is this is what she opened. She opened this by saying the collective bargaining agreement between the National Football League and the National Football League Players Association authorizes the commission of the NFL to discipline players for conduct detrimental to the integrity of or public confidence in the game of professional

football. Pursuant to this authority, the NFL has issued a personal conduct policy, which is meant to define, address and sanction conduct found to be detrimental to the league and professional football. And so she goes through here and she said it separates what is violent and nonviolent. And she goes and lays out all of these different examples. Your assessment of this ruling? Well, clearly this man has a pattern. He attacks his masseuses, and they all made, 24 of them have made allegations. How many have not? As I was reading, Roland, several of these women have settled. It's 4 o'clock. And because they've settled, they probably have some silence or confidentiality

or whatever. So how many of them are being silent? Oba Kongo's right. Talent tends to trump, but trump everything, including conduct. If the league says, I mean, if the agreement says that they can, he can be disciplined, six games is a slap on the wrist. He's got a $230 million guaranteed 10-year contract. Give me a break. He should not be playing football. He should not even be playing golf ball. I mean, he basically is dangerous, and we know he's dangerous. And watch, he should not even be playing golf ball. I mean, he basically is dangerous, and we know he's dangerous. And watch, he's going to do it again,

because these folks don't stop. It's frightening. And what does this say to our young men? What, I mean, and to our young women. For our young women, they're being told they're not valued. They're simply not valued. They can be attacked, they can be assaulted, and it doesn't matter.

But for our young men are being told, he got a slap on the wrist. Dude, you can do that too. Now, no one's come out and said that, but, you know, these athletes have a vaulted value position in our society, and they are role models, whether they want to be or not. So the NFL needs, Roger Goodell needs to be ashamed of himself. And I'm really disturbed by the judge, who was a woman judge,

who, I mean, basically shilly-shallied around the truth. Yes, he did it, but he shouldn't get that bad of a punishment. He should have been fined. They should have fined him his salary for the whole darn season. Really. I mean, it's ridiculous. Folks, hold tight one second. When we come back, we will pay tribute to two icons we lost yesterday.

Nichelle Nichols, of course, who starred in Star Trek, and Bill Russell, the Hall of Famer, player, and coach. Both of them passed away yesterday, and so we'll pay tribute to them next, right here on Roland Martin Unfiltered on the Blackstar Network. Hi, I'm Dr. Jackie Hood-Martin,

and I have a question for you. Ever feel as if your life is teetering and the weight and pressure of the world is consistently on your shoulders? Well, let me tell you, living a balanced life isn't easy. Join me each Tuesday on Black Star Network for a balanced life with Dr. Jackie. We'll laugh together, cry together, pull ourselves together, and cheer each other on. So join me for new shows each Tuesday on Black Star Network, A Balanced Life with Dr. Jackie. We're all impacted by the culture,

whether we know it or not. From politics to music and entertainment, it's a huge part of our lives. And we're gonna talk about it every day right here on The Culture with me, Faraji Muhammad, and entertainment is a huge part of our lives. And we're going to talk about it every day right here on The Culture with me, Faraji Muhammad, only on the Black Star Network. Hey, I'm Antonique Smith.

Hello, everyone. It's Kiera Sheard. Hey, I'm Taj. I'm Coco. And I'm Lele. And we're SWV. What's up, y'all? It's Ryan Destiny.

And you're watching Roland Martin Unfiltered. Thank you. you All right, folks, welcome back to Roller Martin Unfiltered. It was sad news we got yesterday when the family of Bill Russell released a statement stating that the greatest of all time in the NBA passed away at his home what can you say about him? 11-time NBA champion. He was the first black head coach while still playing in the NBA. He was a player coach. I mean, it was just, I mean, when you look at his career, when you look at what he accomplished, I mean, he was a winner. He was an absolute winner. In fact, in the family's statement, they said it is with a very heavy heart. We would like to pass along to all of Bill's friends, fans and followers. Bill Russell, the most prolific winner in American sports history, passed away peacefully today at the age of 88 with his wife Janine by his side. Arrangements for his memorial service will be announced soon. Bill's two state championships in high school offered a glimmer of the incomparable run of pure team accomplishment to come. Twice an NCAA champion, captain of a gold medal-winning U.S. Olympic team, 11 times an NBA champion, and at the helm for two NBA championships as the first black head coach of any North American professional sports team. Along the way, Bill earned a string of individual awards

that stands unprecedented as it went unmentioned by him. In 2009, the award for the NBA Finals Most Valuable Player was renamed after two-time Hall of Famer as the Bill Russell NBA Finals Most Valuable Player Award. But for all the winning, Bill's understanding of the struggle is what illuminated his life. From boycotting a 1961 exhibition game to unmasked too long tolerated discrimination to leading Mississippi's first integrated basketball camp in the combustible wake of Medgar Evers assassination to decades of activism, ultimately recognized by his receipt. The president, President Jamila of Freedom in 2010, Bill called out injustice with an unforgiving candor that he intended would disrupt the status quo. And with a powerful example that, though never his humble intention, will forever inspire teamwork, selflessness and thoughtful change.

Bill's wife, Janine, and his many friends and family, thank you for keeping Bill in your prayers. Perhaps you'll relive one or two of the golden moments he gave us or recall his trademark laugh as he delighted in explaining the real story behind how those moments unfolded. And we hope each of us can find a new way to act or speak up with Beals' uncompromising, dignified, and always constructive commitment to principle. That would be one last and lasting win for our beloved number six. That was a statement from his family. When I saw the news, I immediately called Janine to offer my condolences. I would often communicate with her. She built one of me to have his book that was reissued and sent to me.

And it was always great to see him at NBA All-Star Weekend. He was always there representing the NBA. And I must say, Craig Hodges, Craig is our first guest. Howard Bryan also will be joining us soon. Guys, let me know when he's there. Craig, it was interesting. I met Bill several years ago at the NBA All-Star Game, and I walked up to him and I said, man, I've been wanting to meet you. He said, no, no, no, no.

I know who you are. I've been wanting to meet you. And we had a great laugh. He watched the news. He understood politics and culture. And he was clear, no, no, no, I know who you are. And we had just a great conversation. And it was just always amazing to see him.

And this is a man, he was beyond a basketball player. Absolutely. And, you know, for me, once again, condolences to his family and all. But for me, it was one of those heroes, one of those guys that I saw from afar growing up. And then when I got a chance to actually be in the league, he was always there at All-Star Weekend. And when I won three-point championships, he always congratulated me.

And for me, he was the steadfast gentleman as well as a scholar, man. And when you look at the things that he was able to do from an athletic end, it's just awesome. And for me to have had a chance to meet him and like yourself to just breathe in that history. And he was, look, you were known for your activism and it cost you. This is a man who didn't just shut up and dribble. This is a man who played basketball in Boston, who had to deal with the virulent racists in that city. His daughter posted

an item on Facebook talking about how their home was broken into and how they defecated in his bed, destroyed his trophies. Yet when he went down to the police station and reported, the cops said, well, raccoons must have knocked over his trash cans. And Bill then said he was going to apply for a gun permit, and it never happened again. So this brother here had no backup in him. And, you know, I love the part that, you know, the historical element of him coming from Oakland, California, and understanding his historical relevance to basketball at the time, but also understanding that he was an integral part of the civil rights movement. And, you know, being that iconic type figure, being able to stand his ground was

something that, you know, many of us who were young boys at the time, that was an image and a model that we wanted to aspire to, you know, no different than Ali, no different than Jim Brown, no different than, you know, the Olympic experiment of 1968. So all of those athletes taught us who were student athletes at the time, how to conduct ourselves on and off the court. Journalist, Howard, Brian author,

you have done pieces on him. You know, you've covered Boston sports. Look, we can talk about Tom Brady and all of his successful wins. We can talk about Ted Williams. We can go on and on and on. I dare say there is no bigger sports figure in Boston, New England history than Bill Russell. Well, how can there be? Who has done what he's done? And when you think about what the Boston Celtics are, they are what they are, not because of Red Auer got there, not with Bob Cousy or Bill

Sherman. They had never reached the NBA final with Red Auerbach as their coach until Bill Russell got there. And obviously, there are so many different ways you can look at what Bill Russell was. But when you're looking at him as a champion, he's peerless. Eleven championships in 13 years, eight straight championships, first black coach in North America, wins back-to-back championships in 68 and 69, wins the championship as a rookie, 56-game win streak, wins two NCAA championships and then wins a gold medal, 21-0 in winner-take-all games, game sevens.

I mean, there's no other way to look at it. I mean, say what you want about, oh, well, there were eight teams in the league back then, or however you want to play it, but when it was go time, nobody was better than Bill Russell in the history of American sports. It's real. You know, Craig

and Howard, and I'm going to start with Craig first, then go to Howard. It sort of drives me crazy. Can I first just say what's up to Craig? Hey, what's up, brotherhood? Good to hear you, man. Can I just say? Go ahead. I just had to say it because it's Craig Hodges and I'm glad to be on this with you. It's just an honor.

Oh, brother, I'm honored, man. I'm honored with that historical perspective that I know you have, man, and our people need to hear it, man, especially coming through Roland, man. So I appreciate both of you brothers for sure. Well, I appreciate both of you taking the time with us. Craig, it sort of drives me crazy when I listen to these people who get into these silly arguments about who's the greatest of all time,

Michael Jordan, Bill Russell. You talk about Kareem as well. But what offends me the most is not even that debate, because I think it's stupid to try to sit here and compare eras. It's just it. But the thing that pisses me off is when people go, oh, but if Bill Russell played in the Jordan era or any other era, he would just be a regular guy.

I'm like, y'all have no idea what the hell you're talking about. Exactly. And you know, and I think that's one of the things where so much of the footage from those days are not really taught about or looked upon. But when you just look at his athleticism of being able to block a shot sprint to the other court and lay the ball up, you know, and then you look at Wilt. You think about it, the players that he played against in those eight teams or whatever he had,

you know, you're talking about some of the greatest centers of all time when you're talking about actually playing, you know, basket to basket and athletes who were running in the court as, you know, sometimes giants. So when I look at, you know, when we talk that whole GOAT thing, I think it's only one GOAT, and that, sometimes giants. So when I look at, you know, when we talk that whole GOAT thing, I think it's only one GOAT, and that's Muhammad Ali. Everything else off of that is, you know,

when we talk about the best of all time in basketball, it was like Howard said, man, the brothers unpaired as far as winning is concerned, and that's why we play is to win. Howard, the reason I say it's always a silly argument and people who say, oh, if he was in this era, it's because of this. This right here. How Bill Russell thought. One of the smartest players. I mean, this was't just, oh, just gifted athletically. The mind was also brilliant. Yeah, well, there's a couple things at work there when you want to talk about the different comparisons and who did this and who was best and worst and all of the superlatives that we use today and we use that as debate, that I can think of where every single step of his athletic journey was directly connected to him being a black man born in 1934.

I mean, let's follow this. He is born in Monroe, Louisiana, the same town as Huey Newton. They both moved to Oakland at the same time, right around the same couple of years in 1942, 43. The reason why they do it is because they are essentially, they can't live in the South anymore because of the racial conditions down there. They moved to Oakland and everyone's talking about Oakland and the great legendary Oakland McClymonds High School and Frank Robinson and Beta Pinson and Kurt Flood and Paul Silas in the School of Champions. But the only reason that he is at McClymon's is because black people aren't allowed to live anywhere else but West Oakland. That's right. He goes to the NBA.

He's playing for the Boston Celtics. But the only reason he's playing for the Celtics is because the city of St. Louis was too racist to actually have a black man be the center of their franchise. So they trade him to the Celtics on draft day for Ed McCauley and Cliff Hagan. And so then his entire Boston experience is shaped along whether or not the NBA is ready to allow black players their rightful place. So you're asking him to navigate all of this while the civil rights movement is going on. Everything about what he was doing is competing on the court, but also making sure he maintained his dignity as a man. And you show me another player that has had to navigate those two things as a pioneer in that sport that quickly and at that level. And I'll show you a liar

because there's nobody else. Real deal. And Craig, he was active in that period. He was there in Cleveland when they stood with Muhammad Ali. And I love the picture that I posted yesterday announcing his death to my followers was when he took a knee, wearing his Presidential Medal of Freedom to stand with Colin Kaepernick. And that's the type of brother he was. And for me, you know, and to this day, we have a great model to emulate and, you know, to stand and stand fast

and to stand in the wind of what Howard just said, to be able to, you know, steal your mind and still go out there and play. And knowing that you have to stand on these principles off the court, it's not a lot of players that's doing that, man. So for us, that picture right there with him and Ali, those are models that I had as a young brother growing up in Chicago Heights. No question. It's just such an enormous loss. Howard, I'm sorry.

I was just going to say it's just such an enormous loss when you're thinking about this because of all the different areas that Bill Russell touched. And I think one of the things that I love most about Russell is me being a kid growing up in Boston, that this city, before the Larry Bird era and after Bill Russell retired in the 70s, when you were a Black kid from Boston, this was your team, not Southeast team, not East East team, not, you know, the other half of Dorchester's team. This was a black team. My mother used to tell me stories about how she used to go to the garden back when, when I was in her belly. So this, it's so funny when you think about Boston, think about the other piece of Boston. You bring in Bill Russell, you do not have a championship. You bring in Bill Russell.

You do not have a championship in this city without Bill Russell. Bob Cousy had to navigate the fact that, what do I do? I'm the great Bob Cousy. I am the anchor of this Celtic basketball team, but that guy's better than me. And I have to concede that this is his team now. And Bob Cousy didn't really want to do that. You have Brett Auerbach, who's the first guy to put five black players on the court at the same time. He hires Bill Russell. Bill Russell's the first black head coach in North American sports. So there is a history there. And when you're growing up in Boston, Russell is the specter of all of this. And for us growing up now, I'm an 80s kid. And now it's the Byrd era, and now the Celtics are the white team, and everybody's looking at you going,

how are you going to root for the Celtics? And I'm like, because we come from Bill Russell. That's right. That's right. That's why. We come from JoJo White. We come from DC and Sam Jones. We come from Tiny Archibald. That's our team. And, you know, when I was in high school and stuff, Craig, you know this,

brother, what, rooting for the Celtics? And they're like, no, you're a Sixers fan. No, you're a Bulls fan. No, you're a Lakers fan. You're a Pistons fan. But we come from Bill Russell, and that never goes away. I hear you. And it shouldn't.

And it shouldn't. It is a remarkable, remarkable, remarkable history. And Craig, I think you said it best. Those of us who got to experience this life with Bill Russell, we certainly are blessed. Whether it was a photo, whether it was his his his is always recognizable laugh and in his joy of life or whether it was his commitment to the cause. I mean, this this was a brother. This was a black man who made it clear that he wasn't just a basketball player, that he was a man. He was a black man and was willing to stand up and fight. And so I appreciate, Craig, you sharing your thoughts with us about Bill Russell and Howard Bryan. Always appreciate you being there for us.

One other thing, Roman, before you go. Before you go, I want to make sure that I say condolences to Sister Nichols' family here in Chicago, Illinois. She's from the South Side, man. So we lost some icons yesterday, man. So I just want to thank God for blessing us to have them as models for us. Indeed. Nichols was 89 years old. Bill Russell was 88.

Gentlemen, we appreciate it. Thanks a lot. Peace, peace. Thank you, Roman. We'll see you. Good seeing you last week. Yes, sir. Indeed. Indeed. I'm going to bring now in my homegirl, Carrie Champion. She joins us now. Dr. Greg Carr also joins us. We're still joining us, still with us is Julianne Malveaux and Omokongo Dabinga.

Carrie, just just your thoughts about let me know folks when we have Carrie on Dr. Carr just share with us again for people who really first of all a lot of folks today don't understand history

they see Bill Russell's name they may have seen him sitting courtside at games they just see this old black guy and it's like oh he played back's name. They may have seen him sitting courtside at games. They just see this old black guy, and it's like, oh, he played back in the day. They may have seen the ad with him with his 11 rings on, got enough fingers to actually have all the rings. But, you know, we were just there last week in New York with Jackie Robinson Museum. I mean, this was a man, a player who came out of an era

where they had to compete at the highest level and still had to win. And this was not a go-along-to-get-along brother. He defied racism and was unwilling to bend. Absolutely. Absolutely, Roland. And you've Howard Bryant, who really put Bill Russell in context. When you look at a William Felton Russell, and I'm glad that the family sent you a republication. You know, I had to pull my copy of Second Wind down. This is his autobiography. And I recommend it. In terms of a sports figure, it doesn't get any better than Second Wind,

because it's really not about basketball. You know, as we know, I mean, and Brother Craig said, he represented Oakland, but the brother came out of Monroe, Louisiana. His mother and win, because it's really not about basketball, as we know. I mean, and Brother Craig said he represented Oakland, but the brother came out of Monroe, Louisiana. His mother and father, strong people. You know, you start talking about Sister Katie and his father, Charles, who they called Mr. Charlie, and his father's father, the old man, as they called him, Bill Russell. And you talked about that iconic moment when Jim Brown and a young Lew Alcindor, still out of high school, Power Memorial High School, stood with Muhammad Ali there in Cleveland.

We just passed the 50, I guess, fifth anniversary of it, 1967, June 1967. That was the same year that Bill Russell, as he writes in Second Wind, he said the old man, his grandfather, saw the only game he ever saw him play. He said it was an exhibition game for the Boston Celtics. And after the game, he said his father, his grandfather went looking for the segregated bathroom in the arena, and his father had to take his father and said, and they peed where the white man peed. Now, that may seem like a small thing. They say it was in the locker room. He noticed his grandfather was crying. So they thought, are you in pain? Is everything all right? Bill Russell says his grandfather was like, I never thought I would

live to see the day when water would run off the back of a white man hitting a black man and a black man hitting a white man. And they were friends. He said those two were friends. He was talking about seeing Sam Jones and John Havlicek showering in the locker room. I mean, Bill Russell came out of the fields of Louisiana, as we heard Howard Bryant say. And in this book, Bill Russell says things like, every militant you see right now, it's published in 1979, he says they're all in debt to Malcolm X. Malcolm X spoke more truth than anybody I ever knew.

He said, but I defended Roy Wilkins, who many people call Uncle Tom. He said, but I defended Roy Wilkins, who many people call Uncle Tom. He said, why? Because I never doubted his motives. He talks about going to Africa. The State Department sent him to Africa in 1959 because they wanted to send him on a goodwill tour to Latin America and different places. He said, no, no,

can I go to Africa? And then he writes about being there during the early days of the independence movements. Bill Russell ended up owning land in Liberia. Brother, that same Liberia you toured and brought back those stories for us here in the Black Star Network. And there's story after story after story about that.

Bill Russell was always crystal clear. And so I'll just end now for this. And Kobe Bryant told this story many times. He said, you know, he asked Bill Russell, how did you deal with the racism? Russell. Russell, who played the team game, he said, you know, he asked Bill Russell, how did you deal with the racism? Russell. Russell, who played the team game, he said, you know, even

Wilt Chamberlain, his great rival said, if I played for Boston, I wouldn't be able to win as much as Wilt did. He was perfect, I'm sorry, as Russell did, because he was perfect for Boston because he said, I'm good at rebounding, that's what I'm going to do. You shoot, you do the rest, I'm going to do this. He said that Russell told him,

brother, it wasn't that I didn't hear what they were saying. And by the way, in the book, Russell calls Boston a fair of racism. He said that Paul Revere run through there saying the N-words are coming, the N-words are coming. They'd have fought as hard as they fought against the British.

He said it wasn't that I didn't hear them. He said I absorbed all't that I didn't hear him. He said, I absorbed all of that, and I used it to do what I was going to do. He said, Kobe Bryant said I took a lesson from him. Every time y'all thought he was ignoring those invectives, he was absorbing all of it, and he turned it into a weapon. Bill Russell, there's never going to be another one like him, brother. Greg, hold tight one second.

Kira Champion, are you there? Hi, I am. How are you? Doing great. You know, Greg was talking about the – Yeah, I can hear you just fine, Kira. I can hear you just fine. Greg was talking about that Russell book from 1966, Go Up for Glory.

And he's right. I was looking through my DMs here, and his wife, Janine, sent a DM to me. And she said that Bill just released. This was December 8th, 2020. Bill just released his 1966 book, Go Up for Glory, last month. And we would love to see you at Signed, Copied. Bill does not do any live interviews, and it is limiting getting the book out to this generation. It tells about his fight with the racism he experienced.

If you would give me an address, an email, that would both get direct to you, we would love to send a copy and an email gift from our company. If you would feel comfortable sharing the book on social, we would really appreciate it. Left her phone number here. And a lot of people today, Kerry, don't necessarily want to read those books, but I dare say we can learn a whole lot reading Bill Russell's own words, reading Jackie Robinson's I Never Had It Made to understand and to better appreciate today's athlete because they created the modern-day NBA, the modern-day NFL, the modern-day Major League Baseball because of what they endured. That's absolutely good. I mean, Roland, the fact that you have that message from her is history in itself. And I want to thank you for doing this. I have to give you your props because so often we forget the people who built the game and they don't get their respect.

And Bill, I had the opportunity to interview him several times. I've met him several times. He was always there for the game. I had the opportunity to interview him several times. I've met him several times. He was always there for the game. The last time I saw him was last year at a game, and he was sitting there. He was so fixed and locked in, talking to the players, but most importantly, being himself, being as sarcastic as he can be, being as honest as he is. And it was such a pleasure to see these young, young kids, like, you know, first year in the league, talking to Bill Russell and getting that education. Oftentimes, you know, they only can look at, you know, YouTube clips, if you will,

so you can see what he meant. But it still doesn't really, really make it clear. It's not palpable for this generation. And that to me is a missed opportunity. So now that we have an opportunity to sit and talk about him and what he's done for this game, it is unheard of. It really, truly is unheard of. He was, he was such a beautiful activist before they were shut up and dribbled, there was Bill Russell, unapologetic, unafraid, living his life out loud in circumstances some would have said would have been too difficult to bear. Instead of putting his head down and doing his job, he did it with a very quiet rage that I appreciated. And I think there are so many of us who look at today's athletes. I know I talked to some players the other day, more specifically Kevin Garnett, who had that beautiful conversation with Bill Russell.

And Bill said, I'm watching you. This is when he was with the Celtics. He was like, you wrap your arms around these players. He was like, you don't drag them along. You wrap them around these players. And you guys will win two or three. And it was such a beautiful conversation. And at the very end, he said, if you don't do it, it's fine because you've already won.

It was just, to me, if I could really crystallize that moment from Bill talking to Kevin Garnett and what they went through playing in Boston, but realize at the end of the day what it was all about. Bill personified that. I mean, again, Roland, I'm really happy that you're doing this. We need you. You know that. Carrie, I wanted you and Greg to comment on this. Your girl, Jamel Hill, posted this, her piece on him.

But I just love how she opened it. And she said, not many people can make Charles Barkley, the former NBA MVP and legendarily outspoken broadcaster, pipe down. But it was Bill Russell who did so. Sorry, my iPad literally just died on me while I was reading. So let me go to my phone and pull this article up. Because I got it for the audience who didn't see Jamel's piece, y'all. You got to read it because even if you just don't get past the lead, it's just perfect example who Bill Russell was. So, folks, so this is what Barkley said, y'all. He called me, Charles Barkley, this is Bill Russell. I said, oh, hey, Mr. Russell. Barkley told me. He said, I need you to shut the fuck up.

I said, okay. Russell had seen Barkley on television complaining about how much he paid in taxes. Russell was displeased with Barkley's comments. Russell said, son, let me tell you something. You grew up poor. You went to public school. And I bet the police came to your neighborhood when somebody called the cops. I said, yes, let me tell you something. You grew up poor. You went to public school. And I bet the police came to your neighborhood when somebody called the cops. I said, yes, Mr. Russell.

He said somebody was paying those people and you didn't have any money. I don't ever want to see you see your black ass on TV complain about taxes again. And Barkley said, I never did. That is a phone call, Carrie. I think, okay, so let me explain something to you. Do you remember when Bill

flipped off? Do you remember that in the game? Did you guys talk about this already? Did I miss it when he gave the middle finger? He gave the bird on live television. Do you guys remember that? No. No remember that no no he was at a game i think it was an all-star game and they were and he was going back and forth with with another player and he ended up giving him the bird and to me that was quintessential because i don't have time to explain it to you he got to that age where he didn't need to be kind he needed you to just shut the hell up and let me finish and i think think that is apropos. You know, Jamel always has one

for you. Those are great stories. Nobody can make Chuck shut up. He will talk forever. And out of respect for who this man was, and he knew it. Bill knew it. Bill knew if I said, I need you to shut the hell up, Chuck was going to shut the hell up. And it was no question. That was what I love about that man. Don't play with him and how he felt about this game. I need you to respect it. And if you're out of line, you're out of line. You have to, I mean, you have to sit back and think, one, I can't believe that he is so in tune

to what is happening in this, on every level of the game. I saw Bill at an overtime game, right? That's not even a professional league. He loved the game so much. He's watching these amateurs play and talking to them like, listen, sit down, young man, and listen to what I said. Shut up and pay attention. And that was for everybody, Chuck included.

And I love it. And of course, Jay has to start it with that. You're right, that article was great. Greg, Dr. Jay, we were at the Jeffrey Osborne Golf Tournament a few years ago, and he told me this story. He said that he was walking with Bill Russell, and they were at some game. It could have been an all-star game or something along those lines. And Dwight Howard was on the court practicing, and Bill Russell called him over,

and he said, young man, he said, you work out too much. You need to give your body rest. Stop lifting weights on your day off. Rest. Rest your body. And Dwight sort of just blew him off. And Dr. J said, Ro, if Bill Russell gave me some advice as a player,

I'm damn sure going to listen. He got 11 rings. How many you got? So to what Kerry just said, the man retired long ago, but he was still passing on his knowledge of the game to the next generation. Absolutely. I mean, we just heard, of course, what you read from our sister, Jamel Hill. And it's an honor, of course, to be in the same conversation with Sister Carrie Champion, another one of our great word warriors

in that long tradition. And, you know, as she said, and as we've heard everybody today, Bill Russell remained the same. I mean, yes, of course, there are all the championships. There's also the fact that he declined to go down the street in Massachusetts to be inducted into the National Basketball Association

Hall of Fame, he said, I have no respect for the Hall of Fame. He calls out racists like Adolph Rupp and them. He said, basically, that's a place that's political. They made up for their own rules. You ignore Bill Russell at your peril. Now, Bill Russell, who was notorious, at least among those who thought that he owed them something for not signing autographs, he tells a story. He said, I was in the airport of Cleveland one time reading a newspaper, and this little guy came up to me and said, Will, Will. I didn't look up. He walks away,

comes back and says, why didn't you tell me you were Bill Russell? Russell said, you didn't ask. Then he says, you signed my autograph. He said, I don't sign autographs. He said, we made you. And Bill Russell said, and I'm going to quote this directly because he said, this made me smile. He said, pardon me, sir. This is what Russell's told the man. I said with a smile, but it seems that the next logical step here is for you to kick my ass.

He said, the man stepped back and said, what do you mean? Bill Russell said, well, I was just standing here, not saying anything, not bothering a single soul. Then you come along and start a conversation I don't enjoy. So it seems to me that the next step is for you to kick my ass, because if you're not going to,

you might as well leave me alone. He said a man left him alone. I'm saying when you step to a guy who is bursting with muscle like Dwight Howard, who is not in the Hall of Fame the way Bill Russell got in the Hall of Fame and didn't even go to the induction, and you give him some advice as to stop working out so much,

and he blows you off, please understand that Bill Russell, if he was the age of Dwight Howard right there, would have kicked Dwight Howard's ass all over the court because not only, as our brother Michael Harriot reminded us, another journalist wrote about this yesterday, Bill Russell jumped a high jump of seven feet. Do you understand? He wasn't working out all the time.

In fact, he already had an injury. He was playing basketball. He doing track and stay in shape. And then when they said, well, you want to continue? He said, no, I'm good. I don't want to strain my basketball injury. Dwight Howard got all them muscles, but he averaged 22.5 rebounds for a career.

Like Bill Russell. You got to listen to this man. So anyway. I'm just saying, Carrie, final thoughts. Listen, I appreciate, I'm going to make this real succinct. He was ready for, he was ready for all the smoke. He never not was ready for the smoke. He wanted it all.

And he did that until the day he was gone. And I appreciate that. He was always the same. Some of these players today could learn a lesson about being as authentic as you can possibly be, but keep the main thing, the main thing. And he did that. And it's such a, it is such a blessing for us to have witnessed that in our lifetime, or at least to be able to talk about it and still have an opportunity to talk to this man because he was truly black history in the living black history not in the making but living black history and willing to

give it to us and i am so grateful that we all have this opportunity to celebrate what a large king he was indeed indeed care champion always great to talk to you uh you be well you too my friend thank you for having me all right not a problem folks we're going to be getting jamel hill on the phone right now let me go to julianne malvo i'm a congo dubingo give you all an opportunity to share your thoughts and reflections and folks we are going to also pay tribute to uh nichelle nichols uh we reached out to a number of actresses in Hollywood and others did not hear back from people.

So we are going to be reading some tweets and things along those lines. So do understand we're not leaving out Nichelle Nichols at all. So Julianne, Amakongo, and even Greg, if you want to also share your thoughts about Nichelle Nichols as we talk about Bill Russell, please do so.

Julianne, you're first. Well, there's not a lot to add after what I've heard from Jamel's article that I pulled up while you were talking or by the car. The fact is that the man was just admirable. And Roland, what I'm reflecting on, in the previous segment, we were talking about

an athlete who was dishonorable. And it's just quite a contrast to have a man who was just honorable. Honorable and activist. You couldn't say anything negative man who was just honorable, honorable, an activist. You couldn't say anything negative about him. I mean, he fried folks up. He was crisp. I met him one time, just met him, just said hi.

He was very gracious. I didn't ask him for an autograph, though. But in any case, a wonderful example of black manhood, sportsmanship, but also civic leadership. And that's the thing that's most important is the civic leadership. I couldn't see how he did it in Boston. You know, I went to undergrad and grad in Boston. And I wouldn't go to the Garden because the white people would throw soda on you and do all kinds of stuff. So if they would do that to people sitting in the stands,

you have to wonder what did they do to people who were off on the court. But you had to have that same kind of Jackie Robinson courage to simply say, I'm not going to let this bother me. I'm going to do what I have to do. And that's what he did. And that's just a tribute to an amazing man. I'm a Congo. So, you know, I'm

born and raised in Boston. So I'm growing up at the time where the Celtics are starting to become, you know, that white team, you know, after all of the great history that was talked about. But we always, you know, looked up to Russell. We always looked up to what he did for us, what he did for our community. And people talked a lot about his activism and all of the great things that he did in sports as well. And one of the things I want him to be remembered for is not only his continued investment in younger players, but also his continued investment in younger people.

You know, he started a mentorship program for young people. He was just interested in youth and helping youth become the next generation of leaders. And he did that all the way until his final days. And so at every stretch, he was doing the most to reach down to next generations of leaders. So that moment that you shared that picture with him kneeling with Colin Kaepernick

and the Presidential Medal of Freedom, there were so many examples of him doing that. He believed in young people. And I remember a story I heard just today, actually, where people were saying, oh, hey, are you a basketball player? And he would say, I'm not a basketball player. He's like, I play basketball, but I'm a human being first.

And so the lessons that we need to take from him is that he believed, you know, in that common humanity. He believed that there are more things in common that separated us. And he talks about all of the racism, all of the things he experienced. As his daughter said, he always said that if he dies,

going to heaven might be a downgrade because playing with those, though his teammates are in the Boston Celtics, it doesn't get any better than that. So this was a brother who, throughout the worst of times, was able to find the joy and the beauty in the experiences that he was having, even as he challenged all of the ignorance and racism and in the experiences that he was having, even as he challenged all of the

ignorance and racism and hatred outside of that, he was always able to live not for the moment, but in the moment. And that's a spirit and an energy that we can also take. And there's nothing else I can add in terms of his legacy. Just rest in peace and power. And thank you. My folks, there is breaking news. President Joe Biden right now is addressing the killing of Al Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri, who was killed in a U.S. airstrike in Afghanistan. We will stream that later. But I don't want to interrupt our tribute to Bill Russell and Nicole Nichols. I do want to go right down to the professor, Kevin Blackstone, long-time journalist, University of Maryland professor, and always glad to have him giving his thoughts and perspectives. Kevin, what I love when I'm seeing these stories, I'm loving the fact that whether it's Associated he was the first baseball player in

white races, Major League Baseball. But it was what he did after that and the activism and black banks and all of that. And it was Bill Russell still with us who was on the front lines. This was not a man who just sort of drifted into anonymity. He was there and made it be clear that he, walking history and someone who put it on the line and was willing to challenge Jim Crow and to look it dead in the eye and say, I will not back down. Yeah, I mean, it's hard to put Bill Russell in a box.

And I think a lot of people have tried to do that the last few years. When you hear conversations about Bill Russell, great basketball player, social justice leader, spoke his mind. But, you know, he's much more complicated and his life was much more nuanced than that, I think. And one of the things that has always struck me about Bill Russell is the fact that he

is, in fact, as revered and celebrated as he is, because really, if you think about it, it really doesn't make sense, right? I mean, here's a guy who was, we know about the social justice stances that he took, that he marched, but he was critical of Martin Luther King Jr. and the nonviolent movement. He was supportive of the Black Panthers, right? He held a walkout on the league in which he became a star. He was critical of the Globetrotters. He did a lot of things that always made me wonder, and living and working in the city of Boston,

it made me wonder, why is it that he is as revered and celebrated as he is? He really, you know, some people have written he's the greatest basketball player. He wasn't the greatest basketball player. He wasn't even the greatest basketball player of his own era. That was Wilt Chamberlain, without question. But he had this part of him that I think he never kind of objected to Americanism or American ideals, if that makes sense. I mean, you think about it. What is he celebrated for in terms of basketball?

He's celebrated for his defense. He's celebrated for rebounding. He celebrated for not having to be the focal point, the superstar on the court. He celebrated for being on an integrated team and being a critical part of that team, being a champion year in and year out. And he basically never lost, you know, and he first burst onto the scene in the 56th Olympics. So to me, he's a very complicated figure in American history. And that's why I think you see what you just laid out, all these different things that people are saying about him, because you really can't put him in a box. He's a very, very unusual personality. And think about this, one other thing.

So Will Chamberlain, right, is the dominant figure in 1960s basketball. But he denounced the Panthers. He embraced the GOP. He was like Jack Johnson in that he was profligate and made no secret of his desire to sleep with white women. But Bill Russell would go on and marry a couple of white women as an adult, after his career, more or less. But that was never a problem for him like it was for Will Chamberlain with the black community. So I would say he's a very complicated individual. It's interesting, as I heard you describe him,

and I'm going to bring in Greg Carr in this as well, as I heard you describe him, I swear you were describing Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. And the reason I'm comparing these two, Kevin and Greg, is because these were two thoughtful, deliberate, smart, intuitive, well-read black men. And they weren't loud, they weren't abrasive, but they carried themselves in a way with a seriousness of purpose, which is why, Kevin, and then Greg, I think about that Cleveland summit.

And who was there? Standing with Muhammad Ali, Jim Brown, Oscar Robertson, summit and who was there standing with muhammad ali jim brown oscar robertson kareem bill russell and others right but we also have to remember that most people have a false impression of that picture and the cleveland summit, because Bill Russell and everyone else showed up to try and convince Muhammad Ali to drop his opposition, his protest to the Vietnam War and get back in the boxing ring. And, in fact, Jim Brown had an economic interest in doing so, because he was invested in Muhammad Ali's next fight. But the amazing thing to that was, this young boxer from Louisville who had become a Muslim told these emperors of black masculinity in the United States at the time, you all are

not changing my mind. I have this, you know, I have this conviction. And then they come out to the press conference, Bill Russell there, Kareem, and they support him. The interesting thing about that picture, though, is that Kareem, then Lew Alcindor, was the one Olympic athlete, black Olympic athlete, who did boycott the 68 games, right, and came out and said he did so because he wanted to teach black youth back in Harlem. But, yeah, I mean, Bill Russell was there. And that point there, Greg, that they had one thought and Ali made his position clear.

And then they did. They said, fine, we're going to stand with you. I don't think people I don't think if you had to make a comparison today, I don't think people could understand what it would look like to have the top football player, the top basketball players of the day standing with a fellow Titan in another sport in a show of solidarity. I'll be perfectly frank. I don't think for a second athletes today, black athletes today would do that. Well, there's a lot more money on the table. I mean, capitalism has crushed in many ways principles that were never fully developed to begin with. I mean, Russell, of course, and thank you, Kevin, I mean, not only for walking us through this today,

but for your ongoing work, brother. Complicated is the word. I mean, when you plant yourself in the soil of the apartheid South, Bill Russell is born into the apartheid South, and then he goes and is part of that stream of migration out to an Oakland that, you know, started talking about these formative years and his intellectual work is grounded in

almost, it's almost impossible not to strive for the race in one way or another. And, you know, a lot of these cats had to take off-season jobs to work. They had to make ends meet. And as Kevin said, you know, Jim Brown has this whole philosophy of Black nationalism that is also deeply intertwined with black capitalism. This is the period when everybody from Mahalia Jackson to Jim Brown, I mean, James Brown shortly thereafter is trying to go into business for the race. And Richard Nixon pulls up on some black capitalism tip like this is going to help black people. I mean, but but ultimately they are just emerging from legal apartheid in this country. So to be a race person probably was a lot less complicated in some ways.

But as you were talking, Kevin, it reminded me of, particularly when you started talking about these white women, you know, Bill Russell, you know, the mother of his children, Rose, who he referred to as Iodine because she had strong medicine, he said. He said, I don't know if we were evenly yoked, this kind of thing. He first encounters this white woman who was a stripper, as he describes her, Kitty Malone, in New York, and they start talking about books. And he almost falls for her over this conversation about books because he was a reader. He was an intellectual in many ways. And I guess what a reason I bring that up now is because in the context of

today's athletes, when would they have been grounded in something other than playing sports? Many of them. So when you see a LeBron James or you see, what's our sister do? Played for the Minnesota Lynx who just got married, helped her brother get out of prison. She married her brother. You know what I'm talking about.

Yes. It'll come to me. It'll come to one of us. It's escaping me, but go ahead. Yes, I know. These are almost outliers if you're going to take political stances. And I say that in the context of an era when going to school, when you said student athlete or schoolboy or schoolgirl athlete or student or scholar athlete, that kind of meant something different during this period. And so, Russell certainly wasn't alone in terms of the attitude toward intellectual work and toward

commitment for the race. And while, yes, Kareem did boycott the 68 Olympics, they tried to interview Bill Russell, Willie Mays, and them about what they thought about a potential boycott. And Russell says, you know, they wanted us to give one or two sentences and move on to the next one. He said, I had a lot to say about that, and I wasn't going to let them just to give me one or two sentences.

And, you know, Willie Mays caught hell because they said, well, maybe even Will Chamberlain be in the same category. You don't talk about the movement enough. You don't talk about the movement enough. And of course, Mays is still with us. But Russell's complicated life, I think, is probably closer to the complicated lives of Black people during that period. And once these folks figured out that, you know, they couldn't beat us, they joined us. You pump enough money in the game and folks worried about losing

as the young people say they bag. I don't know what, you know, I imagine Russell would still be on that side today if he were around. Kevin, last, a final comment from you. What I, I say this all the time to people, when you have an opportunity to sit with, talk to, speak with, whether it's for two minutes, 20 minutes, or two hours. And I'm thinking about

who we've lost just in the last three or so years. If you have an opportunity to talk to a Bill Russell, a C.T. Vivian, a Reverend Lowry, a John Lewis, a Bob Moses, and the list goes on and on. I tell people, don't just keep walking.

When Thurgood Marshall died, I worked for the Austin American Statesman, and I interviewed Barbara Jordan. And she said, Kevin, we used to sit at his feet and just listen as he taught. And I would dare say any NBA player who had an opportunity, whether it's about basketball game or life

or civil rights or whatever, I don't care what, if you've got an opportunity to interface with someone like that, you don't let the opportunity pass. Because they're not going to be with us forever.

No, absolutely. And, you know, that just goes for I think just being intelligent and taking opportunities. Like anytime a friend of mine says their son or daughter is going to Howard, I say, you've got to take great car. You've got to take a class with him. Who's he?

This is who he is. And to your point, Roland, I mean, I, and this gets back to Bill Russell, one of my favorite writers of all time is Douglas Turner Ward, who, by the way, used to be a great football player from the South, went north to play football in college, got, which I thought was brilliant and spoke to some things that were going on in sports. And that's a day of absence. And I called him after the Milwaukee Bucks walked out of their game in the bubble. And we were just talking about his experiences and people he knew. And he told me, he said, he was talking about his relationship with athletes.

And one of the athletes he had a good relationship with was Bill Russell. And he said, Bill Russell, I mean, to your point about being an intellect, a man about more than the game that was making him famous, how he came to the first reading, I think Douglas Turner Ward told me, of A Day of Absence. And then he reminded me, going back to what Gray Carr was saying, talking about the development of intellect, that his brother is Charlie Russell, a great playwright in his own right. Five, was it Five on the Black Hand Side, which became a movie. He wrote a number of plays. So the Bill Russell household was, you know, it was a household of books and of learning and of questioning. And he used the game

as a platform to do what he really wanted to do. And that's the message that, and I don't just say that for athletes. I say that for all of us. You know, if you're a black journalist and you're not doing things to try and highlight inequity as it affects people of color, then you are wasting your opportunity as a black journalist, right? You know, if you're a black chef, you know, you should be involved in trying to help in hungry, the situations of hungry people in your community, the situations of poverty. I mean, no matter where we're at, we have to be involved in that struggle. And Bill Russell was involved in that struggle using the platform of basketball.

Indeed. The professor, Kevin Blackstone, always glad to have you on the show, brother. Thank you so very much for participating in our salute to Bill Russell. Thank you all. Absolutely. Yes, indeed. Wow. Folks, our final two guests,. Thank you all. Absolutely. Yes, indeed. Wow.

Folks, our final two guests. Greg, you're still with us. Our final two guests. My man Roy Johnson, columnist with AL.com, longtime top executive editor at Sports Illustrated, and Jamel Hill, media magnate formerly with ESPN, with Papers in Detroit. She's covered basketball and sports for quite some time. Glad to have both of them here.

Two of my NABJ folks, our Black Journalist Convention is this week in Las Vegas, so I will be there, y'all, Wednesday night. Glad to have both of you here. Jamel, I had your girl Carrie Champion on earlier, and I read the quote from your piece in The Atlantic. That Charles Barkley story was so perfect. But I read another, but it was just perfect. I read another one today that blew me away, Jamel,

and it was a tweet from Jon Stewart. Jon Stewart tweeted out, and this was his comment here. He said, Bill Russell was one of the kindest, most thoughtful people I've ever met. Once called out of the blue because he thought I looked sad on TV. Best pep talk of my life. R.I.P. And then his daughter, Karen Russell, responded to his tweet. John Bill's daughter here. Daddy adored you. He loved being on the show. Dad knew how important artists like you were in making change. I remember having the nerve to pull a prank on you. Well, you and a daddy laughing about it. I have a picture with you too, but I can't find it. That crazy. Bill Russell giving John Stewart a pep talk because he looked like he was sad and bill russell telling charles barkley shut the fuck up about texas

yeah and you know you probably had conversations with charles and i'm sure some of the other panelists have as well i'm sure roy has and so you know charles is just a mountain of stories and there was a lot of stuff that i didn't even get a chance to put in my piece for The Atlantic because I asked him, you know, I asked Charles why he thought Bill Russell took such an interest in him. Because Bill Russell called him out of the blue when they had that conversation, much like he did with Jon Stewart, as he discussed in his tweet. And, you know, Charles said it's because he knew that I was fearless and that I had something to say. And I think he wanted to make sure that Charles understood the responsibility that he had with his platform.

And the level of respect that Charles and so many NBA players, so many people, but to just focus on the NBA, half of Bill Russell, it's just something that is rare, it's unique, it's warranted, and it's very special. I mean, I think all of us would hope that five words that are being said about, you know, Bill Russell right now or that when we die, even just five words that are being said about Bill Russell will be said about us, right?

And we have people who are writing mounds of copy programs such as this that are dedicating, you know, entire batches of time to discussing his legacy, is that to have lived a life that full. For basketball to be the thing that you could argue he was second best at, you know, considering what a humanitarian he was, what a champion, what a pioneer. That says a lot about the type of life that he lived.

Roy Johnson, you have covered sports for a very long time, and I dare say ain't that many other icons in sports who could come close to Bill Russell. There's no question. And I've been very blessed and fortunate to just be part of that journey. you know, him reaching back and giving space to those people like Charles Barkley that he deemed would have an impact. And so he opened the door for young journalists like me and others, whether it was Michael Wilbon, Ralph Wiley, those of us who were part of that generation, Jamel.

I think he recognized how important we were, too, to the dialogue, to the narrative, to the diaspora. I did not see him play. So I can't say and rank him in terms of watching him play where he sits. All I know is, like everyone else says, I know about the rings. I know he was just, you know, the formidable shot blocker. He was an intimidating

force. But I didn't watch him play. But he did give an open door to a young journalist who had the audacity to reach out to him and just say, hey, I just want to talk to you. And he always called me Roy Johnson Jr. I'm not a junior. I don't know where he got that from. He called me Roy Johnson. But that was... I don't know. But I wasn't gonna correct him. I'm not gonna correct Bill Russell, right? So he said, Roy Johnson Jr. I was like, hey, he would use the whole name every time he saw me. He said, Roy Johnson Jr.

I said, well, okay, cool. But I'm not a junior. But hey, we're gonna have this conversation. So there were a number of athletes, coaches. John Thompson was another one, that gave us a window into their world because they knew how important we were to helping to drive the narrative about Black issues, Black athletes, Black challenges in the sports world and beyond. So I'd love to just share a couple of different aspects about Bill. I know you had

people come on and talk about him from an athletic point of view and from a civil rights and iconic point of view. In 1981, I was fortunate to do a story on a guy named Phil Wolpert, who was Bill's college coach at USF. So we don't often think about athletes before they were great. And recruiting was very different back then. Bill Russell grew up in Oakland. He kind of ended up at the University of San Francisco. And the coach didn't even know much about this kid. In the story, he described him as a gangling kid, said he was a poor shooter, said he was tall, he could jump. I remember thinking, yeah, we made the commitment. Eh, we might as well keep it, right? So, of course, at USF,

at USF, he had a great career, but he coached him hard. Phil Warford talked about coaching Bill Russell hard. So that was kind of old school. The coach had to run the show. Not through intimidation, but persuasion. So you think about Jamel and Roland, just how

Bill was with us. It wasn't through intimidation with us. It was through persuasion. Certainly you think about Jamel and Roland, just how Bill was with us. It wasn't through intimidation with us. It was through persuasion. Certainly, he was intimidating on the court. But when it came to interpersonal relationships, he was intellectual. He knew his information, and he would persuade you to his position. And he had this great anecdote about early on, the student president came to Phil and said, you know what, this kid who came out of the Oakland, you know, impoverished area really wasn't used to being around white people. And he was kind of a little bit of a troublemaker at USF. The student president came and said, unless he shapes up, we don't want him. The coach said, I tried to explain

to the guy what Russell was going through, but he would have none of it. I talked to Bill, and as far as I know, there were no other incidents. So on the court, Phil Warford said he scouted teams and their personalities and tendencies, not their patterns. So there was a game against Brigham Young, and Bill's opposing center was left-handed. He told him to make the guy go the other way. He said, I showed him how to do it. He said early in the game, a forward went for an open layup, and Bill didn't even make an effort go the other way. I showed him how to do it. Early in the game, a forward went for

an open layup, and Bill didn't even make an effort to help him out. The rest of the half, he did nothing. Scored one point and had maybe two rebounds. He said, at halftime, we had a priest on the team, and he asked the priest to leave the locker room. He said, I chewed out Bill Russell for 10 minutes. I did

nothing but talk about Bill. I ripped him up one side and down the other. He said he came out and played like a madman in the second half. 25 points, 28 rebounds until he fouled out with four minutes to go. Said finally Bill crawled off the floor and said to me, boy, it sure feels good to foul out. That was the turning point in his career. If you think about how he played for 13 years in the NBA, that was the kind of player he was. And you think about how he played for 13 years in the NBA,

that was the kind of player he was. And then finally, I want to talk about the other man. And I'm sure you've had people talk about this in terms of how significant he was among those athletes who grew up, those black athletes who grew up in the civil rights era, grew up at a time when they could not ignore the things that were going on in Jim Crow and around them.

You certainly had mentioned that Bill Russell was the first black coach of a major sports team in 1966. He was a player coach. So he played three more years and won a couple of rings as a coach as well as a player. So I'm going to do this. I'm going to throw out my Mount Rushmore of that era of black athletes. And I'm layering in the Cleveland Summit. And I heard some of your speakers before talk about his impact then and his role. I don't mind an athlete challenging another one and having a conversation. But at the end, you know, maybe he didn't agree early on with Ali's stance, but he came back later and supported. He sat at that table and supported Ali's decision. So I'm going to give you my Mount Rushmore.

Jamal, I'd love to hear yours. My Mount Rushmore of athletes in that era. Muhammad Ali, Bill Russell, Jim Brown, Arthur Ashe. Go for it. Wow. I can't disagree with what you said there because what people maybe don't understand is that, and correct me if I'm wrong, Roy, and also Roland,

but Lew Alcindor, as he was known then, was a young pup. You know, he didn't... Yeah, he was a kid. Very young. He was a kid. Very young. And so he hadn't really come into his own in terms of understanding.

I mean, he knew how the world worked, but he hadn't come into his voice yet. I think that's the best way to say it. But I probably, the only, instead of Arthur Ashe, you know, who I might put, if we're going from, let's say, I don't know, mid-50s to, let's stop it at 1970, I would probably put Tommy Smith and John Carlos. I would probably put them on there. That would probably be my fourth. And yes, I would count them as one person. Well, to get four spots, you can't cheat. I know, but it's like

a duo. It's like outcasts. It's like, you gotta say outcasts. Four spots. You got four. I was like, John Carlos and Tommy Smith. I'm counting them as one. And then all the three names, of course, that you mentioned. But, you know, Roy, those are, first of all, wonderful memories that you shared about Bill Russell. I think we, and Roland, I heard you say this earlier in the segment before. This is why it's important, and I feel like this was done with Bill Russell, is that

as each generation goes by, those who are icons, and we don't have that many left that represent a certain era and a certain generation that have been through certain things, it's very important that we give them their flowers now, that we talk to them. You know, one of the great traditions, as you know, in African-American culture is handing down stories by word of mouth. And I got a chance to meet Bill Russell once, and I was just trying to be quiet. That was literally all I wanted to do. It was a room full of people. I don't know how I got into this room. And, you know, it's not, it's only two athletes that have caused me to really be that way, because obviously as journalists, you want to engage in the sense of like just to pick this person's brain.

But as he was talking to other people, I just want to listen. It was Bill Russell and the other is Muhammad Ali. I got an opportunity to meet him when he came to Michigan State, when I was covering the team then. And I have one of my prize pictures, my prize possessions, is I have a picture on my television stand. Muhammad Ali kissed me. It's a true story. And he did. Somebody took a photo.

I was in the Michigan State locker room. And he, you know, and I heard a similar story that he did this before. You know, I'm the only black woman reporter in this locker room. And he's in there meeting the team. And, you know, somebody had asked for a picture. And he summoned me into the photo. And he told them, you know, he sort of pointed to them to take the picture. And as soon as the person said, one, two, three, he kissed me right on the cheek.

And I was like, my face is like, oh, my God, did that just happen? So I say, yeah. So I say, mm-hmm. Think about what that kiss probably represented. You couldn't do that today. Right? I mean, it is my prized possession. It was like an

acknowledgement of, like, the queen in the room. Right? And knowing Ali, and I met him a few times as well. I mean, Ali was Ali, but he was also acknowledging you. He was acknowledging you for being the only sister in the room. And that's what I say about that era of black athletes. They recognized not just what they were doing, but what was coming along behind them. I'll share another story about Russell.

I'm not sure if you have the cover. So I was a senior editor for Pro Basketball as Poets Illustrated in the early 90s and before the 1993-94 season I had this vision of creating a cover with Bill Russell and a young buck who was establishing himself as a shot

blocking legend and that was Alonzo Mourning. So I had the audacity. I'd already met Bill before. You know, he knew me as Roy Johnson Jr. And I said, hey, I want to have you on the cover with Alonzo Mourning. So I had the audacity. I'd already met Bill before. You know, he knew me as Roy Johnson Jr. And I said, hey, I want to have you on the cover with Alonzo Mourning. And of course he said no. You've met him. He says no.

He gives you that big laugh like he's never going to do it. But, you know, you know me, Jamel. I kept asking, asking. Finally he said, look, okay. So they flew out to Portland. We did this wonderful shot of Alonzo Mourning and Bill Russell. So we got the shot. But then I did something even crazier, Jamel.

Once the cover came out, and as journalists, we don't ask for autographs very often. And maybe I just had a sense that, you know what? If I can get Bill Russell's autograph, because he didn't do autographs, right? He would politely just say, right. I just kept asking. I went after him about a hundred times. Finally, I kept the cover with me, and

finally, at an airport, he signed it. So there you see it. I still have it. I have it framed Alonzo Mourning and Bill Russell, and I'm sure he put my name on there just to ensure that I didn't try to sell it on the marketplace. But who's going to do that?

I was not going to sell that autograph. So I've seen one other on the Internet today. Somebody has a signed book from him. But I don't know if anybody else has got Bill Russell to sign an autograph and put their name on it. Right? So, but that's, that was, it's a great stuff. Right.

I was so persistent. I was persistent as he was, but he finally said, just give me, just give it to me. Good question. The, um, one of the reasons why, uh, we, why we do these is because, um, look, we watch mainstream and we see how how when our icons pass, sometimes they don't get the same type of coverage. Cicely Tyson, Bill Withers. I mean, I can go on and on and on how they barely got any mention.

And these are the kind of stories that, frankly, you're not hearing anywhere else. I do want to do this with the three of you, if y'all could. And I told the folks we were not going to. And this happened. C.T. Vivian died on a Thursday. John Lewis died on a Friday. And Vivian sort of got lost in that. But we paid proper tribute. I do want to roll this and get y'all thoughts about Nichelle Nichols, who passed away. Roll it, please. Folks in the control room, Rutherford Memorial, please. She broke barriers as one of the first black female leads on network television. Nichelle Nichols, the groundbreaking actor who played Lieutenant Nyota Uhura on the original Star Trek series, died Sunday. She was 89 years old. She's best known for breaking interracial boundaries in 1968.

It was a kiss between Nichols and William Shatner's Captain James T. Kirk on an episode that helped to reshape what viewers thought was acceptable on television. Some considered it an early statement about the acceptance of interracial marriages. Before becoming a household name, Nichols was a dancer and choreographer discovered in Chicago by composer and musician Duke Ellington as a teenager. Jamil, I want to start with you first. I want to get the thoughts of Roy and Greg. I mean, this is interesting. NASA put out a tweet, and she played a huge role, Jamel, in recruiting women and minority astronauts to NASA's program.

Even though she played this fictitious astronaut, she, in real life, made it possible for women and minorities to go to the space program. Well, I think it just speaks to something, you know, a phrase, a catchphrase we all use all the time, which is that representation matters. One of the things I posted on my Instagram account was the interview she did in which she explained how Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. talked her out of leaving Star Trek because she was considering a Broadway role. You know, Star Trek as a TV series was only on for three years, but she starred in not just the TV series, but she went on to do five or six Star Trek movies.

And she talked about how, you know, Dr. King told her, one, he was a really big fan, so I can only imagine what that might have felt like, that arguably the most important person on earth at the time is a picture of Black people, Black women that they did not often see. You have this graceful, intelligent, wonderful woman playing this role and doing something that was unimaginable, obviously, at the time, which is being in space and living in space. So that in itself, you know, pushing those boundaries, that limitlessness that that comes with, was very important for people to see. I mean, I was not born when Star Trek was actually on the air,

but my mother was a big Trekkie and brought me into the series. And as much as I love the movies, the original Star Trek, and this is no disrespect to the next generation, the iterations that have come later, but that original Star Trek is something else. And I certainly, as just a young girl growing up, to see her on screen playing this type of role, doing something that they didn't say that we could do in a place where we're not supposed to belong. I thought it was, it just made such a tremendous impression on anybody, particularly Black people who are watching. Although it's kind of funny when you think about it, is that for some reason, it seems so unbelievable to some people that you would cast this Black woman to be part of this, you know, space i'm like but y'all got purple chicks you got like people who are

green you got people with three heads but yet it's so odd that you would have a black woman in space and so uh she was a wonderful actress she meant a lot to our people and just her presence there um you know it really was was truly a tribute and a testament to just what we could be. She was among those that helped us dream beyond the borders of our minds. So it was incredibly heartbreaking, but I'm glad that, you know, we were able to bask in the incredible gift that she left us with. You know, Roy, I really don't think people today understand what Jamel just talked about, what it meant to see her on Star Trek, to see Diane Carroll, to see Sidney Poitier.

You did not have lots of people. Look, the Kerner Commission report drops in the 68. Mal Good was the first black network correspondent on ABC News. But you didn't really see your first generation of black people coming in until the 1970s. And so it was huge when black people actually saw black people on the air. And it was sort of like, if you see it, you believe it, even though it was fiction. I loved Jamel's erudite, intelligent, generational perspective on Lieutenant Uhura and what she did for us and what she represented. But let me say this. You're absolutely right. I was

there with Jamel's mom, right? If there was a black person on television, I would talk to her on the phone and say, black on TV! Right? And I don't know. So right now, and I'll step into this space,

you can draw a direct line from this role to Issa Rae in Insecure, right? There is a tree there. There is a genetic tree that you can draw. But think about for a generation of Black boys. I was, it was in 1966, so I was 13 years old. Think of a generation of young black men, what it meant to see her,

not just see her in this role, uh, in a dynamic, intelligent, uh, role as-as the... one of the leaders on this ship. But they made it very clear that she was fine, all right? So we're just going to go there. They did not hide that. Hold on, hold on. See, I was waiting to you. I was waiting.

See, I knew when he said, you know, a 13 year old black boy. I was waiting for you to get around to it. Oh, Lord, they put a five black woman on. That's right. Pam Greer just threw us all out, right? So I love what Jamel said, and we honor the sister and all of that. But, you know, it was like, okay, who was your first TV crush?

She'd be right up there under this. But it was humility and honor, and it was so important. It was vital. You can draw that direct line from that role on Star Trek. And look, I'll even go back and say, you know, the first color show I saw on television was Star Trek.

My dad, who had a store, some people know I grew up in Tulsa, Oklahoma. My dad owned a store on Black Wall Street. As a businessman, he bought our family a color television. And I remember walking in and turning on the television, and the first show that I saw in color was Star Trek. And it was the episode with the green monster. So it was not just the fact that she was on the show, but I saw her in living color.

And so for a generation of Black men like me and women like your mom, Jamel, that was vital, that was critical. And the fact, again, that was a role that to this day has impacted millions, has impacted generations. She always operated with class. She always operated with dignity.

She always operated with intelligence. And so operated with dignity. She always operated with intelligence. And so, you know, for all of that, we salute her. We acknowledge her, I think, and I hope that she recognized how loved she was before she passed, because I think people did continue to give her her deserved flowers. But let's be real. She made a whole bunch of us turn on that tv

every week and we didn't know what was going on at the time with our bodies but we're like okay sorry guys yes sir yes sir greg carr uh you get the last word on Nichelle Nichols and how critically important she was to our history, American history, television. I'm glad you made a distinction, Roland, between our history and American history. Because if we're talking about carving faces and putting them up against one another, you know, I'm a child of the South, born in 1965. So, Roy, I echo that, brother. I grew up in, I'm more of a 70s kid, but on that mountain of carved faces alongside our sister, Nichelle Nichols,

and, of course, Pam Greer, I probably put Chaka Khan on that mountain. And also, to go back to the previous gesture toward Mount Rushmore, Wilma Rudolph, quite frankly, because I went to Tennessee State. So I'm thinking about in terms of our community, you know, Althea Gibson obviously had retired by 1958. But, you know, when you start looking at the black press

and you start talking about multi-talented folk and folks who, in Wilma Rudolph's case, stood for social justice, in our community, I think Wilma Rudolph would probably rank and rate a place on both of those mountains if we were talking about that. But in terms of Nichelle Nichols, man, I think Wilmer Rudolph would probably rank and rate a place on both of those mountains, if we were talking about that. But in terms of Nichelle Nichols, man, I mean, it's something interesting you said, Jamel, and again, far be it from me,

you know, Roy Johnson and Jamel Hill here talk about this outside significance of our people in American and world society. But something you said really resonated among many other things that both of you said. I think what disturbed America so much about that kiss, and she writes about this in her memoir, Beyond Uhura, a name, by the way, she picked, because she and Gene Roddenberry

had worked together on a previous Roddenberry series, and she picked that name. She created that character. And then Roddenberry said, well, who do you think would play it? She said, I hope you're talking about me. So that's Nyota. And she said she could be South African, right? I mean, she was thinking in that vein. I think what really disturbed people was the intimacy.

See, cats and dogs don't kiss. They can't have babies, but it ain't but one race, a human race, one species. So the fear there is really built in intimacy in some ways. And you know, Bill Russell has said this as well. He said something about this. He said when people are angry or afraid, they tend to rally around things, a god, a flag or something like that. Well, see, underneath fear is desire.

So while Bill Shatner, that Canadian who still walks the earth, probably enjoyed that kiss. And as and as Nichelle Nichols writes, they cleared the set and made that the last scene they filmed of the day and then they asked her, are you comfortable? She said, well, my mom and daddy were comfortable kissing. My grandparents were comfortable kissing. And her father's father actually had been with a white woman

and that was part of family lore. She said, so I guess I'm okay kissing him. That's very disturbing for people who try to tell you you're not human at the time. Because underneath all that, when the lights go out, I guarantee you, some of them people that would call her the N-word, when the lights went out and they were watching their color television,

Brother Johnson, there was some desire in that. It was quite disturbing. So, you know, I mean, Michelle Nichols and I'll end with this. A sister who, you know, her mom was from Texas, daddy from Illinois. She grew up in Chicago. As you said, she was a singer first. She was a dancer. As a little girl,

Lorraine Hansberry used to walk her to school sometimes because Lorraine Hansberry's father had convinced her father to buy a house in a white neighborhood. I mean, she represented culture. She represented our people. She founded something called the Kwanzaa Foundation later

in life and of course we know Star Trek was only on three years then it went into syndication that's when we all saw it in the 70s in syndication she did she voiced Uhura in the animated series won an Emmy for that and ultimately like my mother

I'm sure your mother, Jamel your mom mom, Roy, your mom, there was a dignity. And by dignity, I don't mean appealing for our humanity to white folk. I mean, out of our community, there was a way you carried yourself. It's something very significant for her to be the communications officer on that bridge. because when she met and talked to Mae Jemison, Mae Jemison broke the NASA rules for eight days straight when she was up circling the Earth and opened it up by saying, opening hailing frequencies. That was the gesture to the woman she called before she went up into space, and that was Nichelle Nichols.

You know, as you say, Jamil, representation matters, and there's a way we should move through the world to remind people that we are not setting our standards by who you think we are, but who we are to ourselves. And Nichelle Nichols, I think, in many ways represented that. Indeed. Jamel, Roy, Greg, always glad to have the three of you sharing thoughts and perspectives. And we appreciate it tonight about Bill Russell and Nichelle Nichols, two who are now ancestors. I see. Folks, a few years ago, we were in Silicon Valley covering the Culture Shift conference.

And at that luncheon hosted by Chris Spencer, they actually had an opportunity to meet Nichelle Nichols. And they actually honored her at that luncheon. She shared a few words. here is what she had to say this is a wonderful time to be out with all of you my name is Nichelle Nichols. I had to read it off of here. I'm an communications officer, lieutenant, later commander, Uhura, aboard the USS Enterprise in the Star Trek television series, as well as the succeeding motion pictures.

I like hanging around and keep working. My role was groundbreaking as one of the first African-American female characters on American television not portrayed as a servant. I also had the first on-screen interracial kiss with the adorable William Shatner, and worked with actor Lynette Nimoy to fight for and achieve pay equity for myself as well as them. My prominent supporting role as a bridge officer

was unprecedented. During the first year of the series, I was tempted to leave the show as I wanted to pursue a Broadway career. However, a conversation with Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and an NAACP fundraiser changed my mind. Dr. King encouraged me to stay on the show, saying I could not give up because I was playing a vital role model for black children and young women across the country, as well as for other children who would see blacks appearing as equals. After Star Trek, I volunteered my time in a special and very successful project with NASA. I recruited the first minority and female personnel for the space agency. I am proud of my pioneering role on Star Trek and know that it

inspired other women who look like me to pursue careers in STEM and beyond. As part of my legacy and to continue to strive for diversity, my manager and I producing Noah's Room, a feature film about a black family that fosters a white child and forever changes their lives and the youth. We aim to have a diverse team of partners join us on this project, and as many female members of our crew as possible, including as our director. I am an unapologetic culture shifter,

and you should be too. I thank you so much. If you want to understand why this show matters, why Black Star Network matters, we were the only media outlet that livestreamed that particular event just a few years ago. Folks, when it comes to honoring our culture, honoring our heroes, it's a little hard to do so if you're never in the room when they are there. And so we certainly appreciate the opportunity to be able to record that event, to cover that particular event like we do all other stories. That's why we were in New York last week. So all of that matters. And so this is why Black-owned media matters. As Freedom's Journal said on March 16, 1827,

we wish to plead our own cause too long have others spoken for us. And that's why this is important. So we appreciate all of you who have spent the time with us honoring these greats. The folks on YouTube, y'all should easily be hitting that Like button. We should be at a thousand easy, same with Facebook as well. And we want you, of course, to support us in what we do. When you hear us out here pushing these advertisers and these agencies to advertise, this is why. You need the dollars to be able to cover these stories. Unfortunately, when we lose our icons, we don't get the same amount of attention on mainstream media. There isn't lots of coverage. They don't

give them their due. We choose to do so. That's why we do these level of tributes right here on the Black Star Network. So as I keep telling you, please download our app on all platforms, Apple phone, Android phone, Apple TV, Android TV, Roku, Amazon Fire TV, Xbox, and Samsung Smart TV. And when you contribute to us, I can assure you where your dollars are going. When you contribute to us, and whether it's our Bring the Funk fan club, it matters. And so if you want to see us continue to do these tributes, to cover these stories, to be on the scene, please support us in what we do.

Your checks and money orders can go to PO Box 57196, Washington, D.C., 20037-0196. And, of course, Cash App is Dallas Sign, RM Unfiltered. PayPal is RMartin Unfiltered. Venmo is RM Unfiltered. Zelle is Roland at RolandSMartin.com. And so we thank you so much, folks. We appreciate all of you for joining us and we'll see you tomorrow. And again, we say so long to two of our ancestors, Michelle Nichols, who passed away Sunday at the age of 89. And Bill Russell, basketball player, activist, humanitarian, passed away at the age of 88.

I'll see you tomorrow. © B Emily Beynon Thank you. This is an iHeart Podcast.