#RolandMartinUnfiltered - RMU 1st year anniv.; Bahamas Update; Ex-Rep. Schock's charges dropped; Nigerians killed in S. Africa

Episode Date: September 8, 2019

9.4.19 #RolandMartinUnfiltered: Hurricane Dorian lays waste to the Bahamas; All charges dropped against IL Rep. Aaron Shock; 118 Nigerians have been killed in South Africa; Empowering young people to take control of their social and economic futures; In Memoriam: Music Producer LaShawn Daniels - #RolandMartinUnfiltered partner: Life Luxe Jazz Life Luxe Jazz is the experience of a lifetime, delivering top-notch music in an upscale destination. The weekend-long event is held at the Omnia Dayclub Los Cabos, which is nestled on the Sea of Cortez in the celebrity playground of Los Cabos, Mexico. For more information visit the website at lifeluxejazz.com. - Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This is an iHeart Podcast. Taser Incorporated. I get right back there and it's bad. Listen to Absolute Season 1, Taser Incorporated, on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. I'm Clayton English. I'm Greg Glott. And this is Season 2 of the War on Drugs podcast. 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 star-studded a little bit, man.

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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 them. Let's put ourselves in the right position, pregame to greater things. Start building your retirement plan at thisispreetirement.org, brought to you by AARP and the Ad Council. Thank you. 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. 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. Thank you. Today is Wednesday, September 4, 2019, the one-year anniversary of Roland Martin Unfiltered. Coming up on today's show, we're continuing our coverage of Hurricane Dorian's damage in the Bahamas.

We'll tell you how you can assist our folks there in the Bahamas. In Illinois, all charters have been dropped against former Congressman Aaron Schock. will tell you how you can assist our folks there in the Bahamas. In Illinois, all charters have been dropped against former Congressman Aaron Schock, a white Republican who got caught with his hands in the piggy bank. So why did black Democrat Jesse Jackson Jr. and his wife go to jail for a similar crime? Hmm. In South Africa, 118 Nigerians have been killed,

13 of them by South African police. The people are calling for an end to the violence there. Also empowering young people to take control of the social and economic futures. We'll break that down. Another crazy-ass white woman gets payback from her neighbors complaining about barbecue

because she's vegan. Also, a memoriam to music producer LaShawn Daniels, who died today, and R. Kelly. His trial has been set for April 2020, and he is no longer in solitary confinement. Yippee! It's time to bring the funk and Roland Martin Unfiltered. Let's go.

He's got it Whatever the mess, 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 rolling, best belief he's knowing. Putting it down from sports to news to politics. With entertainment just for kicks, he's rolling. It's Uncle Roro, y'all.

It's Uncle Roro, y'all. Yeah, yeah, yeah. It's Rollin' Marten. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Rollin' with Rollin' now. Yeah, yeah, yeah. He's funky, he's fresh, he's real the best. You know he's Rollin' Marten now. Now. Martin. All right, folks, in the Bahamas, still affected by Hurricane Dorian.

Massive flooding taking place all across the Bahamas there as they try to recover from a devastating hurricane. This morning on the Tom Joyner Morning Show, I talked with Minister Dwayne Sands, who is the Minister of Health, about what is happening there and what is needed going forward. This is what he had to say. I know the Prime Minister yesterday took a reconnaissance mission. Man, one of your islands, just massive damage.

Homes flattened, roofs torn off. I know in Freeport I saw a video. Someone, a friend of mine who's a lawyer in Miami, she sent me a video of the airport terminal there just decimated as well. Just can you give our listeners just an understanding of how the Bahamas has been impacted by this hurricane? Well, good morning and thank you. I was privileged to join the Prime Minister on that reconnaissance mission, which was provided to us by the United States of America and their Coast Guard. We flew over Abaco. And indeed, there are some places that are so devastated, it can only be accurately described as almost apocalyptic.

The roofs torn off, buildings reduced to splitters. It is obvious that there has been just historic devastation. Now, there are some areas where the wind damage is not as severe, but there's tremendous flooding. There's a challenge with access to the main population center because of flooding and damage to the airport. But we were able to evacuate a number of injured persons over the last two days. And a major influx of security personnel, medical personnel and humanitarian relief will be dropped into Marsh Harbor and the rest of Abaco today. For our listeners also, I want you to understand that landlines also down there in the Bahamas. And so both our guests are on cell phones.

Folks also using WhatsApp and other devices to be able to communicate. Minister Sands, that's also an issue there. And so being able to reach people, being able to communicate with people is also a problem. Well, you know, fortunately, you know, the Bahamas is an archipelago, a string of islands. And while this has been devastating for Grand Bahama and Abaco, The rest of the Bahamas has been relatively unscathed. Yes, we've had some flooding and wind elsewhere in the Bahamas, but the center of commerce remains open. People are preparing a disaster relief program from the other islands.

And so, yes, landlines are out in Abaco and Grand Bahama, but surprisingly, some of the cellular towers remain functional, and we've been able to hear from loved ones and colleagues, even in Abaco, Freeport, and the rest of Grand Bahama. There are a lot of people, obviously, who want to help because of past issues. There are people who don't necessarily want to give to the Red Cross. Is there an official relief set up by the Bahamian government? I know like in Houston, we see this in other places where the mayor has set up something where it's direct to the people. Anything like that? Has it already been established?

Yes, we have. We have established NEMA, which is our National Emergency Relief Agency. Anybody interested can go to the BahamasGovernment.org or just go into the Bahamas Government on any web browser. It will then direct you to the method of donating, which is officially sanctioned and which is safe. So we would appreciate any assistance from our brothers and sisters around the world, but most particularly in the United States of America. Certainly prayers and support go to all the folks there in the Bahamas. Those are our people who are affected. And so as we continue to survey the damage, hopefully we will not see that death toll rise even higher. So gentlemen,

we appreciate it. Thank you. Thank you very much. Thank you. All right. Also, I talked to Bishop Neil Ellis, who was also on the call this morning. All right, folks. Now, if you want to help folks in the Bahamas, you can go globalgiving.com has established a fund to provide emergency supplies and long-term assistance to help rebuild. Now, Chef Jose Andres and the relief team from World Central Kitchen, they've arrived in the Bahamas to set up kitchens in the affected places. Their address is wck.org, wck.org. Now, of course, they have been on the ground for quite some time. He's actually posted a number of videos as well from there of the work they were doing. Now, this here is a photo that he posted. Go to my iPad, please, of supplies coming in, food coming in via helicopter there to

the Bahamas. He posted this about an hour ago. I'm also going to go here on his page for some other. And here's a video here of one of their folks who helped out there in Puerto Rico. Go ahead and pull us up, please. Central Kitchen, and we're here in the Bahamas cooking meals for those affected by the hurricane Dorian. We have already sent thousands of hot meals and thousands of sandwiches out, and we're still working to make as many meals as we can so we can feed a lot of people. Keep posted for more updates. Hello.

And again, they are doing an amazing job. They're providing food and support to the folks there who are impacted. Now, he also was live streaming earlier talking about they were on their way to Abaco. Go to my iPad, please, for that video. Close to 2,000 sandwiches again. Later on, we'll bring water, and we're going to be bringing close to 3 000 hot meals we're going to deliver in Abaco and we're going to be able to go to the hospital hopefully to take care of that and we're going to keep cleaning the kitchen at the Abaco hotel that we're going to use as

our first kitchen in the animals. Bye. All right, folks. I'm also on a text channel, What's App, with the folks who are providing support here in the United States. I'm going to read those in a second. Team Rubicon is a group of military veterans providing disaster relief in affected areas. Their website is RubiconUSA.org, R-U-B-I-C-O-N-U-S-A.org.

Grand Bahamas Disaster Relief, set up by the Port Authority, offers suggestions on where to drop off supplies and how to help on their website. You can go to GBDDisasterRelief.org slash donate. That's GBDDisasterRelief.org backslash donate. And finally, Charity Navigator offers an even more expansive list of reputable charities working in the Bahamas. Just simply go to charitynavigator.org, charitynavigator.org. Also, you have folks here in the United States who are also doing some work. They've got one of the emails that I'm reading here.

They've got one group has 250 medical volunteers, 11 doctors, 35 EMTs, 37 nurses, and a host of other first responders who are ready to go to the Bahamas at the jump of a hat. And also, I'm reading here, let's see here. The IDB Staff Association will match up to $50,000 funds raised in deposit to the IDB Credit Union Special Hurricane Fund. They're raising funds there. And so, again, there are a number of people who are working out of the D.C. Embassy for the Bahamas as well. And so we're going to have the information for you to look at our social media pages. So we'll put all this sort

of stuff out so you know exactly where you can give and where your resources can be best used for what's happening there in the Bahamas. All right, folks, got to go to a break. We come back. We're going to talk about a strange case out of Illinois where a former congressman, white Republican, gets a sweetheart plea deal from U.S. attorneys for using, misusing his own campaign funds.

So how is it that he doesn't go to jail but Jesse Jackson Jr., a black Democrat, and his wife, his former wife, his then wife, both went to jail for the same crime. Hmm. That's next. Roland Martin Unfiltered, back in a moment.

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That's youtube.com forward slash Roland S. Martin. And don't forget to turn on your notifications so when we go live, you'll know it. All right, this Friday, if you're in the Atlanta area, you do not want to miss the Ride Money in Motion conference at the Lauder Milk Center. I'll be moderating a panel about access and ownership sponsored by Bonji, the only African-American-owned publicly traded cannabis organization in the world.

I'll be on that panel with Matthew Knowles, Bonita Money, Ryan Mack, and the whole Bonji family. I'll be front and center discussing entry into the multibillion-dollar and growing cannabis industry and how you can become a distributor, shareholder, or cannabis landlord. If you're interested in making money in this booming industry, again, $340 billion worldwide,

you don't want to miss this day-long symposium. Our panel will begin at 2.30, but for a full list of other panels, activations, and tickets, please visit ride.rollingout.com. That's ride.rollingout.com. That's ride.rollingout.com. And so we're looking forward to that. All right, folks, let's talk about this story out of Illinois.

It's pretty interesting. So Aaron Schock, a member of Congress, from a rising member from Illinois, Republican, he got busted because he was using his office for the... He was actually using campaign funds to redecorate his office in the theme of Downton Abbey. Don't ask me. I have no idea. Okay, but today, he was officially cleared of criminal charges

alleging he used his campaign funds for private purposes. This comes six months after he struck a rare deal with prosecutors, completing what is known as a deferred prosecution. Now, federal prosecutors in Chicago dropped all charges against Schott after he completed a probationary period. See, I'm just so stunned by it. Y'all, a probationary period where he stayed out of trouble and paid back 68 grand to his congressional campaign funds that he used for

personal expenses he's also required to work out a plan to pay back taxes to the irs okay here's why this is strange remember jesse jackson jr congressman illinois black democrat accused of using campaign funds for personal use he went to prison his wife whose campaign manager they say well she she knew about it as well she went to prison so what's the difference here let's talk about it with our panel here of course we have my far left left michael brown former uh uh finance committee member of the dnc uh again i just i'm just still trying to explain his vice chair of course dsc finance committee also monique presley legal analyst and crisis manager and we have a scott bolden former chair national bar association political action committee uh i want to go

no no you're not going to please let me go first you're not going first. I haven't seen you know You're not going first cuz I'm gonna go first to Somebody who oh, oh don't do it. No Michael oh No, I'm gonna Michael. I'm gonna Mike. I'm not dealing with you first No, I'm going Now Michael you've you had to deal with these issues, abuse attorneys, when you went to federal prison. Same one as Jesse.

Okay. Same one as former Congressman Jackson Jr. Is this weird that if you look at these two cases, accused of the exact same crime, Shock was hit with 12 charges. Jackson hit with 16 charges. He gets probationary deal, and hey, no sweat. You just pay the money back.

You ain't got to go to jail. All charges dropped. I thought you were going to let me recuse myself from this subject. Nope, you can't. You know, you should. In these cases, in particular with members of Congress, something like that usually goes to the ethics committee

to be remedied. In this case, obviously it didn't. It went to the Justice Department, and it was referred to the Justice Department. We know what happened here. With this gentleman, you know, clearly he has a favorable Justice Department that chose to work with him.

I'm doing the best I can. No, but the reason this is strange, Monique, is that first of all, Congressman Jackson took place during the Obama administration. This is so loaded up here right now. Oh, Jesus. This is abominable. You are doing to your panel right now? This is abominable. You are doing to your panel right now. It's like we're having three conversations

and none of them is what's coming out of my mouth. I'm speaking for you. Oh, God. Okay. No. The deal that he got is not strange. The deal that he got... He, meaning shock. Meaning shock. Mm. The deal that he got... He, meaning shock.

Meaning shock. Okay. Is not a problem for me. I get that what he got, others did not get. And sometimes, as Scott and I were talking about, the justice system does this in this case and that in that case.

On a high-profile matter like this, one thing that matters is... That's rare. D.C. was the jurisdiction for the Jackson matter, and shock was at home. Maybe the Jackson matter would have turned out differently if that were the case. And then there's also the obvious

if it wasn't a black man in America. I mean, first of all, hold on. I'm going to Chicago. No, no, for all the folks again. So, shot gets this probationary period, all right? Junior, Jesse Jackson Jr. got 30 months. His wife got 12 months, okay? They were accused.

Okay. So Jackson, they said, spent $750,000. They say this guy spent $68,000. So what? Is it the amount of money? But it's campaign funds. Okay. That's a fact.

Hold on. Go ahead. The amount is taken into consideration. Whether the person who's accused is cooperating or not is taken into consideration, whether they are mitigating circumstances, which in the Jackson matter there were, but I don't know to what extent that prevailed. That's taken into consideration.

If the government, and especially in D.C. it's like this, feels like there's games being played and the matter is being kind of not taken seriously, then... It's going to be up to me. Just finish up. It can go another way. But what the justice system is supposed to do is not use punishment to set an example. When you have first-time offenders, even if they are public servants, and as Mike said,

some of these things end up being handled in committee, and we don't even know about how many people are charged with things that relate to this. It's not strange, for instance, to be able to negotiate paying back taxes. That's not odd. Right. It's not, you know, there are lots of things. But, Scott, here's what odd. In a deferred prosecution?

In a deferred prosecution? Why are you yelling? Scott, wait. His also was interesting. First of all, the federal judge ruled today took a few minutes. Shock wasn't required to even be there. Exactly.

He had the crib. Exactly. So what he pled to wasn't a felony it was a misdemeanor and in several jurisdictions especially on federal law if you're gonna plead to a misdemeanor you have a proceeding you don't have to show up in court in his deferred prosecution agreement this is shock he admitted over billingilling and selling tickets and paying base price. He admitted to not paying the IRS. So what it is was mileage reimbursement.

Mileage reimbursement. Use the money for interior decorating. Right. A charter plane flight to Chicago Bears games and also the reselling of sports tickets for profit. He admitted it. So they still gave him a deferred prosecution. Now, granted, jurisdictionally, and they moved it to Chicago because the judge in D.C. had a conflict or improper contact with the federal prosecutors here,

but why do you move it all the way to his home jurisdiction? You could move it to Virginia, i.e., Manafort, or you could move it to Maryland. Right, I mean, here's the deal. Here's the thing about the Jackson case, though. Shock admitted. This, or you could move it to Maryland. But here's the thing about the Jackson case, though. This is for the Chicago Sun-Times. Although he admitted to the above accusations, Schock did not plead guilty

to any criminal offenses. This is what Schock said in March after the agreement was approved. There's a difference between mistakes and crimes. Right. And his committee, the campaign committee, which is key here, they pled guilty to a misdemeanor or a felony.

So whatever they were doing, he blamed somebody, and George Terwilliger, his very fine defense counsel, convinced them that the company, the campaign finance committee, would take a hit, and he'd get this deferred prosecution. But what makes it worse, despite the competing jurisdictions and U.S. Attorney's offices, is this. Jesse Jackson Jr. had mental health challenges during the period of the time he allegedly committed, well, he pled guilty, he's committed these crimes, and that played no factor. Shock had all his faculties, and Jesse Jackson Jr. didn't have all his faculties and still

got 30 months, and his wife, who is the first crime she ever committed, tax evasion or failure to pay taxes. First offense. They could do that civilly. They did that criminally. She got 12 months, which means she had to do 12 months. If they gave her 12 months and a day, she could do 80% of it. Now, granted, that was in D.C.

The other one was in Chicago. Shox in Chicago. If you ever get in trouble,. The other one's in Chicago. Shox in Chicago. If you ever get in trouble, ladies and gentlemen, go to Chicago. No, if you ever get in trouble, be a white Republican. And go to Chicago. With Jesse Smollett, though, at the state level,

he walked, too, on one of these deferred prosecution bills. But again, though, I mean, look, if you want to compare things, the bottom line is this goes to this whole issue people raise that if you were a black politician, you can look at the number of years that William Jefferson got. You look at the number of years that Kwame Kilpatrick got. There are just a number of cases folks bring up where you see where white politicians have committed crimes, have gotten relatively few years, but then all of a sudden the book, the kitchen sink

and everything thrown at black politicians. Absolutely. Monique, you got something to say? Look on your face. I'm just trying to understand. What? Listen. I said Monique. My middle name is Monique. I said Monique. Monique, Mike. There's no way I can

disagree with what you're saying. Exactly. Scott is incensed but and and rightfully so my only point was my youtube did say why Scott's voice so high but go ahead we should I was joking about my middle name being named that's that's what I said those deals and that's why I said initially what he was offered really isn't the problem. The problem is that when one of ours is on the carpet for something, but listen, our own community doesn't back up our own when we get called on the carpet for something. We push on pedestals and then there is a problem and then we let people fall way, way, way, way low, and we look at them like it's a spectator sport.

And that's never going to make for the type of justice that a black man in America deserves, which is the same amount of discretion, the same amount of understanding, the same amount of no criminal record, first chance, deferred adjudication, mental illness, whatever the case may be. But it starts with the discretion. You can't look down

unless the prosecutor, federal or state, is giving discretion. And I guarantee you, Jesse Jackson Jr., or Michael Brown couldn't get that deal in D.C. or anywhere else. That's the injustice. If you're going to give deals, you're giving deals. But give him a deal. Give me a deal. Give's the injustice. If you're going to give deals, you're giving deals. But give him a

deal. Give me a deal. Give Roman a deal. That's really what we're talking about. And prosecutorial discretion varies from jurisdiction to jurisdiction. Even though the U.S. Attorney's Office is all on the DOJ. Broad discretion. That's what we

got to fix. That's why voting matters. That's why prosecutors matter, because you put prosecutors in. And that's why the president matters. Well, some have said that the previous administration's Justice Department targeted many more people,

elected people of color, than the administration before that. You mean the Obama administration? Oh, did I say previous? Yes. Yes. I just want to make sure. We're talking about the same one. You couldn't get away with that.

Oh, yeah, yeah. He was too quick. Yes, that one. That is what some folks have said. Over compensation. Over compensation. And to Monique's point, when she was saying, you know, the pedestal thing, watch them fall,

that our folks don't do any lift up. Well, y'all know all these books. Let me just say this. That's all I'm saying. All right. You need to do more about this, Roland. Next topic. Jesus.

I don't mind commenting on it. I ain't never. We all got connections in the game. I don't care. Three black lawyers scurred. I'm just trying to stand. I'm letting it go. The show's called Unfiltered.

They like, normally they just running that. I yak, yak, yak. And I was like, okay, next time. Especially this one. All right. Monique. It's amazing how nobody want to talk about this subject. I wonder why.

I wonder why. All right, y'all. Last week, there was a massive protest march in different parts of Johannesburg, South Africa, targeting foreign nationals. The crisis erupted as a result of the murder of a taxi operator alleged to have been killed by a Nigerian. Now, the president of South Africa has condemned

the continuous killings of Nigerians in South Africa, warning it would no longer be condoned. So far, 118 Nigerians have been killed, 13 of them by South African police. I mean, that's... that's crazy. That's just crazy. Black-on-black crime. Kay, is there a... You missed that point?

You trying to add to that? I was just trying to help. I was just trying to support the show. It's your one-year anniversary. I might get... No, you need to take a... As a matter of fact, remove all caffeine. I thought when you said, are you trying to add to that,

you meant, like, because I'm about to commit a black-on-black crime, so I turned real quick. I was like... I mean, y'all might have wanted to remove Scott's caffeine, because I mean, like, you weighed extra as hell. Do I need to call Erica? Now keep my wife's name out of my mouth. I understand. Do I need to call

Erica? That's all I'm saying. Woo! All right, y'all. I'm going to go to a break right now. We come back. We're going to talk about black kids' finances. We'm gonna go to a break right now. We come back, we're gonna talk about black kids, finances, we'll also deal with the issue of the American Black Film Festival, a new initiative taking place in London. And y'all know we got another crazy-ass white person.

Some things change, some stay the same. This one, a vegan in Australia. Pissed off because somebody was barbecuing next door. Baby, just get a rib. Call it a day. This is Roland Martin Unfiltered. Back in a moment. You want to support Roland Martin Unfiltered? Be sure to join our Bring the Funk fan club. Every dollar that you give to us supports our daily digital show.

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Thanks. Thank you. All right, folks, that's my alpha brother, Gerald Albright. He's going to be one of the folks performing at the Life, Luck, Jazz Experience in Cabo November 7th through the 11th. I'll be broadcasting Roland Martin Unfiltered from there. Of course, folks, it's going to be amazing, top-notch music in an upscale destination. It's a weekend-long event taking place at the Omnia Day Club in Los Cabos,

which is nestled on the Sea of Cortez in the celebrity playground of Los Cabos, Mexico. And Life, Luck, Jazz Experience, folks, is an ultimate getaway. You talk about amazing music, luxury accommodations, fine food, top shelf liquor. They say libations, but y'all don't know what the hell that means. And, of course, Scott don't, but he know that's just liquor.

It's not liquor with an A or an E. Liquor. It's liquor. Of course, golf, spy, health and wellness options, and a lot more, folks. This is gonna be some of the big names in jazz. On the second annual Life Loves Jazz Experience, it's also gonna have all sorts of different events, many concerts, including the Spirit of Jazz Gospel Brunch

and the Jazz Sunset Cruise. Confirmed guests, comedian-actor Mark Curry, as I said, Joe Albright, Alex Bunyan, Raul Madon, Incognito, Pieces of a Dream, Kirk Whalum, Average White Band, Donny McClurkin, Shalaya, Roy Ayers, Tom Brown, Ronnie Laws, and Ernest Quarles. As I said, I'll be broadcasting

Roland Martin Unfiltered from there that Thursday and Friday, and so you get to also be a part of our show audience. If you want more information, go to lifeluxjazz.com L-I-F-E-L-U-X-E jazz.com It's going to be a great time. Love to

see you there. Packages beginning around $1,300 go up from there. We would love to see all of you there. Again, go to lifeluxjazz.com L-I-F-E-L-U-X-E jazz.com. We're going to have a fantastic time. I can't look forward to it.

And it's sort of like a pre-birthday celebration for me. My birthday is November 14th. It'll be the November 7th through the 11th. So really looking forward to all of that. All right, folks. Let's talk about my good friends at the American Black Film Festival. And, of course, every year we go to ABFF doing all sorts of coverage from there. But now they are doing some

New things okay, and so they're gonna be now doing an event taking place in London in the moment we're gonna be talking to Jeff Friday of course who is the founder of American black film festival So I'm gonna chat with him in just one second, but of course, you know every year We're there, ABFF. This year we were there for the red carpet for the movie Shaft. Last year it was, of course, the remake of a film as well. What was the movie we did last year? First of all, no, Shaft was this year.

It was a whole bunch of movies. The Superfly was last year. Then, of course, we caught up with Rick Ross and so many other different people. And, of course, this year also you had The Godfather documentary on Clarence Avant via Netflix, talking to Reggie Hutland and others. And so, now, ABFF, they are going to

London. Now, joining us right now is Jeff Friday. Jeff, what's up? What's up, brother? Can you see me? I can see you. Good chatting with you. So, what's up with this London deal? Explain. You know, we've been trying to spread the good gospel about black filmmakers from around the world. And I think that, you know, our power, when you look at what we've done in the United States, you know, really the next frontier for us was connecting black people from throughout the diaspora. So we kicked off this ABFF Global Film Series

a few weeks ago. We got our first stop in London on September 27th. Really excited about that role. And when you talk about going global, first of all, we're seeing all sorts of things happen all across the globe. You look at the films being made in Nigeria, you look at what is now happening

with folks in other countries. When you look at, again, upstart filmmakers who are really telling stories about people of color. And so this, I think, is certainly something that is unique to be able to collaborate and connect with those filmmakers in the African diaspora. Absolutely. You know, we were trying to, you know, my model is to always GREAT IDEA. I THINK IT'S A GREAT IDEA. I THINK IT'S A GREAT IDEA. MY MODEL IS ALWAYS FIND PARTNERS.

SOMETIMES PEOPLE CRITICIZE US AND SAY YOU GUYS ARE ONLY PROMOTING BLACK PEOPLE AND BLACK IMAGES. I THINK WE NEED THAT. I'M NOT EMBARRASSED OR ASHAMED THAT WHAT WE WAKE UP TO DO EVERYDAY PROFESSIONALLY IS PROMOTE BLACK CULTURE AND especially to promote black culture and the strength of black community. Really happy to have Sony. Sony Pictures is sponsoring this tour for us, man.

I really got to give them a big shout out because we can't do this without corporate support. And our motto has been, you know, bring in big companies and promote inclusion and diversity and entertainment with partners like Sony and like HBO and the side of the film festival and things like that. So, man, listen, we're going to only get better when we unite. And, again, what's most important to me and Nicole and our company is that black people start to support each other. And we're hoping that the ABFF series will be just one step in African people from around the globe working together and being more united economically and creatively.

How does this also change the game, if you will? Because when you talk about what is happening with film, when you look at how all of these companies all of a sudden have realized, oh my God, black people and black stories. When you look at the streaming services, how Netflix has really taken a page from what HBO did, what Fox did in building their following, frankly, around black content.

You would think Amazon Prime Video, you'll wake up and realize that, Hulu as well. But then also when you look, again, Black Panther makes more than a billion dollars. Now they're planning a second one. I was reading a story the other day where they're planning another company, I guess it's DC Comics, they're planning a black dollars. Now they're planning a second one. I was reading a story the other day where they're planning another company, I guess it's DC Comics, they're planning a Black Batman. And so it's all of a sudden, you're going to have all kind of Black superheroes.

But the ability to be able to also go international, I think is also key because that was the excuse that Black folks, we knew it was a lie, but the reality is you can't have the world two-thirds people of color then somehow say, we knew it was a lie. But the reality is you can't have the world, two-thirds of people of color, then somehow say, oh, these stories don't translate across the pond. And beyond that, you can't have every hip-hop artist makes most of their money and does most of their touring outside the U.S. So you also can't have black jazz musicians in the 60s and everywhere you travel outside the u.s you see

hip-hop fashion and everything black and everything inspired by black culture travels outside the u.s but hollywood has tricked us and they told us that black film and black culture doesn't travel in film entertainment that's absolutely not true you know everywhere you go they're watching martin or they're watching other black you know they, they're watching Queen Latifah. What was the show with Queen Latifah? Living Single. Living Single. I was in Africa.

Living Single is popular in Africa. Living Single and Young People in Paris talk about that show. Those are iconic classic shows there, too. So Hollywood has tricked us, Roland. This institution, this industry has told us we're not going to invest money in your films and your content. We're not going to pay you like we pay Brad Pitt and these other people because your stuff, your culture doesn't travel. So we can't make as much money on it. So we've got to keep you in this $3 million, $7 million box for a feature film.

Absolutely not true. Black Panther proves it's not true. And everything else following. Hidden Figures proved it's not true. Get Out proved it's not true. Us proved it's not true, and everything else followed. Hidden Figures proved it's not true. Get Out proved it's not true. Us proved it's not true. So our series is about really, well, we've got to keep beating the drum. We can't say Black Panther made a billion dollars and then stop, right?

We've got to have little successes and continued successes along the way. So this is really about getting Black people in one place, Black people throughout the dias people in one place, black people throughout the diaspora in one place, and also proving and debunking this myth that our film's culture, not our musical culture and our fashion culture, because they're still doing black fashion all over the world, that our film and television doesn't travel and doesn't play outside the globe. And that's where we're really going to be successful in this business.

When we stop asking for permission, we just go do it. Well, we've got folks, of course, who watch Roller Mountain Unfiltered from the UK. We've got fans there as well. And so give them the information again, where they can check out ABFF there in London. Yeah. So you can go to our website. Our website is abff.com. And there's a pop-up right when you get there that takes you to the portal that you can get tickets to find out more about. We're expecting 3,000 people for our first year in London, so abff.com, and then there's information right there to tell you about it. And for those who don't make it to London, we'll see you in Miami. We're going to be planning Miami again, our 24th anniversary,

coming up next June in South Beach. So I know one person that'll be there, right? Yeah, well, of course, we did the show from there this year, just like last year, and we look forward to being there next year as well. And, of course, today is, of course, the first anniversary of Roland Martin Unfiltered. And I posted this early.

I love these people who somehow think that, like, oh, you know, why are you doing this? And to get people to understand. And so I'm just going to show this graphic here. I was going to do it a little bit later just for people to understand in terms of what has happened. So this, folks, is actually what we've done in the first year. Y'all can go to it. 100.7 million video views across Facebook, YouTube, and Periscope, and 434,989,797 minutes of content viewed.

Congratulations. That's what we had done just in the first year. Woo! That's awesome. So again, because then, Jeff, bottom line is if you don't build it, bottom line is you can't say it can't happen. But if you do build it, our folks will support it. We always do.

We never fail each other. Listen, send me something. Congratulations. Please send me something to post about this glorious first anniversary, brother. I'll text it to you. All right, man. Tell Nicole what's up. I appreciate it.

Talk to you. Thanks a lot. All right. Go out, panel, here. I mean, what they're doing, I think, is critically important. But again, what we are seeing is, like, I was on this conversation late last night with someone who's in media. But this is not, it sort of fell into it. And I was trying to explain to her the power of media. First off, media is America's greatest export

in terms of our movies, in terms of television shows, in terms of music. And how the world looks at this country is defined by what is being exported out. And I tell people all the time, the reason I, like when I go after certain people who say stupid stuff on television, is because I understand the power of words and images

and how they can completely frame a conversation. And I think what we are seeing now with the internet, what we're seeing now with streaming services, the gatekeepers who controlled this before, frankly, they're going crazy because they no longer can contain it. They no longer, whether it's a movie, whether it's music, whether it's shows like this, it used to be they decided who got shows. They decided who were guests on shows. They decided what the news, uh, what the news was.

Game has changed. Well, I think that with those different mediums comes a huge demand for content. And the content is what they can't control anymore. I get questions all the time in regard to this show. I've seen you on Roland Martin on Philly. Why is he doing that? You said that earlier.

I get that, too, as a regular guest. And I said, listen, you know, he controls his content. He controls the time, place. He gets the guests, so he controls all of that. Why not? He gets sponsors, too, if you will. And so instead of trying to be in mainstream network, you've done that already, right? But you've also created a platform for black voices,

whether they're lawyers, whether they're political commentators. You can look across the board and see who's on main networks and cable and who still come here, but they started off here and did a lot of work with you in black media i hate that term black media because all media is media but i think the fact that the internet and these social media platforms has helped our people our communities a great deal and so you can't be controlled anymore unless you just want to be which is if you want to wait for a deal with abc or nbc or cnn you could certainly do that and work that but you got to be, which is if you want to wait for a deal with ABC or NBC or CNN, you can certainly do that and work

that, but you've got to be picked. And the odds of you being picked versus you doing your own show or doing your own commentary or blogging and it can get out there worldwide is very real. So why wait? You look at Justin Bieber. I saw his story the other day.

He didn't wait for a record deal. He was a YouTube sensation. And all of a sudden, someone is like, OK, we got to sign him. And that, again, to me, is what is amazing. Because I think one of the things that has been very interesting over the last year, like, I really love jacking with the haters. Because see, I've had people who say, oh, that's nothing.

We saw this video that you had on YouTube, I've had people who say, oh, that's nothing. We saw this video that you had on YouTube, and it had 200 views. I'm like, well, you do know we live streamed the one show eight times. And so, I don't care about the one video. And then people, of course, were hating, saying, oh, well, your number's

not real. I said, see, here's the beauty of YouTube Periscope and Facebook. The number is right there. Like, it says in the left-hand corner, 8.4K views or 20,000 views or 200,000 views. I said, get a calculator. And so my deal is, if you want to see the numbers, feel free to go back and count yourself.

And the thing is, trying to get them to understand, stop living by white validation. That somehow you're validated because you're on a network. Just like I've told people, you're not validated as an author if you sign a deal with HarperCollins. The moment you've got a book and you've got an ISBN number, your ass an author. If somebody paid you for your book, you an author.

But so many people live by this need to be validated by somebody else that they frankly are allowing their talents to go wasted yeah and first of all congratulations roland on your one year anniversary i mean i personally just in watching the trajectory and the journey of your career am inspired to do to do more. As I tell you privately, I want to say publicly, I mean, we need more examples of this at people who just do what they do, you know, and for you, that has always been journalism and, and it's who you are. It's what you do. And I think for all of us, we need to reach that. What hit me in the interview is before it was like, you have free speech, but it doesn't matter if there's one megaphone and you've got this one group of people who control that

one megaphone. And so I can say whatever it is I'm going to say, but if my voice can only reach the two people on the sides of me, then is my speech really free? Sure, I can say it. To me, YouTube, internet, digital platforms have leveled the playing field. There are no excuses. Your platform is in your phone. You know, so if there's anybody who wants to do good, if there's anybody who thinks they can sing, if there's anybody who wants to do a startup, I'm watching people 23 years old who are

enjoying ventures that are garnering millions of dollars and I'm like, no girl. No excuses. Steven Soderbergh shot an entire Netflix film, Michael, with an iPhone 6

plus, 7 plus. The whole film. Now you got to learn how to use it, but he shot it with an iPhone 6 Plus and 7 Plus. The whole film. Yeah. Now, you got to learn how to use it, but he shot it with an iPhone 6 Plus and a 7 Plus. And again, and for the people who... And it kills me because I was talking with somebody and I use this example all the time when somebody's like, well, when are you going to get a real show?

Here's what's interesting. Fox Nation. Just for y'all to understand, when I launched it, people said, are you crazy? What are you doing? You can't do that. In the year... So, first of all, when they canceled TV One,

the announcement was early December 2017. Last show was, I think it was December 20th or something like that, okay? So that's when I said, we're gonna overdrive. So this has really been from December 2017, we launched September 4th, 2018. There are people who were saying, what are you crazy, are you doing it? Since I announced I was launching this, Michael,

Fox Nation has launched a streaming service. NBC has launched a streaming service. NBC has launched a streaming network. ABC has expanded their streaming network. Pluto got sold for $340 million. Cheddar got sold for $200 million, a post-cable network. All these people, you look at Disney is pulling their shows off of Netflix,

launching their own streaming service to compete with Netflix. Warner Media pulled Friends off of Netflix, launching their own streaming service. So it's interesting that all these other people, major companies, are launching streaming services, are launching news networks for this and for this, and folks are like,

you really shouldn't do that because that just doesn't sound right. And I'm like, what the hell you call that? And also, I gave you the number of the viewing. And folks, understand, we also do the audio podcast of this show. Here, we go to my iPad. My man

Keenan sent me this. And so even our podcast plays has been 455,928 since we launched. So you add that with the video views, you're talking about 105 million. Go ahead, Mike. Well, and it'll be interesting to see now that everyone has access to these platforms if the rules change. Because the rules always change when diversity enters into the marketplace this is also why we fought net neutrality yes correct yeah and so we'll see what happens if we're still sitting here in a year um and the fcc hasn't started coming down on

streaming services and so we'll see hopefully hopefully it'll stay open but usually the rules change when people of color and diversity enter the marketplace. But let me also say this here. Now, here's another graphic I'm going to go to, all right, which is not as large. Can we go to my iPad? So the number of people who actually joined our Bring the Funk fan club. Our target goal the first year was 20,000,

giving an average of five bucks. So we had 2,495. Now, let me unpack that. The reason that's critically important because, again, you5. Now, let me unpack that. The reason that's critically important because, again, you can't say, oh man, it's great that we get to say what we want and we get to hear stories that we don't

hear elsewhere and we get to hear voices that we don't hear elsewhere. But then how are you going to pay for it? The reality is, we as African Americans, we pay for a whole lot of stuff. White folks, Latinos, Asians, Native Americans spend money on a whole lot of stuff.

The thing, though, is, what are we spending money on? And so when I asked for folks to join our Bring the Funk fan club, giving an average of 50 bucks for a year, some people actually gave more than that. Some gave $100, $250, $1,000. Had a 92-year-old black woman who, and I'm going to pull up in a minute, who before we launched sent me a check for $500.

She was 92 years old in Long Island, New York, and she said, your voice matters. That comes out to, folks, $4.19 a month. That comes out to, what, 13, 18 cents a day, whatever the number is. Now, let me walk you through that. So this is what we've been able to do over the last year with a very small amount of money.

We've done 220 original hours worth of shows. We've done more than 30 one-on-one interviews with folks like Spike Lee, Senator Doug Jones, and so many others. We've livestreamed more than 30 rallies, conferences, events that have taken place over the course of a year. All independent. Not corporate.

Thankfully, I've partners that have also been with us as well. So I'm saying that because we also have to support what we do. Black America would not have been able to get through Jim Crow without the Chicago Defender or the Pittsburgh Courier. If black people did not subscribe to those newspapers, they could not have sent folks to the theaters of war overseas, could not have sent people to investigate crimes of racism, discrimination all across the country. So the point I'm making is, if black folks in 1906, in 1910, 1920,

could support black newspapers, then why don't we support black media? And that's why, Scott, I call it black media. Because the reality is, if we don't... again, I go back to the first black newspaper, Freedom Journal, 1827. I know you work with NNPA. They said, quote, they wrote in the editorial, we wish to plead our own cause

to long have others spoken for us. And I get emails every day from people. Can you, my son is being railroaded. Can you investigate this? I got an EOC complaint. People have no, I mean, we literally don't have staff who can follow up on these emails. And so that's why...

So when people sit at home and go, man, I love the show, but then you don't contribute in any way, what you're really saying is, somebody else can y'all go ahead and pay for it, but then when stuff... Because here's the piece. We will never get canceled

if we support us. Like, there will never be a meeting where I get called into where someone says, we're canceling your show because I'm the one who calls that meeting. Now,

I don't want to have to come on the air one day and say, yo, this is our last show. Well, the reality don't want to have to come on the air one day and say, yo, this is our last show. But the reality is we have to have black folks who support black media because if you say, I want it to happen or I want to see us cover the 2020 election. I got black people right now. Some of y'all are saying, I want to see post-debate

analysis. I want to see election night coverage. I want to see all of that. Well, guess what? It don't happen on its own. Car service gets paid for. Staff gets paid for. And so that's why it's important for us. We have to be in the habit of doing just like black people did with black newspapers.

You have to subscribe in order for it to continue. Okay, so, so, Roland, that begs one question. Yep. We, you still, your show was a morning show. You still... Your show was a morning show. We still need those shows, though. But they don't exist.

There are eight networks, cable and broadcast, that target African Americans. They do 1,344 combined hours of content a week. That's not one hour of news. Because here's why. Because Sheila Johnson talked about this

when OWN was created. The advertisers have created this system where they say, we're gonna fund what folks watch. It becomes self-fulfilling prophecy. So therefore, if I put on comedies, or dramas, or old sitcoms, and you watch them in large numbers, and then I put on this news show over here, which is costly.

Original content. Original content. So let's say that news show is gonna cost $3 to $4 million a year. Well, if I can't even break even on advertising on that because of the numbers, I'm gonna cancel it. And so, people used to get mad at Bob Johnson.

Bob Johnson said that E and E in BET stands for entertainment. The reality is people say, man, we need this. The question is, will we support it with our eyeballs? And that has to happen. On an absolutely unbelievable, fantastic, great day, we had about 125, 130,000 viewers for News 1 Now. Now, I argue that if they put the show

in fringe primetime, 6 p.m., or even later, we could have a larger number. And I believe we could have. But again, that was a decision that programming makes. The beauty of what we do is, which is why we stream multiple times, we don't have that problem.

Because I'm not worried about, okay, it's coming up. Because although we're live at 6 p.m. Eastern, we restream at 10, 10 p.m., 2 a.m., 6 a.m., 10 a.m., 2 p.m. We restream twice a day, Saturday morning, Saturday evening, Sunday morning, Sunday evening. And it's VOD, which means you can watch it on demand as well. And we have audio podcasts. And so, we give you all of that, but still what has to happen is, we don't have to worry about ratings.

The difference with us is, if that number was... Here's the point. If that number was 50 million, and we had 20,000 subscribers, there's still no issue. And that's the point. If we still support it, now you're not

locked into, I gotta go get sponsors, I gotta go get advertisers, because your subscriber base says, do what y'all do. Build it. We've got the money taken care of. Go ahead. Okay, but here's the deal, though. Alrighty, you make the case

for these social media platforms, right? There are going to be more black networks. Eventually, let's say five, ten years, yeah, concept, precept, whatever, there are going to be more networks. There are going to be, and the main networks and cable are going to still be there, too. If this platform that you're on is so good, right,

at some point in time, somebody's going to come calling. Would you go back? Maybe, but here's the thing. You would. No, no, no, no. Even with all of this. Scott, you're wrong. Okay.

See, because my history already proves you're wrong. Then what? I was on TV One. I got paid by TV One before CNN called. Okay. I was at the Chicago Defender. I was doing television when CNN called. I didn't want to leave the Chicago Defender. The problem was the black people who own the Chicago Defender. I was doing television when CNN called. I didn't want to leave the Chicago

Defender. The problem was the black people who owned the Chicago Defender said we just want this to remain a small community newspaper. I'm like, that ain't my vision. That's why I left. I could have done, and this is why they later apologized to me because they said, man, that was dumb of us. The Chicago Defender could have had

the only, they could have been the only black newspaper in America who had their managing editor, who was a commentator on network television, representing a black newspaper every single day. But they had, they had short vision. Okay, they screwed that up. They made a profit.

I was there three years. We made a profit my last two years. They hadn't made a profit in 20 years. They would have had a bigger profit. Now i was so i joined cnn i didn't leave tv1 election night 2008 i tell cnn cnn we want you on the air the whole night i said i'll be on the air all night but i gotta leave twice to go do a hit for tv1 they literally said what are you doing you're going to be seen in 200 countries. I said, yeah, but they paid me before y'all did. So I never left black media.

I had a meeting with John Klein, who was the president of CNN in 2000 and this was in 2009. We had lunch and he said to me, he said, when you going to stop doing this TV One stuff and Tom Jonah Morning Show and all this other

sort of stuff? And I said, when you going give me a five-day-a-week show? Then I might consider it. 2010, John Klein got fired. 2013, CNN did renew my contract. This is 2000... They did or did not? Did not. This is 2019, six years later.

I'm still doing Tom Joyner. I did TV One for another four years, five years before my contract ended. I'm still doing my Joyner. I did TV One for another four years, five years before my contract ended. I'm still doing my speeches and my books. I would have been stupid to give up my black platform on the hope of a show one day on CNN. So if a network calls, I'm going to still do this because I own this.

Now, if somebody then says, well, we want to do something more expansive, then what I'll then do, okay, we're going to keep this here. I find me another host. I still own it. See, but see, the stupidest thing in the world is for us to let go of something that we control. I had an interview with Winnie Mandela. CNN said, why don't you ask her this, this, and this? I said, why in the hell y'all didn't have somebody else ask the question?

I said, I asked what the hell I wanted to ask. They said, well, we're not going to run it. I said, all right, cool. John, give me the tape. I'm going to run on my TV One show. So even though CNN didn't want to run it, it still got on. When Winnie Mandela died, we live-streamed the entire interview

on Roller Mountain Unfiltered, and we were down in Memphis for MLK 50. What? So if CNN had controlled the whole interview, my interview with Wendy Mandela would have never seen the light of day because somebody there in control said, it's not going to run.

Because I control my own show, I said I'm going to run it over here. That's why I will never let go of my own stuff because I'm not going to let somebody else tell me no. I'm going to say fine,

no for you, but not no for me. Let me go ahead. Jackie, I know, I'm coming to say fine no for you but not no for me but Roland I guess Jackie I know I'm coming to this guest next because this guest ties into this topic and so just give me five more minutes what can we do though

to get the message to people who may be watching now about putting your money where your mouth is in terms of what you say you value. Because when the 1619 Project

came out last week, who was it that was running it? Nicole Hannah-Jones. She put a tweet out just amazed at the people who were complaining about it not being free. And I'm like, Jokas, are you kidding me? You pay for a newspaper and they managed to get this body of work done?

Something that ain't been done. I mean, and you don't want to pay for it. You watch CNN or whoever. You pay a cable subscription. You pay money every month for that. These nails cost money. This hair costs

money. We know the value, and you stay clean. So, you know, Scott, we all know. And it's, and we're not, and it's not, y'all don't hate him. I'm not saying, girl, no. Check your hair. Get that right.

Keep them nails right. I'm not advocating against it. I'm saying that this is a much smaller amount that can provide education, information. We'll have your back when you need it in your community. We'll cover the stories about the stuff that's going on in your community. How do we get the message out to value it? First of all, I just think, first of all, we got to keep saying it. It's repetition.

Today, I've literally sent text messages to about 30 or 40 entertainers who probably collectively in their platforms exceed 75 million, saying, this is our first anniversary. I've already put together, curated four tweets. You can just copy and paste. Here's the image. Share with your platforms. Now, the question is, will they?

See, here's the thing. There's no cost. There's no... And people hit me all the time. Hey, Roland, can you share this? There's no cost to There's no... And people hit me all the time. Hey, Roland, can you share this? There's no cost to me to hit retweet. There's no cost for me to go copy, paste, here's a photo, click,

it goes out on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter. The question is, do we see that? And do we practice that? And that's the real thing, I think, Michael, when we talk about... Because even your point about the New York Times, and that's great with 1619 Project, and I'm not dissing it,

but that ain't black media. Right. That ain't going to black folks. All I'm saying is, that's an amazing package put together, but I told y'all, we did 220 hours of daily show. Yeah.

Throw in the 30 to 41 hour interviews, throw in the rallies we covered. If I tabulated, and I'm gonna have my guy tabulated, Kenan's probably gonna go crazy. I will dare say, we did 400 plus hours of black targeted content.

And there's no black network that can compare. And I dare say on the news side, there's no black website. The Root, BT.com, Media Takeout, go down the line that did black news.

I'm not talking about entertainment. And that's, I think, what people have to understand. Michael, final comment before I go to my next guest because this ties into it. I'm going to co-sign for what Monique and Scott said and frankly what you said. I know Jay has your guest on hold. So I'm just going to tell you, you're a pioneer.

And congratulations. And to have the courage when the other folks do come at you to say, I'm going gonna keep my other stuff. And that's what I think is, when you teach your class in communications or media, you need to tell young folks, hold on to your own thing that you own. Which is also why many of those networks don't call me.

See, I need people to understand. Because I say something, I need somebody to understand. Unbought. Because literally, I had somebody who told me, I had a very influential person, black person in the media say, Roland, you know you got lots of enemies in mainstream.

Because I understand the power of controlling your narrative. And I've never allowed somebody else to say, we're going to pay you X amount, will you leave? Nope. Because there will come a day when they say, nah, we're not gonna run that story.

And I'm just sorry. I am just not going to ask somebody that don't look like me, can I go cover the Image Awards? Can I go cover American Black Film Festival? Can I go cover MOK50? Do y'all understand?

That wasn't a single cable news show that was in Memphis that broadcast their show. Unless the Hope did the newscast from there, we were there Monday through Thursday. They were only there that anniversary date. What I'm trying to say is, this show

matters because we don't have to ask anybody else, can we? If the funds were there, we'd be on a plane in the Bahamas. We would do our show from St. Thomas. We would do our show from African nations. We have to understand black newspapers, Robert Abbott, The Defender,

A.I. Scott, Land Daily World, they own the papers, and they determine what they covered, which is why we celebrate them today. We should not talk about black media only in terms of the past. We should be talking about today and the future going. So trust me, the vision ain't just having,

just me having a show. The vision is literally building a digital network with multiple daily and weekly shows, with interest issues, with other reports oh i have a list right now y'all of 25 people who i will call in the heartbeat to do that but you got to have a successful one before you go to two and speaking of that our next guest talks about this whole issue of how to begin to close economic gap and teach young people about building wealth the people's alliance for justice is partnered with Nick Cannon to sponsor a seminar on taking charge of your future. Joining me right now is Reverend Shane Harris, founder and president

of the People's Alliance for Justice. And Shane, I wanted to have that conversation because again, it does till right into exactly what you're doing, getting people to understand if we have the intellect and we know how to use the technology, why are we asking somebody else for permission? Right. And you raise a really good point, Roland. First and foremost, let me say congratulations on your one year. And it's good to actually be on on this one year anniversary. It's an honor and a privilege. And I appreciate you for being the one of the few who actually gave me a voice to start. I started, in fact, during the Alfredo Longo shooting, having the opportunity to come on this

show and talk about how California was leading the nation in police shootings. So, Shirley, I'm thankful to be here. And let me say this. The People's Alliance for Justice is a new national civil rights organization that we've birthed. I was proud and honored to be trained up by some of the best, Reverend Sharpton, as a mentor and someone who really sort of taught me the real, it was my training ground at National Action Network in really understanding how organizing works, which is a whole other level of really getting our issues forth and really organizing around them. And so the People's Alliance for Justice now, which I founded here in California, we're headquartered out of San Diego. We have chapters across the state and coming into Atlanta and Dallas and Phoenix, Arizona. The People's Alliance for Justice, we're having our national headquarters opening here in San Diego. We're honored to have our good friend and partner, Nick Cannon, who is a San Diego native. And he's joining me on this endeavor for a few reasons. One, he's coming to make it clear that, you know, he and others are behind this movement of the people,

you know, and that he's behind this movement with the People's Alliance for Justice, and he's behind me. But he also is coming because he wants to ensure that we, you know, are really discussing what must be done. 400 years since the first slaves were dropped off in Virginia from Africa. And let us be very clear, this moment of the 1619 Project, which Nick is a proud supporter of with the movement that he's pushing across the country and the commission on reparations and some of the dialogue that he's having across the country. He is really trying to raise the fact that exactly what you just said, that we must own our own again, that we must bring young people up, understanding that we can own our own and we can be in full control and charge of what we're saying and what we're doing. And so we're going to be having a discussion at this national headquarters opening about economic empowerment.

We're going to be talking about how young people can get their business started. And even he's even looking into ways that he can partner with us to fund young people that are looking to start their businesses. So we're going to be having real discussion around 400 years after the first slaves were dropped off, how we can get back to owning, you know, having our own, having our own radio shows, having our own television, having our own, you know, our own company, our own hairstyle, our own, you know, our own restaurant.

And really coming into our own is what this event is all about. We're really excited about it. Where can people get more information? People can go to peoplesallianceforjustice.net. There they can find out exactly what we're doing. They click on the top of the page. They can register for this event. This event is open to the public. We know that some are coming even from across the country. We're expecting many from across California to cut this ribbon with us. And if they want to know more about the People's Alliance for Justice, they can go to peoplesallianceforjustice.net. Our mission is solely this, Roland. The People's Alliance for Justice is a national civil rights organization founded to keep Dr. Martin Luther King's dream alive by taking direct action with

a balanced standard of justice for all, no matter what race, gender, criminal record, sexuality, or citizenship. We are on the move. We've got the first national initiative as a civil rights organization around foster care called Every Child Heard. And so if people want to know more about what the initiatives and the things we're going to be taking on nationally and how this event brings forth what we're going to be doing, they can go to peoplesallianceforjustice.net. We're looking to plant chapters in your city, wherever you are, because we understand that this work is critical and we must keep this movement going. It cannot end with the civil rights leaders before us or those before us. We must be the ones to take up the mantle and keep this movement going. It cannot end with the civil rights leaders before us or those before us. We must be the ones to take up the mantle and keep this movement going. And so you're seeing it across the country, leaders coming behind leaders, leaders being raised up by leaders, taking leadership. And so

we're really excited about this endeavor and really appreciative of Nick Cannon partnering with us. All right, then. Well, Shane, we're still appreciative, man. Thank you so very much, and good luck with it. Thank you. All right, folks. Tomorrow on the show, I'm going to play for you.

When we were at Operation Global Hope Forum last year, TI, there was a panel with John Bryant, TI, Emmanuel Lewis, Chris Tucker, and a couple other folks, and there was something that T.I. said. He said, we have to monetize our culture. And you heard me mention Black Panther. And, look, phenomenal film. But the reality is, Disney made that billion dollars. Yes, African Americans directed it, were in it, people starred in it.

Why am I making that point? Because America, let me just, just, just so, this really hit me when I was watching the Sam Cooke documentary on Netflix, which was an amazing documentary. Here you had a, a, a, a leech of an agent who stole Sam Cooke's music that he produced. So first of all, we were stolen from the motherland,

shipped to America, till the soil, build the country for no money. Free, given no land. 92 years of Jim Crow denied opportunities. Still fighting for full freedom

in America then you had what was our most basic core talent music, singing folks stole the music rights from our singers now we see documentaries and movies on those same people

not being made by us yeah some of y'all gonna get that in a second so I'm watching on those same people not being made by us. Yeah. Some of y'all gonna get that in a second. So, I'm watching this and I'm saying, well, why the hell we can't make a documentary about Sam Cooke? The BBC, an amazing documentary

on Teddy Pendergrass that aired on Showtime. The BBC. What I'm saying is, we have to create, as T.I. said, we have to monetize our own culture. There are amazing stories worthy of doing documentaries. I got two that are off the chain, and it's just a matter of somebody saying, let's do it.

But this also requires black folks to collaborate. So just so y'all understand, I've met with nearly every major black media company over the last year. Has any one of them wanted a partner? No. You can't have black folks who are living in these silos because we don't have big enough scale. You got to be able to have scale. But it's also understanding, to Monique's point, how do we get people to also understand the power of giving. I have 2.4 million social media

followers. Forget 10%. If only 5%, I don't want to put this in perspective, if only 5% of my social media followers actually gave 50 bucks, that's it. 50 bucks each.

That would fund this show for the next six years. I didn't say six months. I said six years. Trying to get us to understand what that means. That means creating more shows. Creating something larger.

There's no reason in the world we shouldn't be doing not 100 million views in a year. Imagine having five or six other shows, and now we're doing four and five and 600 million views in a year. Now you have more shows, more voices. Now you have an opportunity. Shane talked about young people. I'm 50.

I will challenge any millennial when it comes to understanding technology. more shows, more voices. Now you have an opportunity. Shayne talked about young people. I'm 50. I will challenge any millennial when it comes to understanding technology. Come on. Because, see, I haven't stopped learning. We must understand. Trust me, my nieces will tell you when they come to me, Uncle Roro, I don't know what's happening.

Can you fix this? Because learning doesn't stop when you get older. What I need you to understand is this here. You can say, man, can't you let it go? The answer is no. Because I told you what my greatest fear is. My greatest fear, with us being 24 years away from America becoming a nation majority people of color, that at the current trajectory downward, black America will not be in control of our

narrative. We will be asking somebody else to cover us. We'll be asking somebody else, can you please write about us or do an audio podcast or do a video? That should never be the case. We have to control our own destiny

and monetize our own culture. So, again, the number's 2,495. You should be one of our fan club members. You should join. Look at the numbers again, right here. Right here, 2,495 members. Right here, we look at how many followers we got on Facebook, Periscope, YouTube, Instagram.

Right here, 455,000 people listen to our podcast. Right here, total views, 100.7 million, almost 435 million minutes. Go to RollerMartUnderFilter.com, join our Bring the Funk fan club, because we got some great stuff. We want to be on the road in 2020. I've got several presidential candidates

who've already committed on a black male-only town hall. Who else is doing that? I've got two who've already committed. I'm talking to the top six. I've already connected with all six of them. What I'm trying to let you know is that it only happens when you control it. Because here's the deal.

I don't need MSNBC or CNN to do it. I own my own cameras. I own my own live streaming equipment. I have my staff. I don't have to ask anybody, can y'all help us do this? Y'all, we can literally do this ourselves. We don't have to ask somebody else for permission.

But if we don't support it, none of that can happen. Again, I want to thank all of you for supporting us over the last year. I want to thank all of you for supporting us over the last year. I want to thank our panel. Great conversation today. I'll see you guys tomorrow. Crazy white people. No, I'll push it off for tomorrow.

Trust me, it's enough of them. If I give, your fan club, does that mean I own the show or own you? First of all, the fact that you keep saying, if I give, means you have not given in the past year. So you really, really didn't want to open that can of... Who's your largest giver? You did not open... Who's my largest giver? Your largest giver.

I'll tell you right now, the National... I'll give them a shout-out. The National Coalition on Black Civic Participation, Melanie Campbell's group, out of all of the civil rights groups, they give us $1,000 a month. Really? Wow.

What's your largest individual giver? $1,000 a month. Okay, your largest individual. That's what they give us $1,000 a month. Really? Wow. What's your largest individual giver? $1,000 a month. Okay, your largest individual. That's what they give us as well. Who's your largest individual giver? That person doesn't want to be mentioned. So it's confidential or it's anonymous. Yeah, but it's $1,000 a month.

That individual too? It's an individual $1,000 a month. So why, are you trying to beat that? I'm thinking about it. You made a great case. It's been taking you 365 days. Well, I feel as a guest that perhaps I'd be conflicted if I gave money, because it may affect my commentary.

Oh, man! Needs your ass. See, that's the difference right there between a Kappa and an Alpha. That's right there. That's right there. That's right there. Tomorrow, I'm gonna give a shout-out on my sugar slide of our partners who've actually helped us.

And again, AFSCME. Again, matter of fact, you said AFSCME. Everybody, they've been our biggest donor. AFSCME, they came in, they were the first. I talked to them on the last day of News 1 now. They, 24 hours later, they were in as our first sponsor. But Lisa and I have been in the Alpha. That's what happens when Alpha step up.

Oh, it would be great if a Kappa did that. But it hasn't happened. You said it would be brilliant. You know what that's called? That's called fictitious thinking. All right, y'all. I see you got Scott. Would you stop talking about the nupes if I give $1,001 every month?

You haven't done it. But if I did, would you stop talking about Kappas? You haven't done it. No. Would you have talking about the nupes if I give $1,000, $1,001 every month? You haven't done it. But if I did, would you stop talking about capitals? You haven't done it. No. Would you have a cane? Could I give you a cane? Here's the deal. If you do $2,000 a month, I'll stop talking about y'all for at least six months.

That's not good, though. That means you're a weak negotiator. All right, y'all. I'll see you guys tomorrow right here at Roller Market on the Filter. Holla! Martin! 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,

Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. I'm Clayton English. I'm Greg Lott. And this is Season 2 of the War on Drugs podcast. Yes, sir. Last year, a lot of the problems of the drug war. This year, a lot of the biggest names in music and sports. This kind of starts that a little bit, man.

We met them at their homes. We met them at their recording studios. Stories matter, and it brings a face to them. It makes it real. It really does. It makes it real. Listen to new episodes of the War on Drugs podcast Season 2 on the iHeartRadio app,

Apple podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. We asked parents who adopted teens to share their journey. We just kind of knew from the beginning that we were family. They showcased a sense of love that I never had before. I mean, he's not only my parent, like he's like my best friend. At the end of the day, it's all been worth it. I wouldn't change a thing about our lives. Learn about adopting a teen from foster care.

Visit AdoptUSKids.org to learn more. Brought to you by AdoptUSKids, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, and the Ad Council. This is an iHeart Podcast.