#RolandMartinUnfiltered - Rittenhouse Acquitted, Build Back Better Passes House; Arbery Murder Plea rejected, NY Communal Meal

Episode Date: November 20, 2021

11.19.2021 #RolandMartinUnfiltered: House voted mostly along party lines, but Biden's $1.75tn Build Back Better plan passes after months of negotiations for the legislation, which focuses on programs ranging from education to healthcare. Texas Representative Mark Veasey will join us to talk about today's vote and the bill's chances to pass the Senate.Not Guilty on all charges. After days of deliberations, Wisconsin jurors acquitted Kyle Rittenhouse of shooting three people, killing two, at a Black Lives Matter protest in Wisconsin last year.In Georgia, a defense attorney for one of the three white men who chased and murdered Ahmaud Arbery asked for a plea deal before handing the case to the jury next week and called the rally of black pastors a "public lynching of the 21st century."We'll look at a new report that says premature births have increased for Black, American Indian, and Alaska Native women.Cedric Robinson was a political theorist, historian, and activist. We'll talk to author Dr.Joshua Myers who's book explains how Robinson's work questioned the foundations of western political thought, modern capitalism and changed the meaning of race.What can a community gain from the communal meal? We'll talk to an organizer of New Jersey's Give Thanks Community Meal to find out how organizers will use food to build communities among different peoples to effectively organize and create the world they want to leave for their children.And in our Education Matters segment, the CEO of the Harvard Diversity Project explains how the program promotes educational equity by creating opportunities for underserved youth.#RolandMartinUnfiltered partners:Verizon | Verizon 5G Ultra Wideband, now available in 50+ cities, is the fastest 5G in the world.* That means that downloads that used to take minutes now take seconds. 👉🏾https://bit.ly/30j6z9INissan | Check out the ALL NEW 2022 Nissan Frontier! As Efficient As It Is Powerful! 👉🏾 https://bit.ly/3FqR7bPAmazon | Get 2-hour grocery delivery, set up you Amazon Day deliveries, watch Amazon Originals with Prime Video and save up to 80% on meds with Amazon Prime 👉🏾 https://bit.ly/3ArwxEh+ Don’t miss Epic Daily Deals that rival Black Friday blockbuster sales 👉🏾 https://bit.ly/3iP9zkv👀 Manage your calendar, follow along with recipes, catch up on news and more with Alexa smart displays + Stream music, order a pizza, control your smart home and more with Alexa smart speakers 👉🏾 https://bit.ly/3ked4liBuick | It's ALL about you! The 2022 Envision has more than enough style, power and technology to make every day an occasion. 👉🏾 https://bit.ly/3iJ6ouPSupport #RolandMartinUnfiltered and #BlackStarNetwork via the Cash App ☛ https://cash.app/$rmunfiltered or via PayPal ☛ https://www.paypal.me/rmartinunfilteredDownload the #BlackStarNetwork app on iOS, AppleTV, Android, Android TV, Roku, FireTV, SamsungTV and XBox 👉🏾 http://www.blackstarnetwork.com#RolandMartinUnfiltered and the #BlackStarNetwork are news reporting platforms covered under Copyright Disclaimer Under Section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976, allowance is made for "fair use" for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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Să facem o pătrunjelă. Să facem o pătrunjelă. Să facem o pătrunjelă. Să facem o p următoarea meelă. Să facem o pătrunjelă. Să facem o pătrunjelă. Să facem o pătrunjelă. Să facem o pătrunjelă. Să facem o pătrunjelă. Să facem o pătrunjelă. Să facem o pătrunjelă.

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Să punem un pic de ulei de ulei. Să punem un pic de ulei de ulei. Să punem un pic de ulei de ulei. Martin! Să facem o pătrunjelă. I don't think so. Verizon lets you trade in your broken phone for a shiny new one. You break it, we upgrade it. You dunk it, doggy bone it. Slam it, wham it, strawberry jam it. We upgrade it.

Get a 5G phone on us with select plans. Every customer, current, new, or business. Because everyone deserves better. And with plans starting at just $35, better costs less than you think. It's Friday, November 19th, 2021. I'm Ray Baker, sitting in for Roland. Here's what's coming up on Roland Martin, unfiltered, streaming live on the Black Star Network. The House voted mostly along party lines, but President Biden's $1.75 trillion Build Back Better plan passes after months of negotiation for the legislation, which focuses on programs ranging from education to health care.

Texas Representative Mark Vasey will join us to talk about today's vote and the bill's chances to pass the Senate. Not guilty on all charges. After days of deliberations, Wisconsin jurors acquitted Kyle Rittenhouse of shooting three people, killing two, at a Black Lives Matter protest in Wisconsin last year.

In Georgia, a defense attorney for one of the three white men who chased and murdered Ahmaud Arbery asked for a plea deal before handing the case to the jury next week and called the rally of black pastors a, quote, public lynching of the 21st century. We'll look at a new report that says

premature births have increased for black, indigenous, and Alaskan native women. And Cedric Robinson was a political theorist, historian, and activist. We'll talk to author and Howard University professor, Dr. Joshua Myers, whose book explains how Robinson's work questioned the foundations of Western political thought,

modern capitalism, and changed and challenged our understanding of race. And what can a community gain from a communal meal? We'll talk to an attorney and organizer in Newark, New Jersey, facilitating Newark's Give Thanks Community Meal. We'll find out how organizers will use food to build community across different peoples to effectively organize

and create the world that they want to leave for their children. And in our Education Matters segment, the CEO of the Harvard Diversity Project explains how the program promotes educational equity by creating opportunities for underserved youth. We'll have all of this and more. It's time, in the words of Uncle Roland,

to bring the funk on Roland Martin Unfiltered, streaming live on the Black Star Network. Let it go. Whatever the piss, he's on it. Whatever it is, he's got the scoop, the fact, the find. And when it breaks, he's right on time. And it's Roland, best belief he's knowing. 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 Roro, yo Yeah, yeah It's rolling Martin, yeah Yeah, yeah Rolling with rolling now Yeah, yeah A victory for House Democrats today.

President Biden's broad 1.75 trillion Build Back Better bill was passed by a vote of 220 to 213, with only one Democrat reportedly voting against the bill and not one Republican voting for the measure to pass. Now, today's vote was supposed to have happened last night, but GOP leader Kevin McCarthy stalled with a record-breaking marathon floor speech overnight. I don't look anywhere I want, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I cannot believe the amount of control one party rule wants. They now want to dictate to a member of the floor of where I can look. This isn't a Republican or Democrat issue.

This is the safety of this nation over a self-described police abologist. So let this sink in. You're encouraging more to come. We think, you know, that's a little unfair. The other countries got destroyed a little more than America. Jimmy Carter and Barack Obama. Gas prices, Thanksgiving, a border. So we went down the path with the doors open. America, you're weak. You're weak, America. You're weak because you believe in God and you take Fentanyl. Yeah, I want to go back.

What you just said is one of the most insanely idiotic things I have ever heard. At no point in your rambling, incoherent response were you even close to anything that could be considered a rational thought. Everyone in this room is now dumber for having listened to it. I award you no points, and may God have mercy on your soul. Now, included in the Build Back Better bill is everything from $555 billion to fight climate change, $400 billion for universal pre-K, $200 billion for child tax credits, $200 billion for four weeks paid leave,

$165 billion on health care spending, $150 billion to expand affordable home care, $150 billion for affordable housing, and much more. It will now head to the Senate, where it is expected to face some challenges. Now, joining us to discuss this and much more is Texas Representative Mark Vesey. He joins us from Fort Worth, Texas. Congressman, thank you so much for making time for us and joining us here on Roland Martin Unfiltered. Good to be with you. Now, there's an immediate sense of an uphill battle because we know this is going to go to the Senate. But for right now, should Democrats and

most Americans feel optimistic, would you say, about the passing of this bill out of the House? Yeah, absolutely. We should feel optimistic. We got this bill passed after negotiations and after offering the Republicans even help contribute in the Senate, just trying to tear things down. And we finally got a product passed out of the House of Representatives that's going to help people with health care costs, child care costs, clean air and clean water. So, yeah, I feel great about it and think that its chances in the Senate are going to do very well. There's probably going to be some negotiations and some changes that may be made over there. But at the end of the day, I think that we're going to have a product that's

going to make it to the president's desk, just like the infrastructure bill, that families, that moms, that all Americans can be proud of. Now, Congressman, you said the chances would be due very well in the Senate. Those were your words. That seems to be a degree of optimism for the rest of us who watch from the outside. The Senate does not look like it has an appetite even to take on the $1.75 trillion bill, which is pared down from the $3 trillion bill, which was pared down from the $6.7 trillion that Senator Sanders initially suggested. Why then are you so optimistic about its affairs in the Senate? Because it's going to help all 50 states. And any senator that may be holding out

is going to look at this. And, you know, in West Virginia, for instance, they won't clean air and clean water. In Arizona, you know, Senator Sinema wants lowered child care costs, lowered health care costs. And so at the end of the day, we are going to get this passed. It's going to be historic, just like the infrastructure bill was. And it's going to start to help America rebuild from the effects and the mismanagement of COVID-19 under the Trump administration, and only after not even an entire year in office. Remember, President Biden was just sworn in on January the 20th. People think that it's been a couple of years. No, President Biden was sworn in on January the 20th of this year. And so his tenure hasn't even been an entire year yet. And we are finally turning things around from the recklessness, from the attack on families by Donald Trump and Kevin McCarthy and Mitch McConnell. We're turning things around

and we're going to give people a package they can be proud of. It's going to pass the Senate. I'm very confident of that. It'll pass the House and it will make long-term substantive changes. Now, Congressman Vesey, so many people talked about the ideological difference within the Democratic Party. Some folks wanting a larger, more expansive bill that may cost a little bit more money. Other folks saying that we need to pare it down to compromise to get it done now, and then we can come back and try to accomplish some of those goals. The child tax credit, for example, only existing for one extended year is something that folks want to make a little bit longer. What type of suggestion do you have for those who want that type of programming, that type of help for middle-class families, but it might run out after

a year? What type of words do you have for those but it might run out after a year. What type of words do you have for those folks that say we will come back and assure that working families will ultimately be taken care of for the long haul? Yeah, I think that for that, that obviously it needs to be long term. We need to do something to finally help families out there. You know, people, wages have been stagnated for a long time now, even before COVID-19. And we need to do something that's going to help people long term. This has been a problem and a challenge that all presidents have talked about. It comes up in every presidential debate. And so doing something that's long-term and long-lasting, I think, is going to be especially attractive in states like West Virginia, for instance, where a large number of people there own some sort of financial

assistance or some sort of Medicaid or some other sort of government support program. And I think that these changes that we're talking about, once we can get them funded long-term, that they'll be just as popular as Medicare, Social Security, Pell Grants, any other sort of long-term project that we've had or program, that it was designed to sort of help people bridge that gap so they can have some upward mobility in their lives. And so that's the way that I look at it and think that because of that, we will be able to get this passed, particularly when people start going over the details of these bills and they start to think about what the infrastructure bill that was already passed, what that's going to do,

for instance, to help alleviate some of the congestion that we're having with our trucks and at our ports, that people will say, hey, we need to give Build Back Better the same sort of chance and give it a closer look, because these things that are in here, they're going to help my family. And I don't have, and I have no doubt at all that, again, that we'll get them passed. Congressman, you make a great point. So many Americans have the opportunity to experience the effects of public policy and find themselves liking it. But I'm curious how you respond, at least now that is first passed to critics who offer that this is loaded with benefits that will only be effective or beneficial to the wealthiest Americans. Things such as reductions in reduction or limits in local and state tax deductions. Some critics argue that that's only going to be beneficial to the wealthier Americans.

Tax credits for electric vehicles, hypothetically, electric vehicles cost so much. Only those Americans who have a decent amount of income or wealth already will be able to benefit from that. What case do you make then to say that this is actually a more broad-based plan that affects everyday Americans that might not have that kind of income? Yeah, no, absolutely. Let me just start with electric vehicles. My city is actually a finalist for a large electric vehicle company that is going to, that's thinking about relocating here. We're at the very top of the list, is my understanding, for a Rivian plant. It'll bring 5,700 jobs. The more investment that we make in cleaner vehicle infrastructure and tax credits will eventually allow them to scale so those vehicles can be

more affordable for all Americans. It used to be, take for instance, the cameras that you see on the back of cars, the reverse cameras. Those used to only be on very high-end vehicles like BMWs. Now they're on all vehicles because they've been scaled. And so, that's the same thing that we're doing with electric vehicles. And by providing these tax credits, it'll scale them. It'll save families money by being able to recharge the battery at home every night versus going to a gas station. And so, I think that the investment that we're making right now is going to definitely pay off, not just in the long term. I think that you're going to see more and more middle-income families investing

in these vehicles. The more widely available we make these tax credits, because they are interested in these vehicles. But we need to do more to help them. And at the end of the day, whether you're rich, whether you're a working family, whether you live in the North or in the South, it doesn't matter because we'll all benefit from the effects of the clean air that's going to be, that we're all going to be able to breathe and benefit from. We have some of the highest asthma rates in the country here at DFW, and a lot of it affects Black families. The more we get these cleaner vehicles on the road, it's going to help all of us breathe a little easier. And again, everybody wants to be a part of this new cleaner technology that's going to be driving our lives.

Congressman, this is a substantial investment, undoubtedly. $1.75 trillion is significant. There may be space that could be put for more that would perhaps benefit even more of us. But to your point, hopefully this initial investment will demonstrate to so many Americans a larger groundswell for the follow-up packages. Support to you and others who do want that bigger package and who want to come back for it a little bit later on. And when you do, we hope that you'll come back and have that conversation with us here. Absolutely. Thank you so much for your time. Thank you.

Turning to our panel, we're joined today by our good friend Michael M. Hoteb, the host at the African History Network show. We're joined by Candace Kelly, a legal analyst, and by Kelly Bethea, a JD. Let me make sure we give her all of her credit and all of her flowers, a professional communication strategist. Thank you all for joining us. The Build Back Better is clearly right here. And I want to start with you, Kelly. Is this something folks should be optimistic about?

As I mentioned in my conversation with Congressman Vesey, we're seeing already that this was initially introduced at $6.7 trillion from Senator Sanders, was pared down to a $3 trillion idea. Then Senator Manchin had some objections. And what passed is $1.75. We are not going to poo-poo on the fact that this will affect people's lives. But didn't that diminish some of the effect that it could have on the pool of Americans? Kelly, what do you think? It did, just objectively speaking, because more money means more resources that will go to Americans that need it the most. But, you know, $1.9 trillion is still nothing to sneeze at. This is still a substantial bill. Pair that with the infrastructure bill that just passed on Monday, I think we can really make some headway for Americans and making sure that the Build Back Better plan that Biden has envisioned

will actually come to fruition in the way, or at least close to the way that he envisioned. But at this state, frankly, I'm tired seeing year after year us scrambling to find money, scrambling to reconcile the budget. This bill is already paid for. So that was a real big selling point for me in terms of when I was looking it up and researching it and the like. The fact that it's not necessarily going to add to the debt that America already owes. It's already paid for. And the programs, meaning if it's already paid for, the plans in the bill should be able to roll out expeditiously as opposed to having to wait for things to happen. But at this rate, you know, and I joke with friends about this, currently, the United States is in a welfare state

that can afford a Gucci belt. It's like you can afford the belt itself, but you can't sustain the lifestyle. And bills like this help us afford the lifestyle. So kudos to Congress in getting at least this much passed so we can literally build back

better. Michael, Kelly talked about the idea that we continually find ourselves fighting for scraps. Meanwhile, quietly, a broad consensus passed a $7 trillion defense appropriation spending, and there was not any types of fighting for scraps there. How should you advise viewers and listeners to reconcile this challenge of there being enough money for defense quite regularly, but not always enough money for human capital, literal physical capital? How do you advise viewers or listeners to square that circle? Well, that happens every year, the National Defense Authorization Act. I mean, that happens

every year. Here, we see this is monumental, this Build Back Better plan, this bill that's about roughly two trillion. Now, it's important for people to understand this is the third—now, it still has to pass the Senate. It may be scaled back a little in the Senate and then goes back to the House. But when this passes, this will be the third major bill this year that Democrats have passed. The first one was the $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan in March of this year that a lot of people really don't talk about. Then you just had the infrastructure bill that just passed a couple weeks ago, signed into law.

It just signed into law this past Monday, $1.2 trillion. Then you have this one here. So, and this is over 10 years, but what I think is going to happen is that after the two or four years or so, different parts of this, they will extend for an additional two or four years, what have you. And there's some parts of this that you don't have to extend. So I think this is an example of what happens. This is an example of how elections have consequences. This is a monumental bill here. $270 billion for affordable child care, an extension of the child tax credit, which was in the American Rescue Plan that no Republicans in the House or Senate voted for. And it's cut childhood poverty in half. They extended that.

You got $110 billion for universal pre-K. So in politics, oftentimes with a lot of these bills, you don't get everything that you want, but you keep fighting and you protect the gains that you make and you keep fighting and you keep passing good policy like this. But you got to have the right people in office to even fight for bills like this and write bills like this. And once again, you had it up on the board, 220 to 213. All the Republicans in the House of Representatives voted against the bill, even though it's going to help people in their districts that voted to put them in office in the first place.

Yeah, that's a great point. And even the one Democrat who voted against it did not say he voted against it because he disagreed with some of the tenets. He actually wanted it to go further and thought that his vote would be useful protest to help bring them back to the table to extend. Candace, let me invite you in on this conversation. We've done a lot around the question of politics, but around the question of policy. How can everyday Americans, middle and lower class Americans particularly, how can they expect to see some of the fruits of the benefits of this Build Back Better second iteration of this bill? Well, listen, first of all, we need to hold the president accountable in terms of doing the job that he needs to do now, which that is

work on the house right now, work on the Senate rather. He's got to work hard for those votes. He needs Kamala's vote. He needs everybody's vote that he that he's supposed to get because the tenants of these bill of this bill is not something that people object to. It just really is the politics of it all. And that's what we're dealing with. We're dealing with the politics of it all. The other thing is that, you know, when we look at the marketing of this bill, we're

looking at something that just wasn't marketed in the right way. And that's what they need to work on in terms of getting it through the Senate. But to answer your question in terms of how people get a piece of this, listen, people have to be informed. A lot of reasons why people don't get what is due to them is because they just don't know the information. They don't know about, you know, information about how to pay their school loans off a little better. They don't know about the programs in affordable housing. They just don't know about the programs in affordable housing. They just don't know information. And we know that the largest commodity that the United States has is information. And sometimes we find ourselves behind the eight ball because we are just not informed. So the best

thing that we can do as a community is know about those things which will be due to us when this bill is hopefully passed in the Senate. That's an excellent point. And we want to make sure that our viewers stay focused and stay locked in right here on Roland Martin Unfiltered, because here is where you'll find how to get some of those affordable housing programs, student loan forgiveness, and much, much more that's in this bill. Panel, hang tight. We're going to come back to you in just a little bit. We have a lot more to come here on Roland Martin Unfiltered, streaming on the Black Star Network. Coming up, Kyle Rittenhouse is acquitted on all charges. You heard that correct. All charges. We'll break that down and hear what Reverend Jesse Jackson had to say about it. But first, let's hear a word from our

partners, Nissan and Amazon. This is Roland Martin Unfiltered on the Black Star Network. We'll be right back. ТРЕВОЧНАЯ МУЗЫКА Betty is saving big holiday shopping at Amazon. So now she's free to become Bear Hug Betty. Settle in, kids. You'll be there a while. Ooh, where you going? Something that's going to put you in that. You're going to remember this.

Yeah, I was on tour. So Brian wanted to be the headliner. Now, you're headlining with New Edition. So we're like, okay. You want to be the headliner? Not a problem. Since you think you're that big a band, okay. Yeah, yeah.

And I'll never forget one night, two of the guys, the driver got lost. I think it was Westbury we were playing. And I'll never forget, they asked him if he didn't mind going on first, and we would close out. And they came back and said, he said, no. I give him his props. He took it like a man. It was rough out there.

By the time he would come out, you could hear echoes. Wow. My name is Charlie Wilson. Hi, I'm Sally Richardson-Whitfield. And I'm Dodger Whitfield. Hey, everybody, this is your man Fred Hammond, and you're watching Roland Martin, my man, Unfiltered. Aaron Bolton was last seen a week ago today here in Washington, D.C. The 42-year-old is described as 5'6 tall and weighing 130 pounds.

Aaron has a bald head and brown eyes. He was last seen wearing a royal blue sweater when he disappeared on November 12th. any information about Aaron's whereabouts, please call Metropolitan Police Department here in D.C. at 202-727-9099. One more time, that number, 202-727-9099. It's been the same defense attorney, Kevin Goff, in the murder trial of the three white men who chased and murdered Ahmaud Arbery, who's been saying the dumbest stuff in court. Today, he motioned for yet another mistrial over the hundreds of black pastors he essentially invited to Glynn County, Georgia, as he likened yesterday's gathering of black pastors to, quote, a public lynching. This is what a public lynching looks like in the 21st century, with all due respect.

They don't have to have 10,000 people outside. They don't have to have 100,000 people outside. Perception is reality. They haven't put a podium up outside with a hangman's noose on it. Does it mean that this isn't a trial despite the best efforts of this court? This isn't a trial that's been infected by mob violence of a woke left mob. Now, there were reports of Goff asking the state for a deal for his client, William Roddy Bryan, who took the cell phone video of the February 2020 shooting. When asked about the deal, Goff called the report, quote, BS, denying the claims.

Let's go to our panel on this one. Candace, I want to start with you. This seems asinine to me. I'm just going to be completely honest. And everything that we're seeing here from my black eyes seems like it is just a most overt and obvious example of racial trolling in an effort to acquit their client. But will it work? Let's go ahead. But will it work? Will it work? Listen, Attorney Kevin Goff, he is really playing to his base. He's the one who sees the jury.

He's the one who knows the community. And he's the one who's from the South, and he knows what he can get away with in terms of what he can say. But here's what I think is going to happen. I think that down the line, he's going to be in sanction some way because all eyes are on him. And what he is saying is not only just a travesty, ridiculous and racist, but it is an assault upon the judicial system and how it works and doesn't work in this situation, that he is able to say the same infuriating thing over and over again. And the judge has the same response over and over again. The truth is that he did ask for a plea deal in the prosecution. They did not accept it. And the reason why he asked for it is because things are not going

his client's way. He has to have faith in his in his client so that the jury can have faith. If he doesn't have it, no one does. And that's why we know that he believes that this is a lost cause, because he sees what you and I see. He sees a bunch of defendants who admitted on record, who admitted and testified on, you know, in their recordings, evidence that came into play that said that they had no idea why they were chasing this man down the street, that there was not any threat, any harm to their well-being, and in that case, self-defense wouldn't be available to him. And that is what's going on with them. This is America. This is what we see.

We are not seeing only America on trial. We are seeing the justice system on trial. And mostly we are seeing the South on trial. Kelly, real quick, the song says, don't know much about history. I'm a volunteer. Don't know much about legal. Right? But you have the J.D. after your a volunteer. Don't know much about legal, right? But you have the JD after your name. This doesn't feel like an effective strategy when one lawyer seems to be

sabotaging his own client's case, which will in turn sabotage the co-defendant's or other defendant's case. Help me out. Fix that where I don't understand correctly? Well, correct me if I'm wrong. Yes, I have a JD, but so does Candace. But my understanding is no, it's not necessarily. One doesn't have much to do with the other. All three are tried at the same time, in my opinion, because the entire story as a whole is best told with all three defendants in the same trial. They could have been tried separately, but they weren't. And I think it's because the story in its totality is best told with all three in the same trial. Now, just because they are all in the same trial does not mean that the other two will get off. The jury hopefully is instructed to see each defendant

independently of the other, even though all three of them are in the same room together. Just because one would be found not guilty would not necessarily mean that the other one would, vice versa. I think I got that right, Candace. Yeah, no, you did. And I did not mean to insult or disparage Candace. We know Candace has a JD. And so we also want to recognize her legal expertise. Michael, let me ask you this. To say in 2021, in the year of our Lord, in Glynn County, Georgia, after your client

is a part of a collection of men who shot and killed an unarmed black jarger, that what was happening by black preachers outside of a courthouse is equivalent to a 21st century public lynching what type of goal plan motive or idea are you trying to communicate and to who by even saying that well defense attorney kevin golf is trying to appeal to one, maybe two white jurors from the South, they're all Southerners, but one or two white jurors who will be sympathetic to these good old boys and they have a hung jury, okay?

They'll say, okay, he's not guilty, all right? And we know it has to be unanimous, you know, 12-0, it has to be unanimous. You know, 12 has to be unanimous. So now this is after he kept he kept hitting on this point. OK, first it was Reverend Al Sharpton. Then it was Jesse Jackson. But it was Reverend it was actually Reverend William Barber, the third Reverend William Barber, the second. He didn't know the difference between the two of them. I guess all light skinskinned African-American pastors with wavy hair look alike, okay? Then they show up in masks. Then they show up in masks yesterday, okay? Now, this is after Travis McMichael got destroyed on the witness stand for a second day by lead prosecutor Lisa Donikowski, and he admitted that Ahmaud Arbery never verbally threatened him

or brandished a weapon during the five minutes that he and his father and William Bryan chased Ahmaud Arbery. He kept running away from them. And he never said, citizens arrest or you're under arrest. And they never told the police that they were trying to effectuate a citizens arrest. Okay? So, this is what he did in court today, Defense attorney, Kevin golf after, uh, Travis man, Michael, who shot and killed a model library, got destroyed on a witness stand yesterday. So they know he's a dead man walking. Okay. He's just trying to

maybe, you know, try to, uh, put in these objections to maybe try to set up some type of appeal after the conviction, what have you, but he knows he's a dead man walking. I hope so, Michael. I hope so. We thought that about another person that we're going to talk about just a little bit later, and that didn't necessarily turn out to be so. Thank you to our panel. You guys stay tight for one second. We'll come back to you later on in the conversation. But for right now, we're going to take a quick break

and hear another word from our sponsors. You're watching Roland Martin Unfiltered on the Black Star Network. Are the stars of tonight. Alexa, play our favorite song again. Okay. I only have eyes for you. 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 Glott. 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 thing is. Benny the Butcher.

Brent Smith from Shinedown. We got B-Real from Cypress Hill. NHL enforcer Riley Cote. Marine Cor 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. Oh, that spin class was brutal. Well, you can try using the Buick's massaging seat. Oh yeah, that's nice. Can I use Apple CarPlay to put some music on? Sure. It's wireless. Pick something we all like. Okay, hold on. What's your Buick's Wi-Fi password? Buick Envision 2021. Oh, you should pick

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Yo, it's your man, Deon Cole from Black-ish, and you're watching... Roland Martin, unfiltered. Stay woke. A Wisconsin jury acquits Kyle Rittenhouse of all charges. All right, members of the jury, have you elected a foreperson? Would you give your adjournment, please? Fifty-four. Fifty-four.

And has the jury reached a verdict as to each count of the information? Yes, we have, Your Honor. One verdict and one verdict only? Yes. Would you hand all the paperwork to the bailiff, please? This is the ones that we didn't know. Everything? Okay. Yeah, we have, Your Honor. One verdict and one verdict only? Yes. Would you hand all the paperwork to the bailiff, please? This is the ones that we didn't know. Everything. Okay. Thanks. The defendant will rise and face the jury and hearken to its verdicts. State of Wisconsin v. Kyle Rittenhouse.

As to the first count of the information, Joseph Rosenbaum, we the jury find the defendant, Kyle H. Rittenhouse, not guilty. As to the second count of the information, Richard McGinnis, we the jury find the defendant, Kyle H. Rittenhouse, not guilty. As to the second count of the information, Richard McGinnis, we, the jury, find the defendant, Kyle H. Rittenhouse, not guilty. As to the third count of the information, unknown male, we, the jury, find the defendant, Kyle H. Rittenhouse, not guilty. As to the fourth count of the information, Anthony Huber, we, the jury, find the defendant, Kyle H. Rittenhouse, not guilty. As to the fifth count of the information, Gage Rosequartz, we, the jury, find the defendant, Kyle H. Rittenhouse, not guilty. Joining me now is senior news and politics

reporter at Essence Magazine and Essence.com, Malaika Jabali, who's been following the case. Malaika, thank you so much for taking time to join us for this conversation. Absolutely, Ray. Thank you for having me. There's no place to start. There's so much that we saw on social media with people saying everything from, what are you expecting? I'm not surprised. The system is broken. The system is working. But I would like to zoom out for a second. And I invite you to guide our viewers on just a seeing regarding people taking this all in at one time that the actions against Jacob Blake and now the jury verdict against Kyle Rittenhouse? Well, what we're seeing is a yet another example of white vigilantes who want to portray themselves as the hero and the victim at the same time. If you look at what has been going on in southeastern Wisconsin, really for decades, it's been a powder keg. And so the people who are actually victims of state violence, the people who are being incarcerated more than anywhere else in the country, because if you actually look at the stats, black men in Wisconsin are incarcerated more than anyone else.

We don't think of the social conditions as victimizing people, but how Rittenhouse can cross state lines, go to a state that he does not even live in, and protect inanimate property, things that are objects. So that takes precedence, that takes priority over people's lived experience and real lives that are shattered by state violence. For example, Philando Castile's girlfriend was on the premises that day. So I'm actually Milwaukee-based. I was in Kenosha during the protest. I was in Kenosha during the shooting.

I was just a few blocks away when Rittenhouse shot his three victims. I heard the shots from where I was staying. And it was a lot of chaos that night. But if you look at the full scope of what was going on in Kenosha, a lot of what you saw was centered in very concentrated areas of the city. And during the day, there were peaceful protests. And so, Philando Castile's girlfriend was there, for instance, to offer her support because she herself has been a victim of trauma.

She saw her boyfriend get shot by a police officer for exercising the same rights, the same right to carry a gun that made him a victim while Kyle Rittenhouse gets praised as a hero. He's still alive. He still is able to take a breath of life and live to see another day. But a lot of people who were there in Kenosha that day did not get that opportunity to even protest, to even assemble without the threat of violence. And we have to look at the larger conditions of the city and what led them there to begin with. Malika, I want to zoom out for a second because you say that you're based in Milwaukee.

And I think it's valuable for the audience to know that Milwaukee has a long legacy of segregation, of racial discrimination. And I'm curious about how that might impact what we're seeing about how police are treating black people and about apparently how vigilante citizens are treating black people? Absolutely. Well, for one, it gives vigilantes more leeway and makes them comfortable knowing that they have an entire system that is going to support them. So in light of people who are protesting ongoing violence, ongoing incarceration, and just to remind you all, this is built up frustration. The reason why and the importance of creating this context is so that we're not just looking at the three seconds of a video where someone is claiming defense. We have to also look at things beyond the legal system and look at what is just. Is it fair that people who have been enduring income inequality in the city, in the state for so long, in that region in southeastern Wisconsin for so long? Is it fair that they can't even protest without armed vigilantes

coming in there and threatening them with guns? Because Cal Ringhouse wasn't the only vigilante. There were groups of them who were protesting and arguing down and barking back against people who have lost loved ones, who have lost brothers, who have lost cousins, who've endured the same pain, and then they have to relive that trauma. Malik, I want to pause for a second because Reverend Jesse Jackson said this about the ruling, that it means open season on protesters. Here's Reverend Jesse Jackson and his thoughts on the ruling. You just heard the verdict in the Rittenhouse trial.

What's your response? We agree with the family that lost two children. The third person was shot and injured. A young man ran down the street with an open car and saw a right wing. He killed two people. He was in his conscience the rest of his life. It's just the pace for right wingers around the country. He's now a young hero of right wing.

I mean, all demonstrations can be subject now to the right wing. I mean, the right wing is a great thing. I mean, the right wing is a great thing. I mean, the right wing is a great thing. I mean, the right wing is a great thing. I mean, the right wing is a great thing. I mean, the right wing is a great thing. I mean, the right wing is a great thing.

I mean, the right wing is a great thing. I mean, the right wing is a great thing. I mean, the right wing is a great thing. I mean, the right wing is a great thing. I mean, the right wing is a great thing. I mean, the right wing is a great thing. I a place for right-wingers around the country to have a young hero, right-wingers. I mean, all demonstrations can be subject now to being shot. And we actually call it defensive. It's unjust, it's unfair, it's immoral. It's not good for America today. Thank you, Congressman Jackson.

Now, Malika, President Biden had this to say. Now, President Biden, again, he was in surgery at the time of the ruling. He released a statement which read as such. While the verdict in Kenosha will leave many Americans feeling angry and concerned, myself included, we must acknowledge that the jury has spoken. I ran on a promise to bring Americans together because I believe that what unites us is far greater than what divides us. I know that we're not going to heal our country's wounds overnight,

but I remain steadfast in my commitment to do everything in my power to ensure that every American is treated equally with fairness and dignity under the law. I urge everyone to express their views peacefully, consistent with the rule of law. Violence and destruction of property have no place in our democracy. The White House and federal authorities have been in contact with Governor Evers' office to prepare for any outcome in this case. And I have spoken with the governor this afternoon

and offered support and any assistance needed to ensure public safety, close quote. Now, Malaika, I'm curious about President Biden's statement, and it's clear that the president means well. He intends to ensure that America can maintain peace and order, but it's curious that he starts by saying violence has no place in our democracy, but we're here because someone sought turn to violence to resolve a conflict. What does that say about the language that perhaps our elected leaders use versus the mentality or the behavior of so many of our fellow citizens? Well, this is the precise language that Biden espoused during the Kenosha shooting last August.

So around that same time, he went down to Kenosha shooting last August. So around that same time, he went down to Kenosha. He put out an ad that was almost equivalent to what you would see from Richard Nixon, where it was showing all this combustion that's happening in these cities and saying that we need to be a party and I'm going to be a president of law and order. So what he's saying is very consistent with how he has operated as a senator. It's how he operated as a candidate. So his commentary, and I see that he cleaned it up because earlier when he was asked immediately after coming out of the hospital how he felt about it, it was very simple.

I stand with the jury. That's a decision that they made. I stand by them. And so there is this automatic belief in the legitimacy of a system where for decades it has been subjective. You have people who are basing their assumptions about what is reasonable based on how they feel in that position with something, with an activity or some sort of action that's imminent. And so for them, sure, it's reasonable that this kid who could be my grandson or my nephew will cross state lines and want to protect the used car lot. But for everybody else, I think their lives matter a little bit more than a used car lot,

which we should remind the watchers here, the audience, that the owners of that car lot said they didn't even ask Kyle Rittenhouse to be there. Kyle Rittenhouse reached out to them. He texted them. They met in person. They didn't say that Kyle Rittenhouse to be there. Kyle Rittenhouse reached out to them. He texted them. They met in person. They didn't say that they needed any protection. So he took it upon himself to be a white knight. And then you have an entire legal system and you have a president that tries to substantiate the legitimacy of a system that somehow keeps exploiting and keeps taunting almost black people and those who are looking for justice.

Malaika, we're going to let you get out on this, but I do want to ask, and I apologize if the question's a little difficult for the time that we have for you to answer it. How do we reconcile a system that tells us there's legitimacy in the belief of the majority, right? The jury of our peers, the election results, et cetera, et cetera. How do we reconcile the legitimacy of the beliefs of the majority, right? The jury of our peers, the election results, et cetera, et cetera.

How do we reconcile the legitimacy of the beliefs of the majority when the majority hold inhumane beliefs? Well, you know, I think that is maybe overstating things a bit, because we saw even last year that a lot of people came around to supporting Black Lives Matter activism. Even with the protests in Kenosha, it was a multicultural movement. What we're really seeing is a silent majority that or a silent minority, excuse me, that is having very strong backlash to the sort of it was it was like a reckoning that a lot of people started to recognize, that you saw liberals, white, black, Latino, all over the country say that this is finally the breaking point. And so you have a minority that realize that they're losing a grip on power, so they have to start redistricting. They have to start thinking about gerrymandering. They have to have anti-protester laws.

Just to keep in mind, the Charlottesville trial is happening right now, where you can have cars that ram into protesters. So they're hanging on to the very little bit of power that they think they have in a society that is changing around them. Malaika Jabali, we thank you so much. And I appreciate you for reeling me back in for my reductionist and oversimplify...

oversimplification of what the issue is at hand. And I appreciate you for reeling me back in for my reductionist and oversimplify oversimplification of what the issue is at hand. And I thank you for the incisive analysis. We appreciate the work that you've done. She is the senior news and politics editor at Essence and Essence dot com. Thank you so much for joining us this evening on Roland Martin Unfiltered. Thanks for having me. We're going to take a quick break. And coming up, we'll have much more right here on Roland Martin Unfiltered, streaming live on the Black Star Network. About to give you something. Yeah.

That's going to put you in that, you're going to remember this. Yeah, I was on tour. So Brian wanted to be the headliner. Now, you're headlining with New Edition. So we're like, OK. You want to be a headliner? Not a problem. Since you think you're that big a band?

Okay. Yeah, yeah. And I'll never forget one night we, two of the guys, the driver got lost. I think it was Westbury we were playing. And I'll never forget we asked, they asked him if he didn't mind going on first and we would close out. And he came back and said, he said, no. I'll give him his prop.

He took it like a man. It was rough out there. By the time he would come out, you could hear echoes. Wow. ТРЕВОЧНАЯ МУЗЫКА I'm going to go get some food. Maureen is saving big holiday shopping at Amazon. So now she's free to become Maureen the Marrier. Food is her love language. And she really loves her grandson. Like, really loves. Hey, I'm Donnie Simpson. Hi, I'm Eric Nolan. I'm Shantae Moore. Hi, my name is Latoya Luckett, and you're watching Roland Martin Unfiltered. 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 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. 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. Benny the Butcher.

Brent Smith from Shinedown. 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 much talk about critical race theory, race this, race that. PRP and the Ad Council. So much talk about critical race theory, race this, race that, but so few people have actually done the reading. Joining us now is someone who's not only done the reading, but actually written a book about it. Cedric Robinson, The Time of the Black Radical Tradition. Dr. Joshua Myers is a professor of African American Studies at Howard University. He is our guest right here on Roland Martin Unfiltered. Dr. Myers, thank you so much for joining us this evening. I'm so happy to be here. Thanks for the invitation. Cedric Robinson may be a person that many of our viewers might not be as familiar with as we would like for him to be. What's a broad scope or broad look at what folks should know about Cedric Robinson.

Wow. I think people should know that he was a black studies scholar. And I think that's probably the easiest and quickest way to characterize his perspective on the world. And as a black studies scholar, ultimately what that suggests is that to study and view the world are through the lens of black people, but also through the lens of black people who constituted what he called the black radical tradition, which was a tradition of refusing to accept the world, the modern world, the world that reduced African people to slavery, the world that instituted the capitalist and colonialist and imperialist foundations that we associate with the modern world. It's the people

who refuse the terms, who refuse those terms of life and then resist it and imagined and otherwise to those systems of oppression. I'm sorry, go ahead. No, please. When you talk about refusing terms, some folks might not be completely abreast on what type of things we mean when we say that. So when we say refuse terms or to look about other ways of existing, what are we what are we actually saying? We're talking about the Africans who decided rather than being rather than continue to operate in a system of enslavement, who became maroons, people who separated themselves from the plantation and lived in the woods and lived in the system of enslavement who became maroons, people who separated themselves from the plantation and lived in the woods and lived in the swamps and decided that their lives would not be circumscribed by a white supremacist system.

And so we have this legacy of those maroons. We also have the people who decided that they would openly revolt against slavery. And so Robinson is part of a tradition of Black Studies where the revolt of our of our ancestors is actually normative. It's not exceptional. And so we tell the stories of the Haitian Revolution, Queen Nanny, of the Maroons in Jamaica. We tell the stories of Nat Turner. We tell the stories of Sam Sharpe. And you tell the stories of all the various radical and revolutionary movements that African peoples pursued, really going back to the foundation of New World slavery in the 15th and 16th centuries. It doesn't start, you know, when we

notice a Nat Turner in the 19th century. Nat Turner is heir to a tradition that was over 300 years old by the time he emerges. One of the things you talked about is this idea of we tell the story, we tell the story. So many people hear Black Studies as you led talking about Dr. Robinson and think it's a history question. But in conversation and reading some of your earlier work, Black Studies, Africana Studies is far greater than history. What is Black Studies? What is Africana Studies if it is not history. What is Black Studies? What is Africana Studies if it is not reduced to the discipline of history?

Well, one of the things that Cedric Robinson teaches us is that the discourses that we associate with the disciplines are actually created in many ways, in ways that are hostile to us being able to tell the stories that we should tell. And so Black Studies takes the perspective that not only must we tell the stories, we must tell the stories as African people have understood those stories, which in many ways eviscerates the white supremacist foundation of the academic disciplines. And so we're not seeking inclusion in American narratives of history.

We're not seeking recognition in the political science domains. What we're talking about is an entirely alternative way of viewing the world that would have resonated with those same Africans who resisted. So often we talk about the theories, and you outline theory very well here, but we understand, particularly black folk in the United States, we need our material needs met. Is there anything instructive in Cedric Robinson's work that helps us get to the point where, yes, we can begin to engage alternative models, but while we work our way there, we meet our material needs? Well, certainly. I think part of the tradition of resistance is enslavement, colonialism, imperialism don't in fact help us meet our material needs.

And so we actually have to practice, as we pursue a different world, we have to practice the alternatives. And so I think about the enslaved Africans who became maroons who then would take it upon themselves to provide a kind of living situation otherwise, which meant that they would often take food away from the plantation, right? They would create sources of income that were not reducible to the economy of slavery. And so when we think about this notion of black self-activity, when we actually strip away the notion that African people were only subject to or only reducible to what the system made them, we can see the various forms of ingenuity. We can see the various forms of Black creativity that allow for us to live the alternative, even as we struggle to make that alternative permanent. And so this is why we must study the maroons

and we must link the maroons, as Robinson does, to other forms of radical practice that look more familiar to us in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, going all the way into the periods that most people associate with the term radical, which is the 60s and the 70s. You introduced an interesting concept there,

the association of a belief of what radical is. And so many folks, particularly in this modern United States context, will say Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, she's radical, or Bernie Sanders, he's radical. What is Robinson talking about, and what do you illuminate in the text, in the book that you've written, about truly the definition or the meaning of radical? For Robinson, black radicalism is, again, about the refusal of the terms of white supremacy.

And what we have to actually do is link white supremacy to the modern world system, which is another shorthand for the ways in which we live today. And so he's refusing the idea that the state form is the only form for human life. He's refusing the notion that the capitalist world system is the only form of living in terms of our relationship to the market and the economy. Radicalism is ultimately about recognizing that all of the systems that we assume are normative are in fact creations. They are constructions. And insofar as they're responsible for the evils in this world, that's how we in fact rationalize, if you will,

why radicalism is the only way forward. What do you hope students of Dr. Robinson and ultimately your students who read this text will take away from this work that you've put together? Well, I think part of it is we want to offer a guide to how to read a Cedric Robinson. Because what we have now over the last five or six years, in the wake of his own transition, is that his name is becoming more and more popular. And so what we have to make sure happens is that the study process, the ability to take his text and actually root out those elements that are necessary for our revolutionary struggle in this current moment are actually honestly and cogently outlined and elaborated. And so I hope this book serves as a guide for people who want to actually dip their toes into this very important scholar who is only representative of this very important

tradition of radical scholarship. Dr. Myers, I'm going to let you get out on this, but I do want to ask about this. So often we think, oh, theory and radicalism and racial capitalism. That's for the really smart people like Candace and Kelly and Michael. They wrestle with all this stuff. But I went to one of your book talks before, and you talked about the everyday reading groups, the construction worker and the domestic servant, the farmer and all those folks who read. How do you invite or encourage those of us who are blue-collar workers who come and log on and watch Roland Martin Unfiltered just to get our information? How do you invite us to access some of this material that when we start talking about racial capitalism

can feel really heady? It's interesting because the foundations for Robinson's life is actually in the kinds of study groups that you just mentioned, which were not really fancy academic study groups. They were actually study groups that were rooted in the community, that were rooted in those elements of Black folk who wanted to actually interrogate the world around them. I mean, so we're talking about labor unions, we're talking about scholars without portfolio, people who were on the streets. And so that, I think that shows up in very important ways in his intellectual work.

And it's up to people, I think, to really be purposeful in honoring the tradition of study, which, if you understand our tradition, it's not really connected to the fancy academic context. It's connected to those Africans who were in the 19th century, right after slavery, who decided that they wanted to read and they developed these circles at night as they are stealing away and going into these sort of communal spaces and figuring out what it is that they needed to know. These were the secret schools, right? And then after enslavement was over, they simply continued that process.

They created these institutions underneath the official institutions. And so it's actually connected to radicalism to read. It's connected to radicalism to study. It's connected to radicalism to study. It's in our tradition. Dr. Myers, you do some work on this. Obviously, you've also written a book about the 1989 Howard University protests, but you also write about jazz music and art.

And there's something called a gathering together that you could tell our viewers about. Before you get out of here, tell folks about all the different places you write, all the different works that you do and how folks can continue to access and find and follow your work. So yeah, thank you for that. So Gathering Together Literary Journal, we're about to celebrate five years. It's a place for Black writers who want to steal away, right? To sit down and, as Sylvia Winter says, talk a little bit about culture. And a gatheringtogether.com is our

website. It's an online journal. And so we invite writers who want to embrace that ethos to join us and as well as readers. And so I write about a lot of different things, art, music, radicalism, social movement, history. And you can access all of my writings at my website, joshmmyers.com. It's the one-stop shop, I guess. The one-stop shop. And, Dr. Myers, you are a fan of the Atlanta Braves, so congratulations on that World Series championship after the long drought. I believe before we let you get out, I think Candace might have a question. Candace, did you have a question for Dr. Myers that you would like to hit him with before we let him get out of here? Well, listen, here's a question for you. Just in terms of

gathering together, I wrote that down to make sure that I followed up. What types of things do you really think people should be writing about now in order to inspire people to change some of the things that are going on in America right now. What would you like to see? Oh my God. So I think folks just need to slow down a little bit. And what is enduring about the ways in which Black people have initiated projects of survival that people who are moving too fast don't often stop to consider and think about, right? And so that's really what gathers us together, is to think about those things that often fall out of the discourse when we move too fast, when we move too quickly, when

we overlook this long genealogy of Black creative and black intellectual traditions that have thought about how to live in a different way. And so that's what we try to do. The text is called Cedric Robinson, the time of the black radical tradition. I've got my copy. Mine is signed. You got to go get yours signed. Dr. Myers, thank you so much for joining us here on Roland Martin Unfiltered. Thank you. We're going to take another break. We'll come back. We have some more stories and we'll have an interesting conversation about how food builds community. Coming up on Roland Martin Unfiltered streaming on the Black Star Network.

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 1, Taser Incorporated. I get right back there and it's bad. It's really, really, really bad. 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 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 thisispretirement.org. Brought to you by AARP and the Ad Council. Alexa, play our favorite song again. Okay. I only have eyes for you. Oh, that spin class was brutal.

Well, you can try using the Buick's massaging seat. Oh, yeah, that's nice. Can I use Apple CarPlay to put some music on? Sure. It's wireless. Pick something we all like. Okay, hold on. What's your Buick's Wi-Fi password?

Buick Envision 2021. But you should pick something stronger that's really predictable. That's a really tight spot. Don't worry. I used to hate parallel parking. Me too. Hey. Really outdid yourself parallel parking. Me too. Hey. Really outdid yourself.

Yes, we did. The all-new Buick Envision, an SUV built around you, all of you. Today in our nation's capital, standing in front of the highest court in the land, I can only use my few minutes to set the record straight. You see, I'm the preacher who supported Joe Manchin in Charleston, West Virginia, the downtown church. Over two decades, I've known him. And I'm the preacher who supported him in a way of even commercials that aired. They aired and I concluded at the end of the commercial that Joe was the type of leadership that West Virginia needed. But then Senator Manchin, I have to stand before people

today to say I looked into the eyes of the people who attend my church. See, you call them voters, but I call them members. You call them voters, but I call them congregants. You call them voters, but I call them family and friends. And I had to answer the questions, and I had to boggle and grapple with the issue that they said, you said that giving them anything in the state of West Virginia would cause them to have an entitlement mentality. I got a question, who's doing the entitlement? I'm just here to remind you, Joe, that the constituents of West Virginia are the ostracized, the parenthesized, the marginalized, the kick to the curb, the least, the lost, the left out and the looked over. I need you to think about them, Joe, when you are thinking about

the Build Back Better plan, voting rights, and ending the filibuster. That's the type of leadership that West Virginia needs. So, Senator Manchin, I will be remiss if I didn't remind you that the Bible says some things about leadership and how to lead. I'm a preacher of the gospel so I gotta sermonize just a little bit. Timothy says that a leader is one who loves what is good. This Build Back Better plan is good. Ending the filibuster is good. Matthew says whoever is a leader let him first be a servant among you. Paul says that leaders should be humble and think of others before they think of themselves. But most importantly, I think it's Solomon that I love

because Mount Solomon says that a leader seeks the counsel of others and in the abundance of counsel, you will find victory. That's why we're here. That's why I'm here. That's why we're lifting up our voices. That's why we are here on these steps. That's why we're trying to get his ear. Be the leader we believe that you would be and that we voted in the ballot box for you to be. That's the kind of leadership that West Virginia needs. Once upon a time, there lived a princess with really long hair who was waiting for a prince to come save her. But really, who has time for that? She ordered herself a ladder with prime one day delivery and she was out of there now her hairdressing empire is killing it

and the prince well who cares? Prime changes everything. What's up, what's up? I'm Dr. Ricky Dillard, the choir master. Hi, I'm Amber Stephens-West from The Carmichael Show. Hi, my name is Latoya Luckett, and you're watching Roland Martin Unfiltered. Six Fulton County, Georgia deputies have been indicted on several charges, including murder, after Antonio May died in their custody in 2018. Now, May was beaten, pepper sprayed, and repeatedly tased, exposing himself to deputies while in his cell. May suffered from mental health and substance abuse issues and was not placed in an appropriate medical

observation unit, even though he himself told officials he was suicidal. According to May's attorney, May eventually became unresponsive and died of cardiovascular collapse due to physical

restraint. Aaron Cook, Guido de la Cruz, Jason Roach, Kenesha Strouder, Omar Jackson, and William Whitaker are facing five charges, including the aforementioned murder, aggravated assault, assault and battery, and two counts of violation of oath of office. The May family filed a wrongful death lawsuit in 2019. This story is complex, has a lot of layers, and Roland Martin Unfiltered will keep you up to date

about all the developments of that particular story. Now, three teenagers driven by racial hatred or racism, plainly, were behind the swatting calls that brought major police responses to the home of one of the leading Black Lives Matter activists in Los Angeles. The juveniles are accused of two swatting calls. Now, real quick, for those who don't know, swatting is when you call the police and have authorities sent out to a location

when there is not an emergency there. It's quite honestly a false alarm. Now they sent that targeting the home of Malina Abdullah, a co-founder of BLM LA. The teenagers aged 13 to 16 connected through social media and are suspected of causing, get this, more than 30 bomb threats and swatting incidences across the country. As we mentioned earlier, swatting refers to these phony emergency calls that were made to attract police to particular addresses without cause. We're going to bring our panel in for those two stories, talking about the deputies in Georgia, as well as the swatting calls. Michael, I'll start with you. We started our show listening to and thinking about

and receiving the news about the teenager, Kyle Rittenhouse, getting out for a murder. A teenager. And now we're again seeing teenagers motivated by their racial animus, or quite simply racism, if we don't want to use those $20 words. But we also know that as a society

that's going to be humane, we should have justice and mercy and kindness and understanding of teenagers. How do we balance those two competing ideas that racism is causing harm to our people, but we also recognize the humanity in teenagers? Good question, Ray. Well, first of all, we have to acknowledge...

First of all, we have to acknowledge that racism exists, because you have a lot of people who are in denial, especially a lot of Republicans, who say racism doesn't exist, that's in the past. Racism is a system of advantage and privilege distributed based upon race, which comes out of the ideology of European white supremacy for the purpose of preserving genetic white survival. Racism is a system. So you first

have to start there. And this is one of the things that critical race theory targets and looks at how laws and policies historically and today continue to oppress non-white people, especially African Americans. But when we look at Kyle Rittenhouse, that was a tough case to prosecute, one. Two, I didn't think he was going to be convicted, OK, having watched some of the trial. And then also when the prosecution's star witness testified that he raised, who was armed also, that he raised his pistol at Kyle Rittenhouse, then that gave, bolstered Kyle Rittenhouse's self-defense claim. So when we look at Melina Abdullah, and I actually saw an interview that she did dealing

with the swatting incident, you know, hopefully these three white teenagers are operating out of white supremacy and racism. Hopefully they'll be prosecuted fully because this is very serious. She could have been killed. Okay. She could have been killed with these swatting incidences. So this is another reason why the real history of this country has to be taught in school. Okay. See, Americans are very, very ignorant of history. And you also have this this this false lost cause myth that's been pushed for about the last hundred and fifty or so years dealing with the fact that the Civil War or the myth that the Civil War is fought over states rights, which totally distorts all this history post Civil War, Reconstruction era, et cetera. So one, I'm glad the sister is still alive and can still talk about what happened.

Two, these teenagers need to be prosecuted to the full extent of the law. Candace, we think about the idea of racism and the state's rights that Michael alluded to, and quite honestly, it was a matter of state rights. The state's rights to be racist and continue to move slavery across the country. But so many Americans, particularly those who may not be sympathetic to where I presume, and forgive me for assumptions, the four of us might stand, would say, what's the big deal? No one was hurt.

It's not a problem. We should just relax, give them a slight slap on the wrist and call it a day. How would you respond to the critics who may say that? Well, first of all, disclosure, Malina Abdullah was my roommate at Howard University. But I will say this. Yeah. These young men who went online, first of all, got together and allowed themselves to get riled up the same way that Kyle Rittenhouse did, the same way that Travis McMichael did, you know, going online and using—galvanizing people around them to support what they did, they do need to be made examples of. The same way that Kyle Rittenhouse now has said a president, George Delonteonte is allowed to do when they go out on the

street, have a gun when they're 17 years old, have their mother drive them across state lines in order to carry out a mission that was never assigned to them. We need precedent here. Melina could have died. Her children could have died. They put her whole family at risk over and over again. So I don't think that they should really tread lightly, especially when these teenagers are smarter than we think. They know all about it. I mean, they are joining groups and they are, you know, online, creating discord in more ways than we imagine. Let us not underestimate how smart they are. Of course, let us not, you know, underestimate how stupid

they can be, too. But if we let these people go, what does that say about how we see this act, which, as you said, could have led to her death? And that's really what the question is here. Why are we allowing them to or why would we allow them to continue to do this and not go hard on them when someone could have died? We've seen people die in lesser situations. Kelly, I think it's fascinating that Candace introduced the word discord because there's actually a communication platform called discord that so many young people engage on and communicate with one another. Again, we're going to get into a place where we have to do some balancing here. And you as a communications professional, I'm curious how you see this.

How do we balance that we police this digital space where so much of the grounds that is ultimately leading to harm for our people, for people who care about justice, the conversations on the Internet? How do we police that space to ensure the collective safety of all of us while also providing the freedom that we need to be able to communicate freely with one another? I mean, that's an excellent question. And honestly, that question stems from how we view the First Amendment. I think that traditional press and media has done a fairly excellent job regarding what can be published, what can't be published, the whole notion, especially in journalism, of trust but verify, and then verify again. Even though the First Amendment exists, that is not licensed for you to just say whatever comes across your mind and not anticipate a consequence. And unfortunately, since we do not have any laws on the books regarding Internet regulations, that is, they have not been updated since, I want to say, 1996 or something to that effect, we are in this chasm of communication in that it feels as if it's kind of like the wild, wild west out there because of situations such as this.

These teenagers should have been able to be regulated to some degree regarding what they say and what they can't say, but because the laws haven't caught up to the technology, certainly haven't caught up to this neo-racism, so to speak, in that they're not on horses anymore. You know what I'm saying? But with the exception of the Ahmaud Arbery case, you don't necessarily have white people chasing black people in pickup trucks like they used to anymore. They're chasing them by way of Facebook.

They're chasing them by way of Instagram and TikTok and harassing them in that way. But there's nothing regulating that. But specifically when it comes to the LATs and the SWATing, that takes it to a whole other level because it's not just about free speech. It's not just about the communication of your ideas and how they combat with someone else. That's taxpayers' dollars being wasted. SWAT team is no joke. You have tens of people coming to the house expecting basically terrorist-level emergencies, and only to find that it's someone just chilling in their house, you know, as they are allowed to do.

They have the right to do that. And the trauma that is incurred on, honestly, both sides of that. SWAT doesn't want to go to a house that doesn't need their help. And certainly people who are in their homes don't want SWAT in their house when they don't need SWAT in their house. So, and all of that is paid by tax people's dollars. So it's, the teenagers are being infantile here. You know, they're being treated like true ignorant children. They knew exactly what they were going to do, but we are really babying them and coddling them

very likely because of their whiteness. And in any other case, they would be, you know, like anything would be held to the highest extent of the law regarding their actions. Staying with Kyle Rittenhouse. I want to try to fit this in before we get out of time, but I also don't want to undermine the seriousness of the charges. Looking back on the story that we read about the deputies in Georgia, Candace, when you hear that story and you hear

about this man saying, hey, I myself may be suicidal, and yet the guards aren't treating him with that kind of sincerity because he exposed himself, guards being impotent, just acting, as Kelly says, infantile because they could not handle that. But these aren't the 13 to 16-year-olds that we need to balance consideration of their immaturity with. These are adults who, to Kelly's point, are paid for by taxpayers who were exacting this harm on one of those in custody. What's your read on this? And is there any faith or optimism that one, justice can be found here,

but beyond justice, and forgive me for boxing you in with the question, is there any optimism we can stop this from happening? Well, certainly there are adults. But listen, they are adults that need more education on how to handle people in those types of social and mental crises that we know about that they often do not know about. When we look at police training, they go, what, one or two years? They reach a certain amount of hours. They don't get a lot of training for people like this. And this is where they run into a wall. But we've seen what's happened in Camden, New Jersey. We've seen what's happened in Ithaca, New York, where they have rearranged their whole

policing system in order to deal with the changes in the community and keep up with various people's needs. Why do people have to have police training in order to be a part of the force? I think that things are changing, and I think that they're changing for the better if we look at a few examples that already exist. That's number one. We have templates. We have templates that work, that works. And these are cities like Ithaca, who, if you reach out to them, they will help you with your city and your situation because they're doing it up there. Number two, the Justice, Department of Justice has to get involved in these types of places the same way that they are in Phoenix, Arizona, the same way that they are in Minneapolis, where they're getting on the ground with police officers, interviewing people, interviewing retirees, interviewing people who are part of the community to figure out what is the matter with this policing system? What's going on with the decisions that they are making day to day? They are doing right alongs, the Department of Justice, and they're writing up information, and they're going to have big, healthy reports to try to figure out how to get down to the bottom

of this. This is a place where the Department of Justice should go be stomping their boots in order to make some noise and get inside to figure out what's going on behind the curtain, the same way that they're doing in other cities in the country. Kelly, let me ask you this. Is it just that we as a society think that whatever happens to a person in police custody, they deserve it because they're in police custody in the first place? Because it's one thing when we see the interaction between citizens and law enforcement before they become persons in custody, but far too often are those in the custody of our Department of Corrections, ironically as they're called, have adverse experiences. We know that with Sandra

Bland. Once she was in their custody, horrible things happened. And so what, does it just say that us, not just those who need the training that Candace correctly pointed out, but we as a society, are we okay with what happens to people in custody because we blame them for being in custody? That's a loaded question, right? Because as a society, we've been conditioned to trust the police. We've been conditioned to trust law enforcement and defer to their judgment when it comes to pretty much anything that they do, right? So the fact that we are now coming around finally to the point and the notion that police officers are humans too, meaning that they too can also make mistakes. That is shifting the paradigm for sure regarding the perception of police officers. But right now, I mean, you can see it

with the Rittenhouse case. Even though he wasn't a cop, he was, you know, defending the law or whatever he was doing. And even in that notion, even though he's not a cop, people are like, well, it was chaotic and he was trying to abate the chaos, so I guess what he did was okay. Because we trust people who are attempting to or allegedly abating chaos to be good people. But Rittenhouse very well could have been lying about that.

You see what I'm saying? Police officers, we now know, lie. So I think we are shifting the perception of police officers, meaning that we know that they are human now. We know that they make mistakes. But we have a long way to go before we can truly hold them accountable for their actions because of the hold, the psychological hold that law enforcement, the conception of law enforcement has on the American people. Michael, let me ask you this. We've done so much work, as Candace and Kelly have pointed out already, about getting the public to understand, yes, law enforcement officers, generally police and sheriffs are human beings. But when we start to pierce inside those who work in the Department of Corrections,

are we going to have to start all over again in teaching about some of the horrors that those guards inflict on those that are in custody? Yeah, that has to be, I think that has to be exposed. But also, then that's part of the, you see, you have the police reform. You have one side, which is the police reform, the police departments, 18,500 police departments, things like this. But then you also have to have prison reform and what takes place inside of prisons and how prisoners are treated. And there has to be, I think a shift is taking place now where people

are realizing just because somebody is in prison, and even if they are guilty, because sometimes you have people who are not guilty who are in prison and they've been convicted, that does not mean they should be treated inhumane. And we have to come to that realization that these are still human beings and you can't mistreat, you can't just do whatever you want to to them. And then also understanding the role that mental illness plays. And you have a lot of people who are in prison who are mentally ill and you have prison guards who interact with them who may not have training on how to deal with people who are mentally ill. So you have the reform that needs to take place when it deals with police reform, but also the reform that needs to take

place when it comes to the whole prison industrial complex as well. Got a lot of work ahead of us. We're going to take a break, but before we do, I know we have to say goodbye to my Howard University sister, Candace. Candace, thank you so much for spending time with us and being here. Before we get out, tell folks where they can find you, how they can find you, how they can continue to get more of that incisive analysis you provided. Absolutely. CandaceKelleyTV.com. E-Y at the end and an A-C-E on Candice. Absolutely. We're going to take a break here.

Another where from our sponsors. You're listening to the Roland... You're watching. Excuse me. This is television. You're watching Roland Martin Unfiltered here on the Black Star Network.

We'll be back. 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. 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. 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. 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 gotta 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 things. Start building your retirement plan at thisispreetirement.org. Brought to you by AARP and the Ad Council. About to give you something. Yeah. That's going to put you in that, you're going to remember this. Yeah, I was on tour.

So Brian wanted to be the headliner. Now, you're headlining with New Edition. So we're like, okay. You want to be a headliner? Not a problem. Since you think you're bigger, that big Edition. So we're like, OK. You want to be headlining? Not a problem. Since you think you're bigger, that big a band? OK. Yeah, yeah.

And I'll never forget one night, two of the guys, the driver got lost. I think it was Westbury we were playing. And I'll never forget, they asked him if he didn't mind going on first, and we would close out. And he, they came back and said, he said, no. I'll give him his prop. He took it like a man.

It was rough out there. By the time he would come out, you could hear echoes. Wow. I'm out. ДИНАМИЧНАЯ МУЗЫКА Субтитры добавил DimaTorzok Maureen is saving big holiday shopping at Amazon. So now she's free to become Maureen the Merrier. Food is her love language. And she really loves her grandson. Like, really loves. Well, I like a nice filter usually, but we can be unfiltered. In about a week, I know most of us will be rolling ourselves everywhere we're going because this is going to be a wonderful opportunity to have delicious food.

There is nothing like breaking bread with people that you already know, and it's even more valuable when you use it to get to know them. We all need to eat, and you can learn so much about different cultures by the food that they are eating. In New Jersey, Newark to be specific, one community is using a communal meal to find common ground on how to build better community. Joining me now from Newark, New Jersey is attorney and activist and organizer, Shigozie Onyema. Shigozie, thank you so much for joining us here on Roland Martin Unfiltered. Thank you for having me, Brandon. Shigozie, Thanksgiving is coming up, and that's going to be a wonderful opportunity first for folks to understand the true history

of the United States in relationship to those who came upon the indigenous. But beyond that, we also are going to have an opportunity to enjoy good food, spend time, most of us with our families. You are convening a meal where folks who might not necessarily be family to one another will be breaking bread. Tell us about that. Yes, sir. We are hosting a community meal on Tuesday, a couple of days before Thanksgiving. And the hope is to bring different folks from the community. And by the community, we mean the West Board. Bring different folks together to break bread, get to know each other, and to really try to deal with some of the challenges that we have in the city. Newark, like many other parts of the country, has been experiencing more violence.

You know, just this week, I want to say it was on Tuesday, we had one of the most violent nights that I've seen in the city's history. There were about five different shootings, eight different victims. And we think that bringing folks together and unity can sort of help us try to resolve some of these challenges that we've been seeing in the community. For those who may be unfamiliar to organizing,

make the connection for us between eating food and stopping violence. Yes, I think for most of us, I think the main thing for us is that we want to bring people together in the same space. I think that one of the things that violence does is it tears our communities apart, right? I think it's much more difficult to be violent or to commit some sort of physical harm to anybody who you know a little bit and your relationship is rooted in love. So if we bring folks together, if we create different spaces for folks to eat, to get to know each other, to break bread and build with their neighbors, we think that we can kind of reduce some of the challenges that we have, whether it's around violence. You know, we've had a lot of different issues in our schools now. So we think we can kind of

reduce some of those challenges if we put folks in some of the same spaces and give them an opportunity to get to know each other, talk to each other, and sort of talk through what the kind of issues that they may have had in the past or maybe prevent developing those issues in the future. You talk about relationship building and folks knowing or not knowing each other. I'm thinking specifically about how the pandemic that we are trying to come out of, not completely out of, but getting back to life might have complicated that even more. How do you think that this meal addresses the distance that was exasperated by the pandemic? Yeah, man, I think, you know, for the past year and a half, a lot of us have been apart

and we've experienced a ton of challenges. I know there's been a lot of loss. Me, myself, I lost my father. Different folks in the community have experienced loss as well. And, you know, this is really the first Thanksgiving since the pandemic began that we can sort of think about some larger gatherings. And I don't want to say that we're beyond the pandemic by any means, but it is one of the first chances to bring our community together. And so we're excited about that opportunity to do so.

Condolences to you on your lost father. We definitely feel awful about that. And we're grateful that you're able to use that as an opportunity to build bridges and make connections. Now, I was reading a little bit about the meal, and you guys are going to have traditional, what we would call Black Soul food. You're also going to have Latin cuisine and African diasporic cuisine and menu. For those of us who might not be so familiar, fill in the gaps

on what Afro-diasporic cuisine might be. Sure, sure. So my family's from West Africa. I'm Nigerian, and one of the things that we love to eat are things like jello fries. So we're going to have jello fries there as well, and we're also going that we love to eat are things like Jell-O fries. So we're gonna have Jell-O fries there as well. And we're also gonna have some Haitian food. We have a strong Haitian community inside of the West Ward. So we'll bring some black rice to the table. So the whole idea is to really just bring a variety

of different cultures together that's very representative of the West Ward. We have a strong Latin American community inside the West Ward, so we wanna bring those folks together as well. And, you know, when we share cultures, we think that folks also get a chance to know each other a little bit better, too.

Now, Chigozie, I got a full disclosure. I know you personally. You're, like Candace, a Howard brother of mine. And I know that if you start talking about Jolof Rice, and Roland's got a large audience that supports him, some of the folks are West African themselves. You cannot just say, I'm West African, I'm Nigerian. Different ethnic groups, if I'm not mistaken, I'm Nigerian. Different ethnic groups,

if I'm not mistaken, will really put their own taste on Jollof rite. Particularly, I know the Senegalese compete with the Ghanaians who compete with the Nigerians. There's the Igbo, the Halal. This is a whole big thing. So how are you going to keep the peace in a meal that's supposed to bring us together that seems like it might be dividing us? Well, I think we've kind of resolved that Igbo people make the best jell-off by now. So I think, you know, we can kind of keep the peace with that resolution. You know, we know we've got the best food on the continent,

so we are indeed excited about that. We're going to go ahead and direct all the criticism, not to Roland Martin Unfiltered, to Chigozie Onyema, who says that Igbo people make the best jell-off rice. But quite seriously, what ultimately do you hope when folks leave this meal? What do you hope that they take back to their homes that they can carry with them

beyond having a delicious taste of a foreign cuisine? Yeah, I mean, I think for us it's about thinking about anti-violence work, man, and not just the kind of physical violence that I just talked about, but really, I mean, the violence of food insecurity, the violence of food deserts. So I think our presence, the meal that we're putting together, we're also going to give out some turkeys as well so that we can kind of deal with the fact that some folks might not be able to get access to turkeys.

But we want to try to deal with all different kinds of forms of violence through this one initiative, and hopefully we can build on this and create different opportunities for folks to come together as well so that we can model the kind of communities that we want to build, not just in the Westwood, but throughout the city of Newark and really throughout our country. We've got panelists with us. We've got Michael M. Hoteb of the kind of communities that we want to build, not just in the Westwood, but throughout the city of Newark and really throughout our country. We've got panelists with us. We've got Michael M. Hoteb of the African History Network

as well as Kelly Bethea. I want to bring them into the conversation. Michael, you and I are good Sigma brothers, Phi Beta Sigma to the core, so we know what good fellowship and community is like. How does, when you hear about what Mr. Onyema is doing in Newark, what is your takeaway about how this can impact the community?

And after you answer that, feel free to offer a question to Mr. Onyema should you have one. Absolutely. Well, you know, I think this is a good thing when we can bring people together from different cultures. We can bring Africans together, continental Africans, African Americans, people from Latin countries, Latin American countries, Spanish-speaking countries, and we all have commonality as well. I think it's a good thing. And when you can teach history through food, you can teach history through the food that people eat. We know cow peas or black eyed peas come from West Africa. We know watermelon dates back about 5,000 years ago to Egypt. So even foods in this country that we think are American foods have an African origin. But a quick question for Chagosier.

Can you talk some about the relationship between African cuisine and Latin cuisine? Because we know that Africans were taken into Spanish colonies, colonies conquered by Columbus, like originally Jamaica was a Spanish colony and Haiti, Hispaniola was Spanish and Cuba, things like this. And is there an influence from the foods that the African Moors took into Spain when they go on in 8th century AD, 711 AD. Is there an influence that we still see today as well in these foods that you're going to have at the celebration? Yeah, I think there is. I think that, you know, when we think about the African diaspora, we also think about Latin America. So when we say we want to talk about diaspora food, whether it's in Brazil,

whether it's in the Dominican Republic, we are also talking about, you know, Latin food becomes part of our diaspora in that context. And there's no doubt that there's influences also talking about, you know, Latin food becomes part of our diaspora in that context. And there's no doubt that there's influences, I think, you know, all across the board. I think that even if you look at sort of the South, right, we talk about New Orleans and red rice, you know, the similarities between rice and jell-o fries, I think, are one of the things that we can kind of think about in that context. So there's always that cultural continuity that I think, you know, whether it's with Africans going into Spain or whether it's Africans coming into the slave trade to the Americas, I think we see

that the foundation is always rooted in some of where we originally come from. So in that respect, I think, yes, you are absolutely right that, you know, we're really just talking about food from the continent and throughout our diaspora. Yes. Yes. Kelly, let me bring you into the conversation because every time I see you, Kelly, you look dressed to the nines, like, it's just perfection. And I know there's no way that you can eat as good

as these folks are going to eat on Tuesday with the beautiful hair and the great makeup and the well done. Oh, absolutely not. I know you can't do that. So, how would you recommend that folks show up to a function like this where we know we're going to break bread and socialize, but also, you know, folks don't want to put on their best self and present in their best way possible. Kelly, how would you recommend? And also, if you also have a question for Mr. Onyema,

feel free to offer it after you answer. Sure. So ironically, Thanksgiving Day might actually be the one day that I don't dress up for company. Like I make sure that everything has some type of elastic and draw string so that I don't have to worry because I'm usually cooking. So I don't want to be, you know, I got to have my hair back. I got to have, you know, the leggings and the, you know, the tennis shoes on because I'm walking to and from making sure people taste this, make sure it tastes great, all that stuff. So I don't know how you want people to be presented at this function, but I imagine comfort and cute would be sufficient for Thanksgiving Day in Jersey. I do have a question, however. Do you have any plans, given that food insecurity is a 365 thing, it's a 24-7 thing. Are there plans to do something regarding this matter, fighting this matter beyond Thanksgiving Day, specifically regarding food deserts? That's a huge problem. And it's my understanding that they actually kind of grew during the pandemic because of, you know, supply and demand. And between that and the supply chain issues that

we have going on in this country now, like turkeys this year have gone up double the price, if I'm not mistaken. Like last year, they were average 20-something. This year, they're going to be average like $50 for a 16 to 20-pound turkey. Even for those who have that kind of money, that's a lot for a bird for one day. So my question to you is, what are your plans to combat food insecurity and food deserts throughout the year, not just on Thanksgiving Day? Yeah, yeah. I think one of the things that we need is, you know, we certainly need grocery stores that serve healthy and fresh foods inside of our communities. I think the West, the Westward doesn't have one of the, I'm in the West Ward of Newark and we don't really have a

large supermarket. So I think for us, we want to try to bring one of those large supermarkets. And I think that we also have a ton of opportunity with regard to land. So, you know, the city of Newark has experienced a ton of foreclosures, not only because of the pandemic, but really still recovering from 2008, 2009. So I think if we can bring land that we have, whether it's commercial properties or maybe trying to put together some contiguous residential properties in order to think about what we can put there as well, I think we can, you know, maybe hopefully introduce some supermarkets into the communities. So, but it is a real challenge for us. And it's not something that I think any one of us will resolve through a community meal, but I think

to initiate the conversation and to raise awareness about it, I think is one of the things that we hope to do through this effort. Chagosier, let me ask you this because I can anticipate a viewer who might watch this skeptically and think, sitting down for a meal ain't gonna stop nobody from shooting nobody.

All the people who are doing the shooting wouldn't be at this meal. Sitting down for a meal ain't gonna build affordable housing. How do you respond to those folks who would be so skeptical that this very innocent but important communal activity can actually bring about the change that you hope that it can bring about? Yeah, I think that you fight ugliness with beauty. You know what I'm saying? So I think that violence is ugly.

And I think you create beautiful things and beautiful spaces in order to deal with some of that ugliness. I think so often we point directly to policing, and I think that police have, you know, some role to play in responding to violence. But I think as a community, we have a much larger role. And I think that the beauty that we bring to the space can look like a range of different things. So a community meal is only one of the tools in our toolbox that I think we's a range of social programming, recreational opportunities, mentorship programs, and just different ways in which we need to engage with our young people who are perpetrators and victims of the violence, but also just some of their families who, you know, who've either lost loved ones or seen loved ones maybe go to prison or just know some of the things that their loved ones might be involved in the community. I think bringing all of us together is certainly a step in the right direction, even if it's not a panacea to the larger problem of violence. I've got one more. We're going to let you get out on this. We've been calling it a communal meal the whole time. But the idea of what the solutions are moving forward are not simply rooted in just what you have to offer.

They're going to be collectively developed. How do you hope that this communal meal not just brings people together to get to know one another or meet one another, but also can be the seed to help the community collectively decide for itself what its future in the West Ward will be. Yeah, I think, you know, I was talking to a friend of mine. She runs the Grassroots Foundation and she gives away turkeys at a residential complex called Georgia King Village. And when she gives out the turkeys, she noticed that seniors weren't coming to get turkeys. And so one of the things that she thought was how do we find ways to engage seniors? And one of the ways that she thought was through a community meal where you directly target seniors, bring them to the community space and allow them to share a meal. So I think part of what we want to do, all of our organizing ought to be informed by people's

actual material needs, right? So that means that it requires us to have conversations with folks, talk to folks about what they want to see in the community, and then we can collectively work to provide some of that. So the community meal sort of comes out of that effort, talking to folks, having conversations, and asking folks, what would you like to see? And in that process, we've had folks tell us, you know, we want folks to come together, have different kinds of conversations,

and just create space for us. And so we're trying to create some space through this process. And I think organizing always has to come through that sort of grassroots, ground-level effort to have conversations with folks and to try to make real the kind of things that we discuss. She goes, yeah, how can folks find more information about the community meal? How can they sign up, RSVP, whatever they need to do to ensure that they can sit down with the folks from the West Ward in Newark? And is it also open to folks who might not live in the West Ward? Absolutely. The community meal is open to everybody. It will be at 350 West Market Street

inside of Newark, New Jersey. So that is the Old Fish Market near Georgia King Village between the Georgia King and the McDonald's. We welcome everybody to attend. To find more information about both me and a community meal, you can go to my Facebook or Instagram. My Facebook is Chigozie Onyema for Newark City Council. And then my Instagram is Chigozie Onyema underscore. That's C-H-I-G-O-Z-I-E O-N-Y-E-M-A underscore. So you know where to direct all of your complaints about who makes the best jollof rice. My Senegalese and Ghanaian friends will surely be in your inbox.

I'm not going to name names, but there's somebody who might be working with us right now who snickered a little bit when they heard that Igbo people are the ones who make the best jollof rice. We speak truth to power, my brothers. Chigozie, thank you so much. Happy holidays to you. Best of luck to you and all the folks in the West Ward on this

communal meal in building the future that you all want to see. Thank you for taking time for us. Thank you. We're going to take a break. We'll have more stories on the other side. You're watching Roland Martin Unfiltered here streaming on the Black Star Network. Alexa, play our favorite song again. Okay.

I only have eyes for you. Oh, that spin class was brutal. Well, you can try using the Buick's massaging seat. Oh, yeah, that's nice. Can I use Apple CarPlay to put some music on? Sure. It's wireless. Pick something we all like. Okay, hold on. What's your Buick's Wi-Fi password? Buick Envision 2021.

Oh, you should pick something stronger that's really predictable. That's a really tight spot. Don't worry. I used to hate parallel parking. Me too. Hey. Really outdid yourself. Yes, we did. The all-new Buick Envision. An SUV. Hey. Really outdid yourself. Yes, we did.

The all-new Buick Envision, an SUV built around you. All of you. Betty is saving big holiday shopping at Amazon. So now, she's free to become Bear Hug Betty. Settle in, kids. You'll be there a while. Ooh, where you going? Hey, I'm Arnaz J.

Black TV does matter, dang it. Hey, what's up, y'all? It's your boy, Jacob Lattimore, and you're now watching Roland Martin right now. Stay woke. A new study finds premature births are unfortunately on the rise within minority cultures. Communities, excuse me.

Premature birth occurs when a baby is born at at least three weeks before its expected due date. According to the March of Dimes, while the number of premature births have dropped overall, thankfully, the study revealed the number increased in communities of color. Yeah. Black, American, Indian, and Alaskan Native women are 60% more likely to give birth before 37 weeks of pregnancy are completed. Now, according to the CDC and the FDA, as of 2020, one in every 10 babies is born prematurely in the United States. More than 700 women die of pregnancy-related complications each year in the United States. And the Food and Drug Administration, along with our friends at the CDC,

says all fully vaccinated adults in the United States can now get a COVID-19 booster. The agency made the announcement today. Previously, only those who were 65 years or older and adults who were at high risk of getting the disease were eligible. The FDA decided to expand emergency use authorization after a phase three trial showed boosters are safe and have an efficacy of 95% against symptomatic COVID-19. We want to make sure viewers recognize that is against symptomatic COVID-19. Now, officials at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention also met today, discussed signing off on the FDA recommendation and have decided to do so. Right now, the United States has reported over 48 million coronavirus cases

and 789,000 deaths since the start of the pandemic. We're going to go to our panel about this, and I'm curious to see both those stories, both the premature births among those women of indigenous ancestry, African ancestry, and Alaskan Native ancestry. And Kelly, I'll start with you. How concerning are those numbers in that report when you hear something like that? It's very concerning, mainly because I fall in that demographic, right? And not to be selfish with it, but as someone who is of child rearing age, but no plans on having children in the future, but anytime soon, rather.

These are things that I think about when I am, you know, thinking about, you know, marriage, kids and the like, because we are the only country where we are so advanced in technology and medicine and the like where these statistics regarding women dying in childbirth are actually increasing each year against other fully developed countries. And it's scary. You know, just on a personal note, it is very scary knowing that, frankly, you don't know which doctor isn't going to trust your judgment regarding your own body. You know, on a personal note, my mom had three kids. I'm the oldest of three. She almost died having all three of us because at some point with all three births, something was wrong and no one listened. And that is scary, the fact that my mom could have been taken out all three times

just because she was trying to give birth and bring forth her children into the world. That is scary. And it is not fair to those who want kids and who want to have families to, especially if you're indigenous and black or another person of color, to have the added consideration regarding whether your doctor is going to trust you,

whether the medical system is going to actually be in your favor and actually help you through something that is already naturally traumatic, that is childbirth. Those added factors, it, like, I keep saying the word scary, but it just really is. It's triggering, it's scary, and it can be a deterrent for a lot of women who are thinking about having kids. Kelly, we're so glad that your mother is still here with us, and we're so grateful that she is, And we're thankful for you giving that very personal anecdote and experience, because as analysts, I know all the time we put our hat on and we objectively break this down. But I think that the personal connection that you alluded to there truly make that story resonate a little bit more. Michael, I want to pivot to you and talk about the COVID booster that we just got information on. And again, I don't want to put in on anyone that vaccine good, vaccine bad. I'm not interested in that conversation at all. But I am curious about

the way forward, the way we return to a life, quite honestly, without mask, if we can get back there. Are you optimistic that the booster will begin to help us get back to that place where perhaps we can engage in a world more familiar to us than the one that we put down in March of 2020. Yeah, I think we'll get to that. It's not going to be this year. OK, it's not going to be this year. Hopefully sometime in 2022, we can do that. I know just I think it was yesterday here in the state of Michigan, they issued an advisory to that we should wear masks indoors, regardless of if we are fully vaccinated or not, because we're seeing data that shows a waning efficacy, waning protection between six to eight months. And we know that the Delta variant is

so far probably the most dangerous variant. But it's not going to happen this year. Hopefully in 2021, sometime we can do that. 22, 2022. 2022, yeah, hopefully sometime in 2022 we can do that. But when you look at the Spanish flu pandemic, 1918, that lasted basically, that went into three years, 1918, 1919, and early 1920. Three to four years, yeah. Yeah, yeah. So hopefully at some point, but it's not going to be this year. We still need to be very careful.

I asked Michael for optimism, and Michael told us, nope, be patient, we got some more going on. We're going to take one more break, and then we're going to come back because I got something fun to tease our panelists with before we get out. You're watching Roland Martin Unfiltered here streaming on the Blackstar Network. We'll be right back.

About to give you something that's going to put you in that you're going to remember this. Yeah, I was on tour. So Brian wanted to be the headliner. Now, you're headlining with New Edition. So we're like, okay. You want to be the headliner? Not a problem.

Since you think you're that big a band, okay. Yeah, yeah. And I'll never forget one night, two of the guys, the driver got lost. I think it was Westbury we were playing. And I'll never forget, they asked him if he didn't mind going on first and we would close out. And they came back and said, he said, no. I give him his props.

He took it like a man. It was rough out there. By the time he would come out, you could hear echoes. Wow. I'm sorry. ТРЕВОЧНАЯ МУЗЫКА Alexa. I'll deny you Alexa, play our favorite song again. Okay. I only have eyes for you Hi, I'm Vivian Green.

Hey everybody, this is your man Fred Hammond and you're watching Roland Martin, my man, Unfiltered. Gotta make sure I give a big I'm sorry, thank you, you're kind, I appreciate you to our good sister Kelly for putting up with these two men in blue all day.

You did not have a chance. You were just enamored with nothing but these Phi Beta Sigma lapel pins. You know, we try to do it so cool without the necktie. You were so kind. You were so polite. Thank you for putting up with us. Kelly, tell folks where they can find more of your incisive analysis if they want to find and follow you. Sure.

Well, I don't have a problem with Sigmas. My mom was actually a dove in college, so I have a lot of Sigmas in my circle and stuff, so it's fine. I'm sorry, Sigma Sapphire. They were called Sigma Sapphires back then. Ooh, okay. I don't know nothing about that, but that's all I know. Anyway, you can find me on all social medias at Kelly Combs. That's K-E-L-L-Y-E-C-O-M-M-S,

on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, and my website is kellycombs.com. Magnificent. And Brother Michael, tell folks the same. Where can they hear you? How can they hear you? When can they hear you? All right, thank you, Ray.

Well, I'm on Monday through Friday, 11 p.m. to midnight Eastern Standard Time, the African History Network show, on 9, 10 a.m. the Superstation WFDF in Detroit, and Sundays, 9 p.m. to 11 p.m. Eastern Standard Time, the African History Network show on 9, 10 a.m. The Superstation WFDF in Detroit and Sundays, 9 p.m. to 11 p.m. Eastern Standard Time. Visit my website, African History Network dot com. We have the information there and how to listen to audio podcasts. I'm on 10 different audio podcast platforms. Download the iHeartRadio app. Search for the African History Network show. Follow me on Facebook.

The African History Network, the African History Network, YouTube, Michael M. Hotep, I-M-H-O-T-E-P, and on Facebook, Michael M. Hotep as well on Facebook. Look, Mike, I'm not certain how long Sigma's going to run this show, so whenever we can, whenever we do, particularly here on Roland Martin Unfiltered, we got to talk our talk, because when our good brother Roland gets back on Monday, all is downhill for Sigma's then. That's it for us here on Roland Martin Unfiltered. Thank you for joining us. And also, on a personal note, I want to thank everybody on the production staff that made this go as seamless as it is. You guys, our viewers, are used to how great and high-quality programming of Roland as a host, but the production team made it so easy for me to jump in today, and I am eternally grateful for the entire team.

If I name one name, it'll be one name too many, so I thank everybody and thank all of you. If you would like to show us some support so we can continue to bring you the stories that matter, bring them right there to you. You can donate to Roland Martin Unfiltered on the following

platforms. Cash app, Roland Martin Unfiltered, RM Unfiltered, on PayPal, paypal.me, RM Martin Unfiltered, Venmo, RM Unfiltered, Zelle, Roland at RolandMartin.com. Look, man, you can give Roland your money. There are plenty of ways. You see the screen, right? So make sure that you continue to do that so we can continue to reward the staff for their hard work, for their great production capacity, get more diverse technology, build this out more so we can continue to provide the news that you only hear right here on Rolling Mark Non-Filtered. Be sure to download the Black Star Network app. It is available everywhere. The Black Star Network app

is available everywhere. You can find it on your iPhone, Apple TV, Android, Android TV, Roku, Fire TV, Xbox One, Smart TV, down the street with your cousin, over at your granny house, in your auntie's backyard. You can find it all those places. I'm Ray Baker, and it has been my pleasure to spend this Friday evening with you. I've had a bunch of fun. It is my sincere hope and belief that you also have had a bunch of fun. Thank you so much to Roland for giving me the opportunity to sit in with his audience this evening. He will be back on Monday, bringing the funk as he always does.

And in parting, let us remember the words of the Yoruba proverb, that if we stand tall, it is because we stand on the backs of those who came before us. Good night and have a great weekend. Martin! សូវបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបា� Thank you. Să ne vedem la următoarea mea rețetă! Thank you. Să ne urmăm în următoarea mea rețetă. សូវបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបា� Să ne urmăm în următoarea mea rețetă. Thank you. you Thank you. you you Thank you. you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you 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 podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. I know a lot of cops. 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. This is Absolute Season 1, Taser Incorporated. I get right back there and it's bad. Listen to Absolute Season 1, Taser Incorporated on the iHeartRadio app,

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