#RolandMartinUnfiltered - Remembering Medgar Evers, Trump Federal Indictment Unsealed, IN Cop Fired For Racist Posts

Episode Date: June 10, 2023

6.9.2023 #RolandMartinUnfiltered: Remembering Medgar Evers, Trump Federal Indictment Unsealed, IN Cop Fired For Racist Posts LIVE from Jackson, Mississippi, at the Voices of Courage & Justice Gala honoring Medgar & Myrlie Evers Donald Trump's 37-count federal indictment is unsealed.  A. Scoot Bolden will join us to break down the charges and give his take on when Trump could face a jury of his peers. The Florida white woman who shot and killed AJ Ownes for defending her children appeared in court for the first time.  We'll let you know if she can get out of jail. A recent Democrats for Education Reform poll suggests more than 70% of Black and Latino voters support public school choice.  The  Executive Director, DFER NY, will be here for our Education Matters segment to explain why school choice is the best option. Download the #BlackStarNetwork app on iOS, AppleTV, Android, Android TV, Roku, FireTV, SamsungTV and XBox  http://www.blackstarnetwork.com The #BlackStarNetwork is a news reporting platforms covered under Copyright Disclaimer Under Section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976, allowance is made for "fair use" for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This is an iHeart Podcast. Taser Incorporated. I get right back there and it's bad. Listen to Absolute Season 1, Taser Incorporated, on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. I always had to be so good no one could ignore me. Carve my path with data and drive. But some people only see who I am on paper. The paper ceiling. The limitations from degree screens to stereotypes that are holding back over 70 million stars.

Workers skilled through alternative routes rather than a bachelor's degree. It's time for skills to speak for themselves. Find resources for breaking through barriers at taylorpapersceiling.org. Brought to you by Opportunity at Work and the Ad Council. I'm Clayton English. I'm Greg Lott. And this is season two of the War on Drugs podcast. Yes, sir. Last year, a lot of the problems of the drug war.

This year, a lot of the biggest names in music and sports. This kind of starts that in a little bit, man. We met them at their homes. We met them at their recording studios. Stories matter, and it brings a face to them. It makes it real. It really does. It makes it real. It really does. It makes it real. Listen to new episodes

of the War on Drugs podcast season two on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. It's Friday, June 9th, 2023, coming up on Roland Martin Unfiltered, streaming live on the Black Star Network. I am live here in Jackson, Mississippi. Lots to break down.

We're here, of course, covering the Mecker and Murley Edwards Institute, all of the events taking place. The 60th anniversary of his assassination is on Monday, and so we'll be talking to folks here for that. Also on today's show, special prosecutor Jack Smith drops the hammer on Donald Trump. Hit with 37 accounts. We'll show you his news conference and get a reaction from attorney Scott Bolden, as well as get national reaction from the likes of President Joe Biden, Mitt Romney, Chris Christie, and many others.

Folks, it's a jam-packed show. You don't want to miss it. It is time to bring the funk. I'm Roland Martin, unfiltered, on the Black Star Network. Let's go. He's got it. Whatever the piss, he's on it. Whatever it is, he's got the scoop, the fact, the fine.

And when it blips, he's right on time. And it's rolling. Best believe he's knowing. Putting it down from sports to news to politics. With entertainment just for kicks. He's rolling. Yeah, yeah. It's Uncle Gro-Gro-Yo.

Yeah, yeah. It's rolling Martin. Yeah, yeah. Rolling with rolling now. Yeah, yeah. He's Roland now. Yeah, yeah. He's funky, he's fresh, he's real the best. You know he's Roland Martel now. Martel!

Good afternoon. Today, an indictment was unsealed, charging Donald J. Trump with felony violations of our national security laws, as well as participating in a conspiracy to obstruct justice. This indictment was voted by a grand jury of citizens in the Southern District of Florida, and I invite everyone to read it in full to understand the scope and the gravity of the crimes charged. The men and women of the United States intelligence community and our armed forces

dedicate their lives to protecting our nation and its people. Our laws that protect national defense information are critical to the safety and security of the United States, and they must be enforced. Violations of those laws put our country at risk. Adherence to the rule of law is a bedrock principle of the Department of Justice, and our nation's commitment to the rule of law sets an example for the world. We have one set of laws in this country, and they apply to everyone. Applying those laws, collecting facts, that's what determines the outcome of an investigation. Nothing more and nothing less.

The prosecutors in my office are among the most talented and experienced in the Department of Justice. They have investigated this case hewing to the highest ethical standards, and they will continue to do so as this case proceeds. It's very important for me to note that the defendants in this case must be presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law. To that end, my office will seek a speedy trial in this matter, consistent with the public interest and the rights of the accused. We very much look forward to presenting our case to a jury of citizens in the Southern District of Florida.

In conclusion, I would like to thank the dedicated public servants of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, with whom my office is conducting this investigation, and who work tirelessly every day upholding the rule of law in our country. I'm deeply proud to stand shoulder to shoulder with them. Thank you very much. Attorney Scott Bolden, a frequent panelist on Roland Martin Unfiltered, is a former federal prosecutor. Here's our conversation about what these charges mean for Donald Trump. All right, Scott, let's get right into this. A lot of Republicans are saying, oh, this is no big deal. Jack Smith laid out how big of a deal this indictment is of Donald Trump.

Yeah, 37 counts. This is very, very serious. They can politicize all they want, but the special prosecutor, Nat Garland, has done a thorough job in bringing 31 counts against 31 documents that were top secret, that were national defense documents, that had to do with nuclear weapons, had to do with an invasion or attack on Iran, as well as documents so sensitive that in our intelligence agreements with five other countries or four other countries, only they could see them, if you will. And so the real question is, these are all unforced errors on Donald Trump's part.

What was he doing with all of these documents? But why did he try to cover it up? And what was he going to do with these documents? Because let me tell you, he's facing 10 to 20 years in jail. And why would you go to jail by not cooperating and turning over these documents? What was so important about keeping them? I think he was going to share them or try to use them to make money or exploit some other company or some other group. Who knows? But they even got a recording of him

admitting he did not declassify the documents. Yeah. And that's in the indictment. It's a speaking indictment. And he knew that he didn't declassify them. This political rhetoric about he could think about it and then declassify them. This political rhetoric about he could think about it and then declassify them, that's all been debunked. But we all knew that bordered on the nonsensical. It just didn't make any sense. But the sheer volume of these documents and the boxes and where he kept them.

But look at the date of the indictment, right, Roland? And look at the date of his first grand jury subpoena and the time frame for all the things he did to lie and cover up and ask his lawyers to lie and cover up and how they moved the documents to different locations, all done after you got the grand jury subpoena. He's been indicted for the cover-up, and what he did after he got that subpoena, not dating back to 2016, that'll be important because that's the cover-up part, and it goes to his state of mind of him wanting to avoid

and keep these documents illegally. Yeah, I mean, he literally lied to his lawyers. He had the documents in his possession, and so he has a subpoena saying to return them, and he's like, nah, I don't feel like doing it. Well, a lot of the questions that he asked the lawyers, remember, there was a court order where the federal district court judge in D.C. said that turn over these documents or rather turn over your note, your attorney notes,

because of the crime fraud exception. Donald Trump was trying to get his lawyers to help him commit a crime. Now, the co-conspirator is this former military valet, but he, in those notes, which have doomed, and a big part of this indictment were the notes from his attorneys based on what he was either asking them, which isn't a big deal because clients ask you about the parameters of their defense all the time. But he actually lied to his own lawyers and tried to get them to lie to DOJ. I got to tell you, this is a speaking indictment, but it's a glaring indictment on Donald Trump. The chickens have come home to roost. And it's all about accountability at this point.

So, Scott, when you see these people out here trying to defend him, saying, oh, this is a witch hunt, this is all political, it's a little hard for them to now yell and scream that we're now faced with this actual unsealing of this indictment. But they ought to be concerned about the national security of this country. I don't care whether you're black, white, yellow, brown, Democrat or Republican. What this indictment says is that he had all of these documents, about hundreds or hundreds or more boxes of them in unsecure locations, and they were trying to avoid disclosing, let alone turning them back over. I don't care about politics. When you get in the courtroom, the criminal justice system is about facts. Those political arguments don't work. And I'll be honest with you, at this reflective point,

it's for the GOP to look and see. I don't care how many MAGA supporters make up the GOP. Is this the time to walk away from Donald Trump? How can you support a candidate and a leader of your party who has not only been found civilly liable for rape, but is under federal indictment now for espionage and conspiracy and pending a state indictment in regard to 31 or more counts of fraud. It's crazy. It's idiocy. Well, and then, you know, it's real when two of his attorneys resigned today, he's got

to go out and get some real lawyers with experience in these sort of cases. He can't just sit here and treat this as some, oh, no big deal. This is now real. Well, but you see, Roland, what's technically wrong about your question is that none of the top white collar criminal defense lawyers who are available normally in these cases based in Washington and New York aren't taking his cases. Oh, no, I know. I know. They're not taking his calls. I know what I'm saying is. He's got secondary level lawyers doing this stuff, at least in my opinion. And now he's got to go find local counsel in Florida. But those lawyers, you know, representing Donald Trump can be dangerous to your

health and your law license. You know, you got to start protecting yourself. Yeah, because, I mean, the rally is, as we see in the indictment, you've got a client who will willingly lie to his attorneys. Look, look, I'm not a lawyer, but lawyers always say,

if it's one person, you can lie to your wife, you can lie to your boss. Right. All right, folks, I had to head inside because the iPhone, you know, when you're outdoors, it overheats. That's what shut us down. So, Scott, before I got cut off, I was saying the one person lawyers always tell you, never, ever, ever lie to your lawyer. Give your lawyer all the information so they can protect you behind this fool. I keep telling everybody, Donald Trump will lie about a lie. Donald Trump will lie when the truth will set him free, what my mother used to say. And in

this case, you know, clients always, I've been doing this about 36 years, clients will always hold back a little bit or they may bend the truth a little bit with you. But it's really a waste of their money because if you don't give your lawyer all the information, then you're probably going to go down. We're going to find out when we talk to the government. And in 36 years, no one's ever told me everything in regard to my my represent rep first initial representation of clients but in this case what he was trying to do one thing to ask about what we can do and what we can't do from a defense standpoint it's another thing but to ask them to co-conspire with you in order to avoid detection of these documents you just simply can't do that because

then the lawyer is going to, the lawyer doesn't want to be a client himself. And so that's why they recorded these notes. This was protection early on because they knew Donald Trump's character and they knew what he's going to try to do or not do. And they simply did not trust him. That really represents somebody that you don't trust, but they didn't trust you. And here's the easy thing. All he had to do was simply return the documents. He did not want to do that. Yeah, and you see, that's going to be the second shoe that drops. There's going to be an investigation.

It's going to come out why he didn't want to turn over these documents. And I'm going to tell you, I'm going to say it on your show today. There's a reason he didn't want to turn over these documents. And I'm going to tell you, I'm going to say it on your show today. There's a reason he didn't want to turn over these documents. He was going to use those documents to exploit something or someone or to try to generate revenues as a result of those documents. That's the only reason you would risk criminal indictment by holding on to those documents. We know he's in financial straits. We know his properties have all been losing money since he became president and ran for president. But that can be the only reason. Follow the money and we'll find the answer. All right, Scott, last question here. And that is, it's June. Will there be a trial

inside of a year? Do you think it comes after the election in November 2024? Well, a couple of thoughts there. In New York, it's scheduled for April or May. That trial is going to go because that judge is going to make it go because they don't care about politics in the criminal justice system. With the federal indictment, we won't know what the trial date is until Tuesday or Thursday at the arraignment. But the federal judge will set that trial date. And the government is always ready for trial. They don't indict until they government is always ready for trial. They don't indict

until they know they're ready for trial. Now, from the defense standpoint, and this is really important, when you're representing someone who's an elected official and running for any office, do you try to get an expedited trial date to get it out of the way if you think you've got a strong case? He could be acquitted and then run and go get the nomination. That's one strategy. The other strategy is delay, delay, delay, because no indictment, no conviction means you got a shot. I can tell you the criminal defense lawyers are contemplating that right now. Expediting discovery and going to trial right away might be a winning strategy and formula. The problem is it becomes impractical.

With Marilyn Mosley, we tried that, and unfortunately, between experts and discovery and government delays, we weren't able to put it off, and she wasn't successful in her reelection effort. So watch for what the trial strategy will be for the defense lawyers. Sooner or later. All right, Scott Bolton, former federal prosecutor.

I appreciate it. Thanks a lot. All right, man. Thanks. Bye bye now. We come back. Reacts from around the country in political circles as folks express their shock and dismay at Donald Trump being hit with these federal charges. You're watching Roland Mark Dunn filter on the Black Star Network live from Jackson, Mississippi. Hatred on the streets. I know a lot of cops and they get asked all the time. Have you ever had to shoot your gun? Sometimes the answer is yes.

But there's a company dedicated to a future where the answer will always be no. Across the country, cops called this taser the revolution. But not everyone was convinced it was that simple. Cops believed everything that taser told them. From Lava for Good and the team that brought you Bone Valley comes a story about what happened when a multi-billion dollar company dedicated itself to one visionary mission. This is Absolute Season 1, Taser Incorporated. I get right back there and it's bad. It's really, really, really bad.

Listen to new episodes of Absolute Season 1, Taser Incorporated on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Binge episodes 1, 2, and 3 on May 21st and episodes 4, 5, and 6 on June 4th. Ad-free at Lava for Good Plus on Apple Podcasts. I'm Clayton English. I'm Greg Lott. And this is Season 2 of the War on Drugs podcast.

Yes, sir. We are back. In a big way. In a very big way. I'm Greg Glod. And this is season two of the War on Drugs podcast. We are back. In a big way. In a very big way. Real people, real perspectives. This is kind of star-studded a little bit, man. We got Ricky Williams, NFL player, Heisman Trophy winner. It's just a compassionate choice to allow players all reasonable means to care for themselves. Music stars Marcus King, John Osborne from Brothers Osborne. We have this misunderstanding of what this quote-unquote drug thing is. Benny the Butcher.

Brent Smith from Shinedown. We got B-Real from Cypress Hill. NHL enforcer Riley Cote. Marine Corvette. MMA fighter Liz Caramouch. What we're doing now isn't working and we need to change things. Stories matter and it brings a face to them.

It makes it real. It really does. It makes it real. Listen to new episodes of the War on Drugs podcast season two on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. And to hear episodes one week early and ad free with exclusive content, subscribe to Lava for Good Plus on Apple Podcasts. Sometimes as dads, I think we're too hard on ourselves. We get down on ourselves on not being able to, you know, we're the providers, but we also have to learn to take care of ourselves.

A wrap-up way, you got to pray for yourself as well as for everybody else, but never forget yourself. Self-love made me a better dad because I realized my worth. Never stop being a dad. That's dedication. Find out more at fatherhood.gov. Brought to you by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the Ad Council. Horrific scene.

A white nationalist rally that descended into deadly violence. You will not be white people. As we approach Trump mob storms in the U.S. Capitol, we're about to see the rise of what I call white minority resistance. We have seen white folks in this country who simply cannot tolerate black folks voting. I think what we're seeing is the inevitable result of violent denial. This is part of American history. Every time that people of color have made progress, whether real or symbolic, there has been what Carol Anderson at every university calls white rage as a backlash.

This is the life of the Proud Boys and the Boogaloo Boys. America, there's going to be more of this. There's all the Proud Boys, guys. This country is getting increasingly racist in its behaviors and its attitudes because of the fear of white people. The fear that they're taking our jobs, they're taking our resources, they're taking our women. This is right now. Thank you for being the voice of black America. All the momentum we have now, we have to keep this going.

The video looks phenomenal. See, there's a difference between Black Star Network and black-owned media and something like CNN. You can't be black-owned media and be scared. It's time to be smart. Bring your eyeballs home, you dig? Hi, I'm Jo Marie Payton, voice of Sugar Mama on Disney's Louder and Prouder Disney Plus, and I'm with Roland Martin on Unfiltered. Welcome back to Roland Martin Unfiltered right here on the Black Star Network. Democrats and Republicans have been reacting to the news of the indictment against Donald Trump.

Here is what different folks had to say. Much better the second time in the election than the first. And they go after him on a boxers hoax, just like the Russia, Russia, Russia hoax, and all of the others. This has been going on for seven years. They can't stop because it's election interference at the highest level.

There's never been anything like what's happened. I'm an innocent man. I'm an innocent person. They had the Mueller hoax, the Mueller report, and that came out, no collusionusion after two and a half years. That was set up by Hillary Clinton and Democrats. But this is what they do. This is what they do so well. If they would devote their energies to honesty and integrity, it would be a lot better for our country.

They could do a lot better. They could do a lot of great things. But when you look at what's happened to our country in the last three years, we were energy independent. We had a strong military that wasn't woke. We were doing so well. We were respected all over the world. We got the biggest tax cuts in history, biggest regulation cuts in history. And what do you do? You have a president where an election was taken, got more votes than any sitting president in history by far, never anything even close. And they come after me because now we're leading in the polls again by a lot against Biden and against the Republicans by a lot. But we're leading against Biden by a lot, a tremendous amount. And we went up to a level that they figured the way they're going to stop us is by using what's called

warfare. And that's what it is. This is warfare for the law. And we can't let it happen. We can't let it happen. Our country is going to hell. And they come after Donald Trump, weaponizing the Justice Department, weaponizing the FBI. We can't let this continue to go on because it's ripping our country to shreds. We have such big problems and this shouldn't be one of them. It's a hoax. The whole thing is a hoax, just like Russia, Russia, Russia, just like the fake dossier was a hoax. You saw the Durham report. You saw the Mueller report. It was all a big hoax. You had two impeachments and they lost and we won. And we had tremendous support. But that was a hoax and a scam.

And now they're doing it again. It's just a continuation, seven years, even after I'm out. But it's called election interference. They're trying to destroy a reputation so they can win an election. That's just as bad as doing any of the other things that have been done over the last number of years, and especially during the 2020 election. So I just want to tell you, I'm an innocent man. I did nothing wrong. And we'll fight this out, just like we've been fighting

for seven years. It would be wonderful if we could devote our full time to making America great again. And that's exactly what we did. But now, again, our country is in decline. We're a failing nation. And this is what they do. I'm an innocent man. We will prove that again. Seven years of proving it. And here we go again. Very unfair.

But that's the way it is. I just want to thank everybody. We are doing something very special for our country. We're putting America first. I always put America first. And that's why we were in a position. Unfortunately, that position is no longer valid because they've done such a poor job. But we're in a position where we're going to make America great again. I'm innocent and we will prove that very, very soundly and hopefully very quickly. Thank you very much. By the administration of a sitting president who's also a potential rival in the upcoming election. You know, after years of politicization in the Justice Department, years that I lived through as vice president, watching

the FBI make a decision not to bring charges against Hillary Clinton for mishandling classified information to see two and a half years of the Russia hoax that hung over our administration as we fought to turn America around that still made it more secure and more prosperous than ever before and now we know that the Russia hoax was entirely based on on materials that should have never resulted in an FBI investigation, according to the Durham report. In the days that have followed that, we saw the big tech and big media literally suppress a story about the Hunter Biden laptop in the days leading up to the 2020 campaign. And we've seen, frankly, this Department of Justice slow walk investigations into the

president and into his family as well. And I and so I think it's deeply troubling to see an indictment against a former president of the United States. I had hoped that the Department of Justice would see its way clear to resolve this matter without an indictment and said so earlier this week. I mean, an indictment against a former president, I think, is going to be extraordinarily divisive at a very challenging time for American families. I also believe it sends a terrible message to the wider world. That being said, let me be clear on a few points. No one is above the law. And in America, we have to stand on the rule

of law, irrespective of politics. Secondly, the handling of classified materials is a very serious matter in this nation. My years as vice president, my years serving on the International Relations Committee and the House of Representatives. It's important that we protect the nation's secrets. It's one of the reasons why, after the multiple disclosures at President Biden's home of classified materials that he had retained from his days as Vice President and as President, that we thought it was appropriate for us to have our records examined. And we found that there was a small number of classified materials that had been stored inadvertently with our materials as well. We fully cooperated with the FBI's investigation.

I took full responsibility for it. I'm pleased that last week the Department of Justice determined that it was an innocent mistake. But let me be clear, it was a mistake. Protecting the nation's secrets is absolutely vital to securing this country in the days ahead. Now, on the matter involving

the president's indictment, let me be clear. As much of the national media rushes off with a predictable rush to judgment, no one knows the facts. It's the reason why this morning I called on Attorney General Merrick

Garland to unseal the indictment immediately and stand before the American people and answer questions as to why an indictment of a former president of the United States was appropriate in this matter. I learned just moments ago that the department of justice has scheduled a press conference this afternoon and I welcome that. The American people have a right to know why it was necessary for the first time in history to

bring an indictment of this nature against a former president of the United States. Finally, I think it's important to remember that in America, everyone is entitled to be presumed innocent until they're proven guilty. And the former president has every right to a presumption of innocence in the days and

months ahead as this matter proceeds. And I would just urge all my fellow Americans in two ways. Be patient. No one knows exactly what the facts in the law are in this case. And I think it's important that we wait. And each American will understand the facts, and we can each make our own judgment about whether or not

this was an appropriate action or whether or not there's one more example of the politicization and weaponization that's taken place in the Department of Justice in recent years. And finally, I just encourage people to pray. Pray for the former president and his family as they endure this latest controversy. I pray for all those in positions of authority that they would have wisdom and be committed to justice. And in the end, I'd say pray for all the American people. In these challenging times, I think we do well to remember to turn to that wellspring of support

that has always strengthened us since the early days of our nation's founding. With that, finally, I'll just simply say the pledge that I made today when I announced my intention to seek the Republican nomination for president of the United States, that if I have the privilege to serve as your president, on day

one, we're going to clean house at the highest level of the Department of Justice. We're going to appoint men and women of integrity who will restore public confidence in equal treatment under the law. So help me God. Quote, I will not going to speak to hypothetical questions. Mr. Vice president, let me ask you.

You're talking about the department of justice being political. Are these charges against him, are they political? I don't think we know the facts. And I think it's important that

we know the facts. I think it's important that we know the facts. I think it's important that we know the facts. I think it's important that we know the facts. I think it's important that we

know the facts. I think it's important that we know the facts. I think it's important that we know the facts. I think it's important that we know the facts. You know, talking about the Department of Justice being political, these charges against them, are they political? I don't think we know the facts. And I think it's important that we allow the process to be made public to the American people. It's one of the reasons why this morning I think I was the first to call on Attorney General Merrick Garland to unseal the indictment, stand before the American people, and explain the justification for the first time in America. Well, look, I don't know, Brian, exactly what they're going to find

and what's going to come in any indictment that may come. But I will say this. The problem with all this is that it's self-inflicted. You know, in the end, I don't know that the government even knew that Joe Biden had those documents or not, but they did know Donald Trump did. And in fact, asked for them voluntarily for over a year and a quarter

and got them back in dribs and drabs. And at least if you believe the accounts that you're reading right now, and I take them with a grain of salt because I did this work for seven years and I know you can't believe anything until an indictment comes out if in fact you're keeping those things knowingly even after the government has asked for you to bring them back the excuses about oh they were

classified were declassified automatically when I left the office well that's just wrong I mean I know that as a legal matter and the problem with this is let's go to pull it back for a second. It's a bigger problem whether he's indicted or not, because these are all self-inflicted wounds. Return the documents and stop doing this. Why do you have to be the center of negative attention all the time? Why do you have to be angry all the time? And that's what Donald Trump has done.

So I'll wait to see and make a judgment on the indictment if and when one comes. But certainly, as you know, on the Alvin Bragg stuff, I said at the time, that's a ridiculous indictment and one that I would have never brought as a prosecutor. But it doesn't mean that the next one and the next one are not going to be problematic. And by the way, that's weight that Donald Trump

will have to carry if he's the nominee into a general election uh in in November and why do we want to take that risk have you spoken to Attorney General Merrick Garland yet I have not spoken at all I'm not going to speak to him no comment but we come back to Roland bar down I know a lot of cops, and they get asked all the time, have you ever had to shoot your gun? Sometimes the answer is yes. But there's a company dedicated to a future where the answer will always be no. Across the country, cops call this taser the revolution. But not everyone was convinced it was that simple.

Cops believed everything that Taser told them. From Lava for Good and the team that brought you Bone Valley comes a story about what happened when a multi-billion dollar company dedicated itself to one visionary mission. This is Absolute Season One, Taser Incorporated. I get right back there and it's bad. It's really, really, really bad. Listen to new episodes of Absolute Season 1, Taser Incorporated on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Binge episodes 1, 2, and 3 on May 21st and episodes 4, 5, and 6 on June 4th. Ad-free at Lava for Good Plus on Apple Podcasts.

I'm Clayton English. I'm Greg Glod. And this is season two of the War on Drugs podcast. We are back. In a big way. In a very big way. Real people, real perspectives. This is kind of star-studded a little bit, man.

We got Ricky Williams, NFL player, Heisman Trophy winner. It's just a compassionate choice to allow players all reasonable means to care for themselves. Music stars Marcus King, John Osborne from Brothers Osborne. We have this misunderstanding of what this quote-unquote drug thing is. Benny the Butcher. Brent Smith from Shinedown. We got B-Real from Cypress Hill. NHL enforcer Riley Cote.

Marine Corvette. MMA fighter Liz Karamush. What we're doing now isn't working, and we need to change things. Stories matter, and it brings a face to them. It makes it real. It really does. It makes it real.

Listen to new episodes of the War on Drugs podcast season two on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. And to hear episodes one week early and ad-free with exclusive content, subscribe to Lava for Good Plus on Apple Podcasts. Sometimes as dads, I think we're too hard on ourselves. We get down on ourselves on not being able to, you know, we're the providers, but we also have to learn to take care of ourselves. A wrap-away, you've got to pray for yourself as well as for everybody else, but never forget yourself.

Self-love made me a better dad because I realized my worth. Never stop being a dad. That's dedication. Find out more at fatherhood.gov. Brought to you by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the Ad Council. I'll show you a tour of the office of Medgar Evers, the NAACP field secretary of Mississippi, who was gunned down 60 years ago on Monday by white supremacists. You're watching Roller Martin Unfiltered right here on the Black Star Network.

That was a pivotal, pivotal time. I remember Kevin Hart telling me that. He's like, man, what you doing, man? You got to stay on stage. And I was like, yeah, well, I'm. You know, y'all think I'm good. And he was absolutely right. What shows you at the time? This was one-on-one.

During that time. So you're doing one-on-one, going great, you're making money, you're like... I'm like, I don't need to leave. I don't need to leave from Wednesday, Thursday to Sunday. I just don't want to do that. You know, it was just like, I'm going to stay here. Or I didn't want to finish work Friday, fly out,

go do a gig Saturday, Sunday. I was like, I don't have to do that. And I lost a little bit of that hunger that I had in New York. I would hit all the clubs and run around. You know, sometimes me and Chappelle or me and this one or that one, we'd go to the Comedy Cellar at one in the morning. I mean, that was our life.

We loved it. You know, you do two shows in Manhattan, go to Brooklyn, leave Brooklyn, go to Queens, go to Jersey. And I kinda just, I got complacent. I was like, I got this money, I'm good. I don't need to go, I don't need to go chase that because that money wasn't at the same level that I was making,

but what I was missing was that training. Was that, was that. And it wasn't the money. It was the money. You know, it was that, that's what I needed. Coming up next on The Frequency, right here on the Black Star Network, Shanita Hubbard.

We're talking about the ride or die chick. We're breaking it down. The stereotype of the strong black woman. Some of us are operating with it as if it's a badge of honor. Like you even hear black women like aspiring to be this ride or die chick, aspiring to be this strong black woman at their own expense. Next on The Frequency,

right here on the Black Star Network. Hi, my name is Brady Riggs. I'm from Houston, Texas. My name is Sharon Williams. I'm from Dallas, Texas. Right now I'm rolling with Roland Martin, unfiltered, uncut, unplugged, and undamned believable. You hear me?

Welcome back to Roland Martin Unfiltered here on the Black Star Network. We are here, folks, because behind me, the Jackson Convention Center, is where they're having the gala tonight for the Medgar and Murley Evers Institute. It was 60 years ago when Medgar Evers was gunned down by white supremacist, Byron Della Beckwith, as he returned home. He was killed right there in his driveway. And the last time I was here, I actually got an opportunity to tour the office,

tour the office where Medgar Evers did his work fighting on behalf of African-Americans. And here it is. All right, folks. All right. So we'll take a tour of this facility here with Derek Johnson, also Frank Finnegan. He's going to give you a tour guide as well. Plus, we'll check out the office of the Grand Prince. All right, gents. All right. Frank? Yes, sir. How you doing? All right. All right. Folks are watching our live stream. So where are you taking us? All right. We're going to look at the Masonic Temple, perhaps the most historically significant building in the state of Mississippi, maybe even the South. This was, since 1955, the home of the Mississippi State Conference NAACP.

So Anthony, swing around this way. We'll just walk that way. You get in front of us. Come on. All right, Frankie, go keep going. So the Mississippi State Conference of NAACP since 1955 has had office space in this building because of the benevolence and kindheartedness of the Prince Hall affiliate masons of the state of Mississippi. But before that, in the early 1900s, at the founding of the NAACP, Ms. Ida B. Wells, who left Mississippi to go to Niagara to a meeting that was concerning the lynching of people of African descent in this country, was supported by the Prince Hall affiliate masons of the state of Mississippi and their male and female counterparts. So the relationship is like it's jointed, like they joined together from the inception. All right, let's go upstairs, y'all.

All right, so let's go upstairs, y'all. All right, so let's go. Now, obviously, when I came up here, Frank, I saw this here. And so for the folks who don't know, I know, and Derek, you canrell, you can explain to the folks what the Sovereignty Commission is. The Mississippi State Sovereignty Commission was a taxpayer-funded organization that spied on people and whose purpose it was to prevent the owning up of Mississippi to the disenfranchised citizens. They did anything, any means necessary. This was funded by the state. Yes. So black people were paying for a commission to spy on them.

Yes. It was 1954 after the Supreme Court decision came out. The state of Mississippi was seeking ways to prevent integration of public education and to thwart any effort of African Americans from voting. The Sovereign Commission was created for that effort.

The spy agency was so egregious, it provided the Klan the information needed which led to the assassination of Michael Chaney, Andrew Goodman, and Mickey Schroerner. Hundreds of people were assassinated as a result of the Mississippi Sovereignty Commission. The files were finally opened in 1992 and in 1993 when people really realized how egregious the activities of this spy agency was. We believe there are other spy agencies that were created across the south. The Mississippi side of the commission was the one

that we were able to uncover as a result of one of the first black state senators, Henry Kirksey, stumbling across the files and making enough noise over time, which forced the state to open the records. All right, then. Now, also, so I'll just slide this way. So, Frank, this photo here, obviously, when it came in, you see, obviously, Dr. King here, but explain Roy Wilkins. Explain this photo. This photograph is a picture that was taken after the funeral of assassinated Medgar Evers,

who at one time served as the field secretary of the Mississippi State Conference. And that funeral was here. And that funeral was here in this building and there was an overflow crowd of over 3 000 people in attendance and that is a part of that crowd they were leaving this building and marching downtown uh it was an impromptu march and they were going that wasn't planned it wasn't planned before the funeral but because of the nature and the horribleness of this murder, people were just overcome. And they wanted to do something. And they marched from this building to downtown.

But they were men. Yes. But the significance of Roy Wilkins and King being together in this photo, SCSC only came to exist as a result of NWSB being banned from Alabama. Right. And Edie Nixon was the creator of the concept of the Montgomery bus boycott. And it was through Edie Nixon and Rosa Parks, prior to King coming on the scene, they had organized that community.

When NACB was banned from Alabama, they organized the Southern Christian Leadership Conference. Mega Evers drove over. He was the original secretary of SCLC. So SCLC is NAACP only because they were banned from Alabama, but it grew out to be something different as well. All right, then. All right, so now we're going in here. And so this is the office. Yes, now, if in 1950, 556, 558, all the way through 63, you wrote to Medgar Evers, the field secretary, you would write Medgar Evers, Mississippi State Conference field secretary, 1072 John R. Lynch Street, Suite 7, Jackson, Mississippi.

But Medgar Evers' real office was in Suite 10. Suite 7 is a room on the front of the building with a lot of natural light and glass. But because of the strategic nature of the work that Mega Evers did, making two Mississippis one Mississippi, you had to be careful. Yeah, because you still got the bullet holes, right? Yes. So his office was in the corner in the back in Sweet Ten. All Ten. It is recognized the strategic nature of Mega Evers and his counterparts. They were World War II veterans. Our whole infrastructure was built off a set of individuals who came back from World War II, decided not to leave, and Mega Evers was the person who took on the job,

but you had Steptoe, you had C.C. Bryan, Aaron Henry, M.Z. Moore. They were across the state of Mississippi, and they all carried guns because they were World War II veterans. That was important. Very important. All right, then. How y'all doing? We're great. How are you?

Good, good. Good, good. I know a lot of cops, and they get asked all the time, have you ever had to shoot your gun? Sometimes the answer is yes. But there's a company dedicated to a future where the answer will always be no. Across the country, cops call this taser the revolution. But not everyone was convinced it was that simple. Cops believed everything that taser told them.

From Lava for Good and the team that brought you Bone Valley comes a story about what happened when a multibillion-dollar company dedicated itself to one visionary mission. This is Absolute Season 1, Taser Incorporated. I get right back there and it's bad. It's really, really, really bad.

Listen to new episodes of Absolute Season 1, Taser Incorporated, on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Binge episodes 1, 2, and 3 on May 21st, and episodes 4, 5, and 6 on June 4th. Ad-free at Lava for Good Plus on Apple Podcasts. I'm Clayton English.

I'm Greg Lott. And this is season two of the War on Drugs podcast. Yes, sir. We are back. In a big way. In a very big way. Real people, real perspectives. This is kind of star-studded a little bit, man. We got Ricky Williams, NFL player, Heisman Trophy winner.

It's just a compassionate choice to allow players all reasonable means to care for themselves. Music stars Marcus King, John Osborne from Brothers Osborne. We have this misunderstanding of what this quote-unquote drug man. Benny the Butcher. Brent Smith from Shinedown. We got B-Real from Cypress Hill. NHL enforcer Riley Cote. Marine Corvette.

MMA fighter Liz Karamush. What we're doing now isn't working, and we need to change things. Stories matter, and it brings a face to them. It makes it real. It really does. It makes it real. Listen to new episodes of the War on Drugs podcast season two on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

And to hear episodes one week early and ad-free with exclusive content, subscribe to Lava for Good Plus on Apple Podcasts. Here's the deal. We got to set ourselves up. See, retirement is the long game. We got to make moves and make them early. Set up goals. Don't worry about a setback.

Just save up and stack up to reach them. Let's put ourselves in the right position. Pre-game to greater things. Start building your retirement plan at thisispreetirement.org. Brought to you by AARP and the Ad Council. So this was the office of Medgar Evers. It is important to say that this also was the immediate past Mississippi State Conference President's office, who was recently promoted to the National Conference of NAACP.

What's this little capital thing up there? national state, the national conference of NAACP. It's not about him. It's the president, Mr. Derek Johnson. What's his little cap of thing up there? Well, you know, that fellow there, he's the executive director. I was about to say, I was about to say, what's the little cap of thing? When I came to here, I said, what's the little cap of thing? It's not a little cap of thing. It's the big cap of thing. That's little.

And so Dr. Corey Wiggins is now the executive director for NAACP, Ph.D. And what is it, Corey? Health something. Health behavior. Health behavior. But he's been leading a lot of the effort in terms of get out the vote information. You want to share some of your metrics from? Well, actually, I mean, how does it mean for both of you? How does it feel to literally work in Halliburton?

It can be a lot sometimes, but I think we're up for the challenge. I mean, I'm fortunate to have Derek, who was doing this work before me, and able to build up on the foundation that he set in this work. Even with this election, this historic opportunity that we have to turn people out to vote. I mean, that's why so many of the folks who gave their lives like Omega Everest did this work. And I think that it's our job and our duty today is to stand on their shoulders, those giants, both named and unnamed, to continue this work forward here. And obviously this is a book cover, Bernie Evers-William Williams and Manny Marable

on Medgar Evers. And I think y'all haven't taken these down. They've probably been here from the beginning too to keep all the crazies out. Hey look, this building is historic and again even when we talk about the work and the work to keep all the crazies out. Hey, look, this building is historic. And again, even when we talk about the work and the work today, we've had members and ACP members for the past three or four weeks hitting doors, knocking on doors to get people out to vote.

Just in the past three weeks, we hit over 94,000 doors, talking to people about getting out to vote, why they should vote and exercising their right, and continuing their work leading up to this runoff We got next Tuesday. All right, then What would you gonna show us now? So in addition to that? Just just a point of the danger of the work That the NAACP was involved in.

Lynch Street at that time didn't look like it was now, like it does now. It was open thoroughfare, and people traveled from Highway 80 as a shortcut to downtown, down Lynch Street. So it was open to drive-by shootings. And these bullet holes in the windows indicate how people would drive by shooting up in this building. Hey, y'all purposely have it replaced with a reminder of what was. And about the assassin, a military-trained

sharpshooter. They call it something else now. But a military-trained assassin came up here posing as a newspaper journalist twice. We know of. So he actually stopped megaevers

all right that's it this is a two-hour thing and i and i kind of do need to say that not only was this the home of the Mississippi State Conference NAACP and the home of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, as Mr. Johnson has said, it also was the home at one time of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee and the Congress of Racial Equality. Those organizations and the 70-plus local indigenous organizations formed an umbrella organization called the Council of Federated Organizations here in Mississippi in this building. And then because of space, they moved down the street to their own facility under the banner of COFA. Well, folks, I wanted to give you a perspective of this. You likely haven't seen before.

And also, of course, while we're standing here, you see this poster here, I want to give you guys a perspective of this. You likely haven't seen before. And also, of course, while we're standing here, you see this poster here. The NWCP urges you to vote 1964-1999. First of all, very, very powerful photo there as well. When we come back on Roland Martin Unfiltered, I'll show you the home where Medgar Evers was gunned down that's now a national monument. You're watching Roland Martin Unfiltered on the Black Star Network. When you talk about blackness and what happens in black culture,

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Venmo is RMUnfiltered. Zelle is Roland at RolandSMartin.com. On a next A Balanced Life with me, Dr. Jackie, beware the generational curse. They're everywhere in our families, in our workplaces, and even in our churches. It's like a minefield, identifying the curse and knowing what to do about it. When we're talking about generational patterns, oftentimes we get locked into those patterns because we don't want anyone to say, oh, you're acting brand new, or you're doing something different from how this is how we always did it. It's okay to do something different in order to get the results that you want to see in your life

that's next on a balanced life on black star network my name is lena charles and i'm from opelousis louisiana yes that is zodiacco capital of the world. My name is Margaret Chappelle. I'm from Dallas, Texas, representing the Urban Trivia Game. It's me, Sherri Shepherd, and you know what you're watching. Roland Martin on Unfiltered. Welcome back to Roland Martin Unfiltered, folks.

I went by the home of Medgar and Merle Evers, the home where he was gunned down. And it really was a surreal experience. And so I wanted to show you that again, because that home is now, of course, is a national monument. They had commemoration services there. And then on Monday, Monday, what, Mark, June 12th, the 60th anniversary. Medgar Evers was gunned down. And it really is a place where we lost one of our greatest freedom fighters, a man who was so well known in this state. Thousands mourn his death. The airport is named after him. And 60 years later, they still talk about the great work and commitment of Medgar Evers. 332 Margaret Walker Alexander Drive here in Jackson, Mississippi.

And behind me is the home, the home that was of Merle Evers and Medgar Evers. Now, of course, he was the NAACP's field secretary and Army veteran, of course, who was working to get voting rights and other civil rights on behalf of African-Americans. And so as you see here, this is a part of the Mississippi Freedom Trail. And so you see the sign here that exists that lays out in terms of the home here. And of course, he was assassinated June 12, 1963. And this was placed on the 50th anniversary of the Freedom Riots, which took place in 2011. Now, if you come on to this side over anniversary of the Freedom Rides, which took place in 2011. Now, if you come on to this side over here of the sign, what you will see is an explanation that this was a three-bedroom home and it was the first middle-class subdivision built by black developers here in Jackson.

So there's lots of information here about, of course, this neighborhood, the home, but also Medgar Evers and who he was. And, of course, he, a major leader. I mean, he was a huge leader here in Mississippi who gave his life on behalf of civil rights. And so what took place, folks, we're going to walk this way. So what took place the night President John F. Kennedy was given a speech about the importance of a civil rights bill. What happened was, Medgar Evers was coming home, his family was inside watching the speech, and then, of course, across the street, take a shot there, take a shot across

the street. Across the street, hiding behind the cross, in those wooded area there, was a white supremacist, Byron Della Beckwith. And so when Medgar Evers came home, he pulled into the driveway here and then his car pulled in and he went to the back of his car to get some items out of his car, some T-shirts and signs. And that's when the shots rang out of the killed Medgar Evers. Of course, he was hit. Then, of course, he crawled his way up this driveway right here to the steps where his wife and his children came out. And, of course, it was horrible for them to actually see their husband and father shot and killed. And what you see here, of course, you see here, this, of course, is a National Historic Landmark. And so you see the sign right here that says that the bullet passed through Medgar's body and crashed through the

lower left pane of the living room window. So the bullet went through his body and hit the window. And of course, and it has all the details here. These photos were taken by the Jackson Police Department shortly after his murder. And you see an aerial shot as well where it took place. And it says here that the aerial view shows the Edwards home at the very top of the photograph. It depicts where assassin Barndell LeBec was car was seen earlier by witnesses at Joe's drive-in. And of course, his spot number two indicates Beckwith's hiding place from which he fired the shot that killed Medgar Evers. And so, of course, as I said, it's a National Historic Landmark. And you see some of the other photos that are up here as well, their marks. And so the image over here, this was the car that Medgar Evers was driving,

the white car. And then, of course, he was shot. And then again, after he was shot, he made his way, crawled under the carport to his family there. Why is this important? Because Medgar Evers was an American hero. Medgar Evers was a brother who gave his life for civil rights. Here we are in Mississippi, 2018. He was assassinated June 12, 1963. And it was his death that was one of the sparks that led to the 1964 Civil Rights Act and, of course, the 1965 Voting Rights Act. And this is a man who, again, gave his life. He was fighting on behalf of other black folks. He gave his, he served his country, served in the military, bled, came home, but could not enjoy

those same freedoms. And so here we are in 2018, U.S. Senate race, African-American Mike Espy running for the United States Senate. The election will take place on November 27th. For a lot of people out there, they say, well, I don't really see why it matters. The reality is it matters because we're standing on hallowed ground. We're standing on the very place where Medgar Evers died in order for people to have the right to vote. You might not say that doesn't mean anything. The reality is the wife, children lost their father in order for us to have the right to vote. Folks, while I am here, I am sitting down with his widow,

Merlee Everest Williams, and we're going to have that interview for you later on the Black Star Network. But I wanted to share this a little bit with you of when I caught up with her at the funeral of Dick Gregory that took place in Maryland. I praise him who has brought us all together this day. Dick Gregory, for his being that invited us here today to reconnect with each other, reconnect with our memories, and hopefully to rededicate ourselves to those things that Dick Gregory worked and believed in. That the names of other people that have been mentioned here believed in. Of seeing the children

of leaders who have gone on before us, stand here as adults, speak the truth of their parents, speak the truth of their generations, speak the truth about what should be America today and forever. Let us not forget who we are. Let us not forget that there is still a job to be done. And each and every one of us has a responsibility to carry forth all that needs to be done to complete that job in the name of so many. I know a lot of cops and they get asked all the time, have you ever had to shoot your gun? Sometimes the answer is yes, But there's a company dedicated to a future where the answer will always be no. Across the country, cops called this taser the revolution. But not everyone was convinced it was that simple.

Cops believed everything that taser told them. From Lava for Good and the team that brought you Bone Valley comes a story about what happened when a multi-billion dollar company dedicated itself to one visionary mission. Bone Valley comes a story about what happened when a multi-billion dollar company dedicated itself to one visionary mission. This is Absolute Season One, Taser Incorporated. I get right back there and it's bad. It's really, really, really bad. Listen to new episodes of Absolute Season One, Taser Incorporated, on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Binge episodes 1, 2, and 3 on May 21st and episodes 4, 5, and 6 on June 4th.

Add free at Lava for Good Plus on Apple Podcasts. I'm Clayton English. I'm Greg Lott. And this is Season 2 of the War on Drugs podcast. We are back. In a big way. In a very big way. Real people, real perspectives.

This is kind of star-studded a little bit, man. We got Ricky Williams, NFL player, Heisman Trophy winner. It's just a compassionate choice to allow players all reasonable means to care for themselves. Music stars Marcus King, John Osborne from Brothers Osborne. We have this misunderstanding of what this quote-unquote drug man. Benny the Butcher. Brent Smith from Shinedown.

We got B-Real from Cypress Hill. NHL enforcer Riley Cote. Marine Corvette. MMA fighter Liz Karamush. What we're doing now isn't working and we need to change things. Stories matter, and it brings a face to them. It makes it real.

It really does. It makes it real. Listen to new episodes of the War on Drugs podcast season two on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. And to hear episodes one week early and ad-free with exclusive content, subscribe to Lava for Good Plus on Apple Podcasts. I always had to be so good no one could ignore me. Carve my path with data and drive. But some people only see who I am on paper.

The paper ceiling. The limitations from degree screens to stereotypes that are holding back over 70 million stars. Workers skilled through alternative routes rather than a bachelor's degree. It's time for skills to speak for themselves. Find resources for breaking through barriers at taylorpapersceiling.org, brought to you by Opportunity at Work and the Ad Council. And Dick Gregory, thank you for pulling us all here together today. I have heard words that have lifted me. I have heard songs that have made me wipe the tears from my eyes today.

I have a feeling of emotion that is so deep I find it difficult to explain because I know deep within me and the hearts and the souls of so many people, we realize that today we have as much of a job to do for justice and equality than we have ever had before in this country. Dick Gregory, I thank you for being the momentum to pull us together, to help us to see what still must be done. Someone said to me many, many years ago, you know, Dick Gregory is going to be here with us. And I said, Dick, Dick Gregory, you know, the comedian. Dick Gregory, the comedian. comedian. Dick Gregory the comedian. So much more than the comedian.

A man who had the insight into humanity. A man who felt the strength to lead and show us the way that we must go as individuals and as a group to preserve humanity, to preserve his people, to look after our children and to be sure that they don't have to go through the same things that his generation, my generation, generations before had to go through. I've heard the term, turn me loose, mentioned a couple of times today. And it brought back memories to me because they recorded the last words spoken by Medgar Evers as he lay in the hospital and life leaving his body. Those words were, turn me loose. And I thought grammatically, that's not correct Medgar but turn me loose has something to say to all of us regardless of our age that we are still in a kind of bondage that Dick Gregory worked so hard

to pull us through with laughter and with tears how blessed we are to have known him how blessed we are to have had the families and to have the families that we have here dick's family we thank you so much i remember the times that we met at our home and I said to him, I don't think I can go along with this any longer. He simply looked at me and said, but you will. I'll never forget that. But you will. So as we say, turn me loose, yes you will. Dick Gregory was the epitome of what leadership should be.

He gave us a sense of laughter that took us through the dark and weary days and years. He is here. His family is here. And I recall so well when Dick was on the health drive and we put on our shorts and we ran around Los Angeles City Hall as many times as we could. Dick left us in the dust. I'm saying to you today, he has left us in the dust again. But he has left us with the message, hurry and catch me if you can. And that's the challenge that we have today. We love the family.

You are our family and we are yours. The memories of that race, as he would have us do in his memory and in his honor. Thank you. All right, folks, got to go to a break when we come back. More on Roland Barton Unfiltered right here from Jackson, Mississippi, at the Convention Center. We are here with the 60th commemoration of the assassination of Medgar Evers with the Medgar and Murley Evers Institute right here. So don't tune in with us. We'll be right back, folks.

So hold tight. More to come. Some great content for you right here on Roland Martin Unfiltered on the Black Star Network. On the next Get Wealthy with me, Deborah Owens, America's Wealth Coach. Are you working hard and yet your performance doesn't reflect your paycheck? On the next Get Wealthy, you're going to learn some savvy career moves so that all your efforts actually show up in your bank account. Joining us is the founder of a career network, and she's going to share the three R's of accelerating your financial growth. Here's a tip as well. If you are an individual contributor and you desire to be a leader, do the work where you are now. Because if you do the work where you are now,

when you do reach the level, you'll be prepared to stay there. Right here on Get Wealthy, only on Black Star Network. Next on The Black Table with me, Greg Carr. The Supreme Court is back in session. God help us all. It is no exaggeration to say that this current session could completely reshape this country and redirect our future for generations to come.

And not in a good way. We invite Dr. Belithia Watkins and Professor Angela Porter, our legal roundtable, back to the show to put it all in perspective. That's on the next Black Table. Please don't miss it right here on the Black Star Network. What's up everybody? It's your girl Latasha from the A. And you're watching Roland Martin Unfiltered. Hey, folks, Roland Martin here. We are live in Jackson, Mississippi, where the

Medgar and Merle Evers Institute, they are having their week long of activities. Monday marks the 60th anniversary of the death of Medgar Evers. He was assassinated in the driveway by white supremacist Byron Della Beckwith. All week, they've had various events for millennials and Gen Z folks, different sessions. Today, they had workshops as well. And so tonight, in about an hour, they're going to be having their gala honoring a number of different people, including James Meredith, Congressman Benny Thompson, and others. And so Merle E Evers-Wheels is making her way over here. And so, when she comes here, I'm going to toss it back to the studio.

They're going to take the show away. So, I'm going to do a one-on-one interview with her. And so, we'll do that. But right now, I want to direct my panel. Michael Imhotep hosts the African History Network show. Monique Presley, crisis manager. Also hosts the Make It Make Sense with Monique Presley. Cleo Monago, behavioral expert.

Jones is as well. Glad to have all three of you here, Monique. I'll start with you and talk about your legal background. I'm absolutely laughing at all of these Republicans who are having a conniption. They are. I mean, Martin Levin on Fox News is literally beside himself. And what was killing me are all these fools who refused to even acknowledge that all Trump had to do was hand them back the documents. We're not here. No, he wanted to keep the classified documents, including some of America's top secrets. Roland, it is he had a chance even after that. It's not even about him handing back the documents.

He could have gotten away with that crime the way white men get away with crimes all the time. He still could have gotten away with that crime. But as I tweeted about an hour and a half ago, dear Americans, you have the right to remain silent. Use it. As grandmama and them would say, Hirsch, shut up. If he had just kept his documents and then didn't feel his ego, his hubris, his arrogance, it's all of those things that led him to be talking and waving around documents. See, see, what I want to say is, I mean, he really, he's like all of our uncles at the cookout. Let me tell you something. Let me tell you something about what I did in World War II when they weren't even born in World War II.

It's the lies, damn lies and politics of it that is now, frankly, going to land him incarcerated. Like, this is not a drill but my point in this first comment is if he had just remained silent why are you talking about this to the press and to the people who bring you cocolas and to the people who you know like you mad at general Millen, and so now you waving documents around, and you're saying out loud while you know you're recorded, it's too late for me to declassify. Listen, I faint. I die.

Whatever the young people say, I am passing out because I knew he was stupid. I just didn't know he was dumb. Well, here's the deal, Michael. First of all, I always knew he was dumb. Here's what cops always say. They appreciate dumb criminals because they are dumb. Because they do dumb-h that that's what this fool did you're keep you're keeping documents that lays out the country's nuclear capabilities

you've got documents that dictate how our allies are going to respond to a first strike? Dude, this is not, oh, I kept a letter from the leader of North Korea. No, you literally have documents showing the nuclear capabilities of the United States. Hell yes, you're going to get indicted. Absolutely, Roland. And on top of that, obstruction of justice as well. So you're absolutely correct. If he had just handed the records back when the National Archives first asked for them, this would not be a story. But my favorite type of white supremacist is a dumbass white supremacist. And Donald Trump is my favorite type of white supremacist. This is, as I explained to many people here on this show, as well as on the African History Network show, this is a much more straightforward case than the January 6th insurrection. There are going to be charges coming from that.

But this is not a whodunit. This is a you did it. The documents were at Mar-a-Lago. Donald Trump admitted they were at Mar-a-Lago. He admitted he took the documents. He said he had every right to take the documents. And he said, I want my documents back as well. So, you know, if mess around and find out it was a person, it'd be Donald Trump. And this is, you know, you've had many Republicans who said this

is a sad day for America, like punk-ass Kevin Carpenter, things like this. No, this is a very good day for America. This is a good day for the rule of law. This is a day to show that no man or woman is above the law, even a former president. So I've been following this. I told you back in November 2022 rolling right here on the show when

Special Counsel Jack Smith was appointed by Attorney General Merrick Garland. That was the right thing to do. Garland followed the prominent justice policy. And I said this is not going to take very long. This is going to lead to an indictment. And just so people understand, President Biden did not indict Donald Trump. It was a grand jury made up of U.S. citizens that indicted Donald Trump.

Can I ask a question? You know what, Cleo? Can I ask a question? Actually, hold on. No, hold on. Hold on. No, wait, wait, wait. I apologize.

Cleo, the thing that I'm really, Cleo, the thing that I'm really cracking up, Cleo, I am cracking up at all of these Republicans. I know a lot of cops, and they get asked all the time, have you ever had to shoot your gun? Sometimes the answer is yes. But there's a company dedicated to a future where the answer will always be no. Across the country, cops call this taser the revolution. But not everyone was convinced it was that simple. Cops believed everything that taser the revolution. But not everyone was convinced it was that simple. Cops believed everything that taser told them.

From Lava for Good and the team that brought you Bone Valley comes a story about what happened when a multi-billion dollar company dedicated itself to one visionary mission. This is Absolute Season 1, Taser Incorporated. I get right back there and it's bad. It's really, really, really bad. Listen to new episodes of Absolute season one, Taser Incorporated on the iHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Binge episodes one, two, and three

on May 21st and episodes four, 5, and 6 on June 4th. Add free at Lava for Good Plus on Apple Podcasts. I'm Clayton English. I'm Greg Lott. And this is season two of the War on Drugs podcast. Yes, sir. We are back. In a big way. In a very big way.

Real people, real perspectives. This is kind of star-studded a little bit, man. We got Ricky Williams, NFL player, Heisman Trophy winner. It's just a compassionate choice to allow players all reasonable means to care for themselves. Music stars Marcus King, John Osborne from Brothers Osborne. We have this misunderstanding of what this quote-unquote drug man. Benny the Butcher. Brent Smith from Shinedown.

We got B-Real from Cypress Hill. NHL enforcer Riley Cote. Marine Corvette. MMA fighter Liz Karamush. What we're doing now isn't working, and we need to change things. Stories matter, and it brings a face to them. It makes it real. It really does.

It makes it real. Listen to new episodes of the War on Drugs podcast season two on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. And to hear episodes one week early and ad-free with exclusive content, subscribe to Lava for Good Plus on Apple Podcasts. We asked parents who adopted teens to share their journey. We just kind of knew from the beginning that we were family. They showcased a sense of love that I never had before.

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Tears. This is so unfair. He's being targeted. It's a witch hunt. I thought they were the party of law and order. I really find all of their whining to be quite amusing. Oh, Roland, the right wing and the people that follow Donald Trump, like the people who were involved in the January 6th event,

are not operating on the logic of most of us. They're operating on their own subjective, tower-hungry logic, which defies a lot of what we're saying. This is not Trump's first indictment. And he's still, almost 60 percent of Republicans at this point are still supporting him. He's still the highest-ranking Republican in the United States of America, despite indictment. Because just like their forefathers, people who developed things like Manifest Destiny, and they went beyond their lives and didn't care about people who lived here, who were living and breathing and having their own experience and being human beings,

they didn't care. And they don't care about logic right now. I believe that Donald Trump has a theoretical possibility of still winning. Because whenever a, well, I shouldn't use those terms, whenever a Republican sees an attack on Donald Trump, they see it as something that makes him a victim that they think they have sympathy for.

They feel affinity toward him, see how they're treating us, see how they're treating our leader. They don't care about. See how they're treating us. See how they're treating our leader. They don't care about it being against so-called law. And I think some of us on this panel know that people among whites change laws sometimes when they want to. Historically, that has occurred. So I know that it's ridiculous. I know that this is obstruction of law, all that. But white supremacists, people in this country have never cared about logic. They care about power at all costs. And it will be difficult for Donald Trump to get to the White House. But I remember on your show before he was president, how I was in debates with people who said he could never win.

He could never win. I said, yes, he could. He can win. Don't look at this from a purely logical perspective. Look at this through a hungry white supremacist, white control at all costs perspective, and you might listen better and take better strategies to resist who these people are. Because it doesn't matter how bad he is.

He is the poster child for white supremacy and control. And he has a lot of support. He has millions of people that support him. Man, this is why, Monique, the point that I keep making to folks, to our audience and the folks, is do understand if these people are so craving and desperate that they will support this man, even with this, they will do whatever is necessary to hold on to power that man and that party must be stopped and never be allowed to control the oval office roland they are holding on to him when they're not in power. So to me, it is demonstrably worse than the way that you describe

it in that even when they're under and they could grab onto someone else to attain power, to be in majority, to move past it, They choose not to. I was speaking to another lawyer. I'm here in New York today. Last night we were celebrating our queen warrior, Tamika Mallory's 43rd birthday. But today I had meetings, meetings, meetings. And in the first one of the day, I was speaking with a lawyer and she was describing it. Nobody could do it better. She was saying, listen, the way I would pick a surgeon, I would want a surgeon who knows more about surgery than me. That is the opposite of the way the American electorate picks a president. They want somebody who knows as little as they do or less, who makes them feel like we the same, we together, we together. And anybody who knows

more Obama, Clinton, Clinton, et cetera, Biden, Harris, anybody who knows more has more experience. Oh no, we don't want them. And it's not just racism and it's not just a power grab. It is, I feel like I'm good when I have somebody who is just as stupid as me, who is in the highest elected position in the land. And that brought to my question because I heard you say something, Roland, I never heard you say on this show. You said ish when I think you meant another word. And then Cleo came in and he said

some non-cursing version of a profane word. And I thought we were on cable. I haven't been on in a long time, but did we turn PG while I was gone? Just saying. Well, first of all, I'm not in the studio, so I'm here in the convention center.

So I don't want to be sitting here and cussing aloud all these folks that are moving around. It's about my settings. And speaking of that, I've got to go to a commercial break because we're over our time. So let me do this here. Put a pin in that. Go into a commercial break.

I'm here at the Jackson, Mississippi Convention Center Complex where the Medgar and Murley Evers Institute, they're holding their gala event tonight. It'll be starting shortly. And so we'll be covering that. And so this is a, this course, a shot right there of the ballroom that will be taking place. So we'll be right back in a moment.

Don't forget folks, if you're watching on YouTube, hit that like button. We want to be, we want to hit 2000 likes for today's show. We also want you to support us in what we do by joining our Bring the Funk fan club. You can do so by sending your, first of all, by downloading our app,

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Venmo is RM Unfiltered. Zelle, Roland at RolandSMartin.com. Roland at RolandMartinUnfiltered.com. And just so you understand, when we travel and do one of these events like this here, on the low end, it's $5,000. On the high end, it's 25,000. So a lot of times when people are asking me, you know, we would love to have you here, have you there. I explain to them all

the time, yo, that stuff costs money. That's real money for us to be on the scene actually doing that. And so just want to let y'all understand that when you're talking about when we travel this country, I mean, these things actually cost money. And so just letting y'all know. So that's what's up, folks. And so support us in what we do. Go into a break. We'll be right back.

Rolling by the Unfiltered on the Black Star Network. I'm Faraiji Muhammad, live from L.A. And this is The Culture. The Culture is a two-way conversation. You and me, we talk about the stories, politics, the good, the bad, and the downright ugly. So join our community every day at 3 p.m. Eastern and let your voice be heard.

Hey, we're all in this together. So let's talk about it and see what kind of trouble we can get into. It's the culture. Weekdays at three, only on the Black Star Network. Hatred on the streets, a horrific scene, a white nationalist rally that descended into deadly violence. White people are losing their damn minds. There's an angry pro-Trump mob storm to the U.S. Capitol. We're about to see the rise of what I call white minority resistance. We have seen white folks in this country who simply cannot tolerate.

I know a lot of cops, and they get asked all the time, have you ever had to shoot your gun? Sometimes the answer is yes. But there's a company dedicated to a future where the answer will always be no. Across the country, cops called this taser the revolution. But not everyone was convinced it was that simple. Cops believed everything that taser told them. From Lava for Good and the team that brought you Bone Valley comes a story about

what happened when a multi-billion dollar company dedicated itself to one visionary mission. This is Absolute Season 1. Taser Incorporated. I get right back there and it's bad.

It's really, really, really bad. Listen to new episodes of Absolute Season 1, Taser Incorporated, on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Binge episodes 1, 2, and 3 on May 21st and episodes 4, 5, and 6 on June 4th. Add free at Lava for Good Plus on Apple Podcasts. I'm Clayton English. I'm Greg Lott.

And this is Season 2 of the War on Drugs podcast. Yes, sir. We are back. In a big way. In a very big way. Real people, real perspectives. This is kind of star-studded a little bit, man. We got Ricky Williams, NFL player, Heisman Trophy winner. It's just a compassionate choice to allow players all reasonable means to care for themselves.

Music stars Marcus King, John Osborne from Brothers Osborne. We have this misunderstanding of what this quote-unquote drug ban is. Benny the Butcher. Brent Smith from Shinedown. We got B-Real from Cypress Hill. NHL enforcer Riley Cote. Marine Corps vet. MMA fighter Liz Karamush.

What we're doing now isn't working, and we need to change things. Stories matter, and it brings a face to them. It makes it real. It really does. It makes it real. Listen to new episodes of the War on Drugs podcast season two on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. And to hear episodes one week early and ad-free with exclusive content,

subscribe to Lava for Good Plus on Apple Podcasts. Here's the deal. We got to set ourselves up. See, retirement is the long game. We got to make moves and make them early. Set up goals. Don't worry about a setback. Just save up and stack up to reach them. Let's put ourselves in the right position. Pre-game to greater things. Start building your retirement plan at thisispretirement.org. Brought to you by AARP and the Ad Council. Black folks voting.

I think what we're seeing is the inevitable result of violent denial. This is part of American history. Every time that people of color have made progress, whether real or symbolic, there has been what Carol Anderson at Emory University calls white rage as a backlash. This is the rise of the Proud Boys and the Boogaloo Boys. America, there's going to be more of this. There's all the Proud Boys, guys.

This country is getting increasingly racist in its behaviors and its attitudes because of the fear of white people. The fear that they're taking our jobs, they're taking our resources, they're taking our women. This is white fear. Bye bye, Papa. Hello, I'm Jameah Pugh. I am from Coatesville, Pennsylvania, just an hour right outside of Philadelphia. My name is Jasmine Pugh.

I'm also from Coatesville, Pennsylvania. You are watching Roland Martin Unfiltered. Stay right here. All right, folks, welcome back. You know, one of the things that really jumps out at me is that what his aides did, Michael, they literally loaded the plane and moved documents from Mar-a-Lago to his other resort. And I'm like, are you serious? I mean, again, I'm looking at somebody's reaction. It's crazy.

It's absolutely crazy. And like Eric Erickson said, oh, man, you know, this is a document that's damning, but I think it's best left up to 150 million voters. I'm like, wait a minute. So the rich guy, he doesn't get to be held accountable. What's the point of the law if it's, oh, well, you know what? I used to be an old law officer. I could do pretty much do what I want. No, this man, like anybody else should be held accountable. And guess what? It's a whole bunch of black politicians who have been sent to prison for wrongdoing. And didn't nobody say, ah, just go ahead and give them a break because they're a politician.

Absolutely. You know, Roland, Walt Nata has been hit with six charges, including conspiracy to obstruct, withholding the document or record, and scheme to conceal. And this was an aid to Donald Trump as well. He allegedly moved boxes the day before the FBI came to serve a search warrant. So when you have these Republicans who were the, they were the party of law and order, you know, they backed the blue until the coup, as I've said numerous times here on this show, which is absolutely true. Until the January 6, 2021 insurrection, they backed the blue. They used to tell African-Americans, just comply. You know, if you had just complied, maybe you wouldn't have been shot. If you just complied, maybe you

wouldn't have been beaten upside your head. So the question I would ask for Eric Erickson, the question I would ask for Kevin McCarthy and the rest of these Republicans who want to compromise any integrity that they have, would you say the same thing if everything was the same except the name was Barack Obama instead of Donald Trump and documents were found at Barack Obama's house, classified documents, and he didn't give them back. Would you say the same thing? Oh, just leave it up to the voters. Oh, no, you shouldn't prosecute. No, you wouldn't. So these are the people. I want them to keep talking. I want them to show a clear distinction between people who hold office, who have some integrity, and people who have totally prostituted themselves for Donald Trump.

And these are the people who have to be voted out of office and should never hold power again. The thing that I keep reiterating over and over and over, Cleo, is that when people will make every possible excuse for someone like this idiot, when they are literally pining for January 6th defendants to get pardons, these folks will do anything to hold on to power. And I'm going to need a whole lot of us to understand that if this is who you're dealing with, what we cannot do is sit out. What we cannot do is not act like it's important. Because let me be real clear, his crazies, they're going to turn out in record numbers next year. And if these folks will defend this and they will call for

pardons for January 6th, we know exactly what they'll also allow to happen to us because we've seen it and we're here in Mississippi and we know what that history is. We are witnessing a long-term knee-jerk reaction in response to many things, but more symbolically, the election of Barack Obama and the first lady, Michelle Obama, being in the White House, who for eight years were a symbolic and intellectual contradiction to the myth of white supremacy. And before they've been to the White House, the myth of white supremacy was the narrative. It was what we heard, all of us heard for all of our lives since the beginning of the country, that we are inferior and they are superior.

And that was an important myth for a lot of white people, even nice white people, that regardless of what they do, we are still superior. It's obvious that we're better and we're in a better situation because we are better. And then here comes Barack Obama and Michelle in the White House being beautifully, beautiful, brilliant and relatively successful, not from a black perspective, from a presidential perspective. And all of this knee-jerk reaction regarding allowing the likes of Trump to be in the White House was a desperate reaction to trying to put things back together from a white perspective at all costs. Because Donald Trump, unlike Hillary and other white people, has been the first white person to run for president to be straight up about their anti-Blackness, straight up about their

whiteness, to say stuff like the Klan and liberals are on the same boat in terms of having their own position. They both have a right to what they have to say. And he is someone who has been blatant. And that's why he can be indicted and still be celebrated. That's why he can be indicted and still be the most popular Republican in this country. And you're right in terms of what I got from you saying that we should be concerned. But I think we're being real fantasistical, if you will. We think that these people are not going to be back in power or won't be in a position to be in power just because of these egregious things. White supremacy does not

care. It's sociopathic. It's also psychopathic, like a serial killer. They can care less about humanity outside of the realm of who they prefer and who they lift up. So we need to be real clear that we have to think about these things with dual strategies and stop simply calling it dumb and stupid because it's a strategy that got the man in the White House in 2016. Which is why I am making this point, Monique, that they're going to turn out en masse. The last the last thing that we can afford is to see another drop off of black voter participation in the presidential election because they're banking on that. And don't forget, after 2016, Donald Trump thanked black people for not voting. Yeah, because the black people who were mad at Secretary Clinton helped him, as did the 53 percent of white women, as did everybody else.

Listen, Roland, let me say an unpopular but what I believe is salient truth that takes this out of the realm of what's going to happen to this white billionaire, alleged billionaire, former president? There are people. Hey, black folks, there are people like Jussie Smollett. There are people current day like Jonathan Majors. Right. There are people current day., a few days ago, ooh, dare I mention Bill Cosby? who have not been accused nor have had the opportunity to run the entire country and sell all of our secrets and put us all at risk in any number of ways. And what we're seeing is that you can be indicted and be an old white man with a whole bunch

of money who was a former president, and it will boost your poll numbers. It will increase your funding. There is a whole sector of people who will give you more money because you have been charged with 37 crimes. There are people who will pay you for that. And then there's us. When our people are charged with crimes they did not commit, when our people are wrongfully accused, when our people, even though prosecutors are trying to push away charges, we're still being charged. We liberals, we progressives, we black folks with money will still say, oh, but the wrong that they did. I want you to wake up because the way that this world is working, the way that this world is working, the Trumps of the world will always advance no matter what is against them. There is somebody who's supporting them. Why?

Why aren't we supporting our own in the same measure? Why do we not care what misdemeanor is charged against them, what trumped up charges are levied against them what things are befalling them why aren't we in the streets in the same manner because you know i mean of the names i named some of those people who are okay but it's it's more people coming it could be any of you it could be it could be cle Well, of course. It could be Michael. It could be Roland. Roland, you know, anytime I tell you... Maybe not today.

Hold on, Cleo. One second. I tell Roland every time I can talk to him, don't even jaywalk. Actually, you got 15 seconds because I got to go to bed. That's all. I said, Roland, I tell you all the time, don't even jaywalk. Well, first of all, I jaywalk, so whatever.

Well, you don't listen. You're not a good listener. 50 seconds, go. Okay, I got it. Cleo, 50 seconds. What did you say? Oh, I was going to say the questions that Monique just asked about why we don't step up for people in our community, whether they're high profile,

low profile, who are getting accused of such awful crimes, and we allow them to be persecuted, we certainly can address that in 15 seconds like you gave me, but that kind of mentality among Black people needs to be unpacked and resolved. Like I said, it's the trauma trance.

And we need to talk about how to break the trauma trans because that's part of the answer to Monique's question. Thank you, Cleo. All right, folks. Hold that one second. Going to a break. Don't forget, folks, hit the like button if you're watching on YouTube. Same thing, Facebook. Also the OTT app. Download the Black Star Network

app. Apple phone, Android phone, Apple TV, Android TV, Roku, Amazon Fire TV, Xbox One, Samsung Smart TV. Support us by joining our Bring the Funk fan club. Send check-in money orders to PO Box 57196, Washington, D.C., 20037-0196. Cash app, dollar sign, RM Unfiltered, PayPal, or Martin Unfiltered. Venmo is RM Unfiltered. Zelle, Roland at RolandSMartin.com. Roland at RolandMartinUnfiltered.com.

And don't forget to get a copy of my book, White Fear, How the Browning of America is Making White Folks Lose Their Minds. Available at bookstores nationwide, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Books A Million, Target. Download your copy on Audible. We'll be right back. Black Star Network is here.

Oh, no punch. A real revolution right back. CNN. You can't be black on media and be scared. It's time to be smart. Bring your eyeballs home. You dig? That was a pivotal, pivotal time. I remember Kevin Hart telling me that. He's like, man, what you doing, man? You gotta stay on stage.

And I was like, yeah, well, I don't think I'm good. And I was like, yeah, well, I'm like, you know, y'all don't think I'm good. And he was absolutely right. What show was you at that time? This was one-on-one. Got it. During that time.

So you're doing one-on-one, going great, you're making money, you're like, I'm like, I don't need to leave. I don't need to leave from Wednesday, Thursday,

to Sunday. You know, I just didn't want to do that. You know, it was just like, I'm going to stay here. Oh, I didn't want to do that. You know, it was just like, I'm gonna stay here. Oh, I didn't want to finish work Friday, fly out, go do a gig Saturday, Sunday. I was like, I don't have to do that.

And I lost a little bit of that hunger that I had in New York. I would hit all the clubs, run around. Sometimes me and Chappelle or me and this one or that one, we'd go to the Comedy Cellar at one in the morning. I mean, that was our life. We loved it. You know, you do two shows in Manhattan,

go to Brooklyn, leave Brooklyn, go to Queens, go to Jersey. And I kind of just, I got complacent. I was like, I got this money, I'm good. I don't need to go, I don't need to go chase that because that money wasn't at the same level that I was making. But what I was missing was that training. Yes. Was that, was that.

And it wasn't the money. It was the money. You know, it was that, that's what I needed. Hello. Hello, I'm Marissa Mitchell, a news anchor at Fox 5 DC. Hey, what's up? It's Tammy Roman, and they get asked all the time, have you ever had to shoot your gun? Sometimes the answer is yes. But there's a company dedicated to a future where the answer will always be no.

Across the country, cops called this taser the revolution. But not everyone was convinced it was that simple. Cops believed everything that taser told them. From Lava for Good and the team that brought you Bone Valley comes a story about what happened when a multi-billion dollar company dedicated itself to one visionary mission. This is Absolute Season 1, Taser Incorporated. I get right back there and it's bad. It's really, really, really bad. Listen to new episodes of Absolute Season 1, Taser Incorporated, on the iHeartRadio app,

Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Binge episodes 1, 2, and 3 on May 21st and episodes 4, 5, and 6 on June 4th. Ad-free at Lava for Good Plus on Apple Podcasts. I'm Clayton English. I'm Greg Glod. And this is season two of the War on Drugs podcast.

Yes, sir. We are back. In a big way. In a very big way. Real people, real perspectives. This is kind of star-studded a little bit, man. We got Ricky Williams, NFL player, Heisman Trophy winner. It's just a compassionate choice to allow players all reasonable means to care for themselves.

Music stars Marcus King, John Osborne from Brothers Osborne. We have this misunderstanding of what this quote-unquote drug ban is. Benny the Butcher. Brent Smith from Shinedown. We got B-Real from Cypress Hill. NHL enforcer Riley Cote. Marine Corvette. MMA fighter Liz Karamush.

What we're doing now isn't working and we need to change things. Stories matter and it brings a face to them. It makes it real. It really does. It makes it real. Listen to new episodes of the War on Drugs podcast season two on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. And to hear episodes one week early and ad free with exclusive content, subscribe to Lava for Good Plus on Apple Podcasts.

Sometimes as dads, I think we're too hard on ourselves. We get down on ourselves on not being able to, you know, we're the providers, but we also have to learn to take care of ourselves. A wrap-up way, you got to pray for the providers, but we also have to learn to take care of ourselves. A wrap away, you got to pray for yourself as well as for everybody else, but never forget yourself. Self-love made me a better dad because I realized my worth. Never stop being a dad. That's dedication. Find out more at fatherhood.gov. Brought to you by the U.S. Department of Health

and Human Services and the Ad Council. All right, folks, welcome back to RoboMart Unfiltered right here on the Black Star Network. We're here in Jackson, Mississippi at the Convention Center for the Metger and Murley Evers Institute Gala taking place shortly. But we still are doing what we are doing now. The issue of parental choice in education is hugely popular. And what we are seeing, we're seeing a tremendous growth among black and Latino parents. All across this country, we're seeing that a recent poll shows by Democrats for Education Reform found that more than 70% of black and Latino parents like new ideas and public school choice options, coupled with more funding. Now, joining us right now is Jacqueline Martell.

She's the executive director for Democrats for Education Reform of New York. Glad to have you on the show, Jacqueline. So here's what is really interesting to me. And I've been having this debate for years. You've got a plethora of black elected officials who disagree with it reform, meaning charter school expansion, disagree with voucher programs, things along those lines. Now, I've made it clear, like, for instance, what Texas was trying to do with their voucher program was shameful and despicable because it was a money grab for suburban parents. But what was crazy to me is when you have these elected officials

and civil rights groups and others oppose it when the public is very clear on what they want and it's as if people are like, oh, they're not smart enough to know what they want. Right. A hundred percent. I totally agree with that sentiment. I mean, as you mentioned in the poll that we recently conducted, we see over 70 percent of black and Latino families want more school choice, want more opportunities. For many parents that we see in these neighborhoods, and as we know, particularly here in New York, the majority of students that attend charter schools here are marginalized and live in low-income areas. And what we tell people

when we limit choice, particularly families, is that they're not allowed the opportunity to decide what is the best education for their child. We have been very lucky here in New York, I will say, in this last legislative session, which actually is slated to end tonight, hopefully, fingers crossed. Some movement within the education reform space, however, we're still dealing with a lot of issues and a lot of dissonance, particularly from unions and some folks who really don't want to see choice given to the families that look like us. And so we have to constantly question the norm and we have to constantly advocate

and fight within our legislature to make sure that these choices are available, especially given the amount of learning loss that we've seen coming out of the pandemic. Additionally, too, I think one thing that we really need to hone in upon when we think about choice and we think about accountability and standards is the notion that we have a system now that has perpetually failed generation upon generation. We can cite that here in New York specifically. We have the highest per pupil spending in the country, and yet our results do not reflect that. I think we rank 47th in the nation when it comes to education. And so we've seen a lot of reforms recently. Our chancellor recently announced some new innovations as it pertains to phonics and literacy, which, you know, we applaud him and we look forward to working with him and continue to work with him, as well as our mayor. But statewide, we do really face a lot of dissonance and a lot of stifling in terms of us even having a cap lift.

Our governor in this last session was very brave and spoke out for school choice and for expansion of charter schools in particular. And we need to see more bravery across our state legislatures. But here's the thing that, again, that I sort of explain to people. Why are folks demanding the expansion in New York State? Because they are absolutely frustrated with failures. And so I've always said, this is very simple for me, fix the fundamental problem in traditional public schools or you're going to have to deal with

people demanding something else. And I'm also very clear, if there are charter schools that are abhorrent and failing, shut them down. I just refuse to support failure. 100%. At Democrats for Education Reform, we share the same sentiment. In New York State in particular, we have very strong authorizers, both with SUNY and the Board of Regents. So I think that that needs to be replicated in many other states. And to your point, you know, charter schools need to be held to high standards and accountability, which we are in total agreement of. And that isn't necessarily the case. It's happening nationally. So I agree with that sentiment there. We do need to fix

the fundamental issues. And I think that oftentimes what we see when it is this traditional public school versus the charter school debate is that they're pitting them against one another. In New York State, charter school students account for 17 percent of the student population. So essentially, we do need to really attack, we do really need to tackle the fundamental issues for the majority of our students. But you have charter schools who are also providing students with very special, specialized programming that is suited to their needs and catering to populations that are often marginalized and left out of discussions. You know, we talk about, I don't want to inundate anyone with data, but when we look at New York in particular, particularly in the upstate regions, we see

single-digit proficiency when it comes to reading and writing. What opportunities are you affording children that are leaving the public education system where we are paying in New York State close to $30,000, if not more, a year to educate a student? We have full funding now with these types of results. This is essentially the school-to-prison pipeline that we are funding as taxpayers. And I think that there needs to be more accountability. We need more bravery within our legislature. We have some amazing legislators now in New York State that are standing up and saying no more because they have new touchpoints to the charter school movement here in the state.

And so we don't have these debates when it comes to affluent families who we saw in the pandemic were able to remove their students from specific schools and put them in these different modalities like pods or private school settings. And you don't have these debates in zip codes where we see affluence. And I think that this essentially is a debate of who deserves to have quality education and who does not. And oftentimes, like I said, it's the students that look like you and I. You know, I think about my trajectory. Got it.

And what— Jackie, Jackie, Jackie, hold on. Jackie, Jackie, one second. Jackie, one second. Hold on one second. I've got to go to break. I'll be back. I've got questions from the panel.

Just hold tight. This is one second. You're watching Roller Martin Unfiltered right here on the Black Star Network. Coming up next on The Frequency, right here on the Black Star Network. Coming up next on The Frequency, right here on the Black Star Network, Shanita Hubbard. We're talking about the ride or die chick. We're breaking it down.

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All right, folks, welcome back. We're talking with Jacqueline Martell. She's the executive director for Democrats for Education Reform in New York. Let's go to my panel for questions. Michael, you're first. All right. Hello, Jacqueline. Question for you. So how have you all been able to help students who have been harmed by being set back from being out of school due to COVID-19? You talked about the disparities from COVID, things of this nature. What are some of the ways you've been able to help students maybe catch up to grade level or improve their performance? Yeah, I think that there's a lot of work that needs to be done within this area. Recently, our chancellor just announced that he's going to be

implementing a high-impact tutoring initiative in our city to mitigate a lot of the learning loss that we did see. In charter schools in particular, we see that they really stepped up, particularly during the pandemic, to mitigate a lot of the learning loss that we saw. We were able to pivot very quickly to virtual learning because many of the schools had already implemented that, ensuring that, and with most of the schools that we work with in particular, ensuring that they had broadband access. That was actually a huge issue for many of the students during the height of pandemic. Also working with different groups in terms of providing resources to families across different charter school networks. But with the high-impact tutoring, we actually have some legislation here in the state that we are working with, with Assembly

Member Brian Cunningham, to actually scale out high-impact tutoring. It is the top intervention in mitigating learning loss, and we've seen a lot of states be able to do it successfully. And so, with this $10 million appropriation that the mayor is using to pilot in high-needs districts in both the Bronx and Brooklyn, we're advocating legislatively and looking to work with the governor to also do another appropriation to implement that statewide. All right. Thank you. Monique. Monique? You're on mute.

I have a question. Oh, she's on mute. I am mute, Cleo, but I also don't have a question. Thank you. About time you unmuted. All right, go ahead with your question. If I'm not mistaking, it appears that, and I think I've seen evidence of it, that public schools are failing. Roland has mentioned more than once about that they have been a failure

in many cases and it's my perspective that we are tolerating them because we're familiar with dysfunctional and dysfunctional dysfunctionalness is reliable and familiar but I'm wondering if the resistance on the systems level is because the system, if you will, wants to stay in charge of schools and ensure that there is no innovation or any type of paradigm shift in terms of worldview among black children, for example. Because the system teaches us, like, as you know, they took critical race theory off the conversation. And it's my perspective they did that because they want to keep us in the trance and keep us selling for less. I was wondering, my question to you is, do you think the issues that I just raised are relevant to the resistance to charter schools? I think so. I think that a lot of it, to your point, is about upholding the status quo, both in terms of curriculum design to

implementation, but also in terms of the bureaucratic systems that we live in. You know, I think in New York in particular, we have an issue as it pertains to co-location and real estate. So in New York City, it is not uncommon to have multiple schools within one building. And this has essentially created this dynamic of have and have-nots for many schools. You know, charter schools in New York State, we are not given the same amount for per-pupil funding as traditional public schools, so we have to subsidize that through alternative measures. However, we also do not have to go through certain bureaucratic

systems as it pertains to the procurement process. So, for example, if a school wants to paint their hallways with amazing murals of black leaders, which we often see at many of our schools, they're able to do that very quickly, whereas with traditional public schools, you know, they're not able to necessarily function that quickly because they have to go through certain processes. And I think that those systems also relate to that level of have and have-nots within a lot of our buildings particularly. I think another issue, as it pertains to the status quo and and upholding that does have to do a lot with

the labor unions. And I am pro-union. I was a labor organizer for many years. I worked at 32BJSCIU. And I will say this, is that, you know, I think the conversation has become so politicized that we do not center children and families at the forefront who are the beneficiaries or who are not benefiting from the systems as it stands. And so I think we need to make it more about the children and less about the politics and the adults.

All right, Monique, you got a question or you don't have one? I don't have a question, Roland. No. All right. Okay. So, Jacqueline, what is next? Because obviously you've seen, you know, giving people in New York State say, hey, no, we don't want to be full with more charter schools, even though our families are demanding that. And so what's actually going to happen there?

Because, look, something has to give there. You've got people like Steve Perry who are doing some great things there with his schools, with Diddy there in Harlem, his schools in Connecticut. And so I've always said, hey, if a traditional school ain't doing the job, hey, and if this charter school is, give them more schools, give them more students, or maybe do more. You got about 60 seconds. Yes. So in New York this last session, we were able to get 14 new charters.

But as you mentioned, there is the need for more. to organize parents and demand this of the legislature, work with our legislature to make a cap lift a reality and continue to empower our parents to speak up for more demand and more opportunity and more high-quality seats within their respective districts. All right. Jacqueline Martell, we appreciate it. If people got any questions or whatever for y'all,

how can they reach out? Yes, you can email me, Jacqueline, at Deferred.org. You can follow us. Our social media is there. We look forward to connecting and continuing the good fight. Thank you so much. Okay. We appreciate it.

Thanks a lot. Thank you. All right, folks, that is it for us for today's show. We appreciate it. We, of course, are here. We're going to be attending the gala tonight. Got some interviews lined up, so we look forward to doing that. And so a lot of special things going on here for the Medgar and Murley Evers Institute. Don't forget, Monday represents the 60th anniversary of when Medgar Evers was gunned down in his driveway, dying in the hands of his wife, his children, having to watch that.

And so it was certainly a sad occasion. He was the Mississippi field secretary for the NAACP, a revered figure in this state. And his death, of course, galvanized a lot of people to move forward with civil rights legislation in the 1960s. And so we look forward to sharing more of that with you next week right here on Roland Martin Unfiltered on the Black Star Network. Folks, until then, I'll see you guys on Monday back at the nation's capital. Y'all know how we do it. Holla! I know a lot of cops. They get asked all the time, have you ever had

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

Stories matter and it brings a face to them. It makes it real. It really does. It makes it real. Listen to new episodes of the War on Drugs podcast season two on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. This is an iHeart Podcast.