#RolandMartinUnfiltered - Roland talks race and diversity at Texas A&M University

Episode Date: July 15, 2020

Roland talks race and diversity at Texas A&M University Support #RolandMartinUnfiltered via the Cash App ☛ https://cash.app/$rmunfiltered or via PayPal ☛https://www.paypal.me/rmartinunfiltered Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This is an iHeart Podcast. Hey, folks, Roland Martin here. Today is July 14th, 2020. And so this is a special live stream that I am doing to talk about what is happening specifically at my alma mater, Texas A&M University, that's sort of tied into this, what I'm calling the reckoning. It has been eight weeks since George Floyd was murdered in Minneapolis, and we have seen a significant amount of change all across this country. I call it the reckoning because what has been happening is that people have been challenging this nation. They have been challenging white supremacy. They have been challenging what today has been fully accepted. Just yesterday, the Washington Redskins announced that they are retiring their logo as well as their name. And they are in broad in the trademark to speak right now on the new one.

Why is that? Because Native Americans have been protesting for a number of years, saying it is a racial slur. That only changed when investors who manage around $620 billion sent letters to FedEx, PepsiCo, and Nike saying they need to demand the Redskins change their name. That's why they did it. Daniel Schneider had no intention at all, no intention at all in order to change. None. But it was money that made him change. We have seen upheaval inside of companies like Adidas, uphe uh inside of ad agencies where people are now challenging yesterday the new york times i had a had a story on espn black employees there black current and former employees talking about what is what has happened in that company when it comes to black advancement we have been seeing this all across the country and the same thing has been happening university university of chicago uh they have removed a couple of plaques on their campus that recognize Stephen Douglas,

a former United States senator who supported slavery. It's been happening. It's been happening all across this country. So it's no surprise you would see it happening on more college campuses. We have seen where they have voted to remove the bust of Nathan Forrest, Nathan Bedford Forrest, Grand Wizard of the KKK, his bust from the state capitol in Tennessee. We have seen statues torn down left and right because people are saying enough is enough. We've seen the removal of Confederate statues happening in Richmond, Virginia, happening in Birmingham, Alabama. I can go on and on and on what we have seen. This moment that we're in is called the reckoning is impacting every institution in America, because if we want to be real, if we want to be real, then we have to own up to our past.

And that involves my alma mater. Last several weeks, I have watched that there have been numerous protests on the campus, specifically targeting the Sol Ross statue. Sol Ross was a Confederate general who was the first president of Texas A&M University. I read the letter sent to the battalion newspaper by the Chancellor John Sharp saying that that statue is forever going to remain up because of what Sol Ross did for A&M and was the one who stepped in and was aggressive in ensuring that legislature did not cut funding during those early days for Prairie View A&M University. I've read different accounts where people have said that what we have to do is we have to take into account the totality of a person and not solely limit them to that particular period. And I understand all of that. But the reality is this here. If you read the statement of secession that Texas issued, it was very specific. That is, they wanted to defend slavery. They wanted to keep that going. It's very clear. The writings are clear

in terms of not just for that moment, but also in the future for all time. And what I need Texas A&M University officials to understand is that we have to understand that part of the uniqueness of our university is our culture, but that's also part of our problem. When I was at Texas A&M, I had an adjunct professor, Peter Roussel. Peter Roussel was deputy press secretary to Vice President George W. Bush. Peter Roussel told me something one day, and that's stuck with me since he said it. He said, Roland, the thing that people love about you

is also the thing that people are going to hate about you. And I was like, interesting. And when I think about that, when I think about it's our way or the highway, when I listen to Aggies talk about. Talk about how we six runs both ways. We use that phrase in this jokingly. And we love to make it clear that we are different and we are unique in our traditions and we're not going to let the rest of the world tell us what to do. And I get all of that. But the flip side is that that can also be a problem because it also can lead to folks being hard-headed. It can lead to people not paying attention.

As a 1991 graduate, I've seen that not only during the years I was there, but also since I've graduated. Sometimes our stubbornness hurts us. I remember being a student at Texas A&M and the Aggie band played the song Dixie at halftime. I, being a black student, certainly was offended by that. So I wrote, I can't remember if it was a column or a letter to the editor of the battalion, the school newspaper. When I got home, my brother, who's Texas A&M class of 90, he's like, man, what did you do? Our answering machine is full of hateful messages. Who did you piss off?

I started smiling and laughing. I said, good. My intended target was hit. There were people who were angry with what I had to write, what I wrote, because they wanted to keep their song Dixie. Well, that's fine if A&M was still an all-white university. But when I was there, it wasn't. And it had not been an all-white university for a number of times.

See, what white Americans are going to have to come to grips with is that they no longer get to decide everything in America. What white Texans have to come to grips with is that they no longer get to decide everything that happens in Texas. And what white Texas A&M students and faculty and staff and executives and alumni are going to have to understand is you no longer get to decide everything that happens at Texas A&M. I find it interesting that people are highly critical of black athletes for standing up and using their voice, Kellen Mann and others, for protesting that statue of Sol Ross. But they have no problem seeing all of those black bodies run up and down the field to make tackles with the wrecking crew or to score touchdowns in the SEC. They have no problem cheering on their athletic exploits. But they then begin to question their social activism. Was Saul Ross an important figure in Texas A&M history? Yes.

First president? Yes. Do you take over at the time to save the university? Yes. All those things are true, but that statue must come down. Now, let me be real clear. There are numerous places on the campus. When you hear people like me say, take those things down, they belong in a museum. Oh, yes, the history must be told. The full history must be told.

See, when we see statues, statues and monuments represent something. And so when they go up, they mean something to future generations. See, when you walk by it, you don't see the full story. And so you all of a sudden say, oh, revered figure. The problem is when we in this country have not been willing to tell that whole story. Paul Harvey used to have a tagline where he would say, now for the rest of the story. And that is, I think, what African-Americans are really saying.

The reality is that university leaders, Chancellor John Sharp, President Michael Young, the Board of Regents, right now need to show courage. There's no need to create a committee to discuss taking the statue down. Leaders don't wait on a committee. Leaders don't lead from behind. Leaders don't hide behind committees. Leaders make tough decisions in order to move an agenda forward. If you are trying to tell me that there are individuals

who somehow say they're never going to support Texas A&M if they choose to move the Sol Ross statue from its prominent position on campus to a university museum where you can explain the full story, then they're actually not real Aggies. Oh, I've seen the signs. Here you got black students saying black lives matter, but then they're holding up signs saying maroon lives matter. No, but here's the deal. The reason I simply can't accept that nonsense because the folks who were calling my answering machine when I was there saying, don't play Dixie,

were not thinking about maroon lives matter. What they were saying is their white lives matter more than my black life and my black perspective. I have been encouraged by the protest of these students and alumni. I've been encouraged to see white students, Latino students, joining African-American

students in speaking specifically about that statue. The statue needs to come down. It needs to be moved to a place where the full story can be told. See, here's again. This is where the critics lose this. I got no problem with history. I got a problem with his story. That's the problem I have. Just in recent days, I was reading this account. There's a book out about the viciousness

in the history of the Texas Rangers. In seventh grade in Texas, we are required to take Texas history. Every seventh grader in the state is required to take that class. And when I think about that history, when I think about what we've been told, who the Texas Rangers represent, I mean the baseball team, they represent the creme de la creme of Texas law enforcement. We've been told how grand they are when the Rangers arrive. It's the equivalent of the FBI. They are the preeminent law enforcement agency in Texas. When you read this book and you read about the heinous acts they committed, I can't ignore

the former and praise the latter. Because that's history, not history. And so what we're seeing, we're seeing individuals who are choosing in 2020 to dance around this issue. I think about leaders. I was there when President Gates made the decision. To say that race wasn't going to be used in consideration of admissions, but then he said we're not going to use legacy.

Oh, white Aggies were real upset. They were real upset with that. Just like folks were upset in 2004 when I questioned President George W. Bush at the Union Journalists of Color Convention on that very issue. Why were they so upset? It's because they have benefited from legacy. Not us. They have. Which means that for the longest, a white student whose parents or grandparents or aunts and uncles went to Texas A&M, they had a leg up from folks like me. You know why is that? Because,? Because they can use legacy.

But because my grandparents couldn't go to Texas A&M because they were black, I couldn't use legacy. So that means a present day student was being able to derive a benefit. Because of their white history, if I could not get because of my black history and because of their white history. See, these are the things that folks don't want to think about. These are the things that people don't want to have to confront in 2020. Because, see, we have conditioned ourselves to say, no, everything is great and wonderful. That we move past these things. We're able to go to class together and go to games together and play with one another when the reality is the vestiges of white supremacy are still real. That's

why the issue of racial inequality means so much. Because you can't talk about black health. You can't talk about low black home ownership. You can't talk about black health. You can't talk about low black home ownership. You can't talk about low black wealth. And then you divorce that from the reality of white supremacy and the history of this country. So you have folks who are saying it's time for that statute to come down, and they are absolutely right. Leaders, Chancellor John Sharp. President Michael Young. Need to lead. They need to announce that statue is going to be moved to a place in campus still articulate what Sol Ross meant to the university and what he meant in saving it. And you can even explain the story of what

he did defending Prairie View A&M and defending and making sure it was not defunded by the Texas legislature. But we cannot in any way ignore the reality that he was a Confederate general. I don't want to hear the narratives that say he didn't own any slaves. He was a Confederate general who chose to be a traitor against the United States in order to defend the institution of slavery and the subjugation of people of African descent. That is undeniable. That has to happen. And understand, my brother's class of 90. I'm class of 91. My sister's class of 92.

Her husband. My sister's, excuse me, my wife's sister. I've got three to five cousins. All of us black Texas A&M graduates. Not a single one of us will want PJ Simeon, plays football. Went there for academics. Folks need to understand that we are here

and our presence will be felt. So that's one thing. In the aftermath of a lot of this, the decision was made by the university, this creation of a $100 million scholarship fund. And I would say about time. The fact of the matter is Texas A&M does not look like actually its own state. Here you have one of the top public institutions in the state, in the country.

It's lagging far behind because Texas A&M has been too insular in its thinking, insular in its leadership. When I look at the ranks of Texas A&M, the executive ranks, its staffing levels are woeful in terms of African Americans. When I say woeful, I mean woeful. There are no excuses for this. We cannot be a leading institution in America when we look like old America. That simply has to change. The university must come to grips with its past and understand that $100 million is a drop in the bucket in terms of what is needed to ensure equity. And the problem that you're also seeing that the university isn't even doing enough to ensure that it's getting the children of black graduates to become second generation Aggies. My brother, their daughter went to Rice.

My sister, four kids, one went to Seton Hall, one went to Baylor. One went to Howard University. One got conditional acceptance into Texas A&M and will be there by his junior year. He'll go to Prairie for two years and he's going there to major in a particular construction management job. Many of my fraternity brothers, many of my other peers in the Black Former Student Network. Most of our kids aren't even coming back to Texas A&M. A&M, what does that say? What does that say when those kids are not coming to the university?

I've been saying for more than 20 years, you can't sell Texas A&M to black kids the way you sell them to white kids. It's a different story, different narrative. For some reason it keeps falling on deaf ears. I remember being on a phone call with a university president and I said let me ask you this question. I said if you pick that phone up and call to recruit a black student

and that black parent ain't never heard of you, but if I call, who do you think that black parent is more than likely going to listen to? The president looked at me. He thought I was crazy. I said, try me. Black folks, you have to understand how to talk to us and connect with us. And you can't just come in saying gig'em and howdy and think that's going to get it.

No, it's a different story. So I appreciate the $100 million that's been set aside, but I'm sorry, Texas A&M, that's simply not enough. America is 23 years away from becoming a nation that is majority people of color. Hell, Texas, we're way ahead of that. So how in the world can Texas A&M truly call itself the preeminent higher learning education or higher learning institution in Texas if you don't even look like Texas? What does that say? What does that say for the future? Are we actually proud of less than 3% black or 3.5% black? We're actually proud of that?

No. And it starts at the top. My challenge to Texas A&M leaders, there's no more excuses, no more being satisfied, no more same old, same old. We're all fine. It's all good. No, no, no, none of that. No. Now is the time for bold leadership and bold action. Now is the time for leaders. Now is the

time for leaders to stand and look white Aggies in the eye and say this university cannot continue to be the university that you have always had control of, that you have always been able to access, and it's been your way or Highway 6 run both ways. No, because guess what? Highway 6 does run both ways, and it runs to Houston, and it runs to Dallas. And you know what happens to these black students?

They're going to other universities. They're going in-state. They're going out-of-state because what they're saying is if you do not create a welcoming environment for me and my family, I simply am not going to go to your school because I have options. That's what black students and black parents are saying, Texas A&M. And now is the time for this Board of Regents, for the university leadership, for the faculty and staff, and yes, for the alumni to stop playing games and understanding that this ain't Burger King and you can't have it your way. But I also know that America only pays attention to money. Why is that Confederate flag down in Mississippi? Because it was a running back in Mississippi who announced, I will not play another down as long as that Confederate emblem is on that state flag. All of a sudden, stuff began to move. Anjanue Ellis, actress,

interviewed on my show. She said, I spend thousands of dollars on ads out here protesting. She said, but it was not until that brother said, I'm not playing. So let me tell you something, Texas A&M. Here's what's going to happen.

I think what's going to happen is some of your star players are going to get a level of consciousness. And some of your star football players are going to say, I'm not playing another down at Texas A&M until changes happen on this campus. We're seeing it right now down the street in Austin, the University of Texas. Texas A&M has the number one revenue-producing athletic department in the country. What do y'all think is going to happen when black athletes say, I'm no longer going to be a university sharecropper? What do you think is going to happen

if black football players and black basketball players say, no play if this continues? I told you this is the reckoning. I told you that this is happening. I kept telling folk that this reckoning is coming. I kept telling folks that this day was coming. I kept telling folks that this generation is not the generation of old. This generation was not going to be accepting of the past. This generation was not going to be quiet and going to simply walk away and say, no big deal. No, no. This generation is different. This

generation ain't the same one before. Listen to me, Texas A&M officials. The season is in doubt because of coronavirus. But if those black players announce they are not going to suit up, look what happened in Missouri. Look what happened in Missouri. Look what happened in Missouri. Next year, donations fail. Enrollment fail. Missouri, oh, call Dr. Lofton, the former A&M president. He was the chancellor at Missouri, and he had to step down.

Go ahead, give him a call. See, go ahead, Texas A&M. Call him and ask, hey, give us an inside perspective on what happened when the athletes announced they were not going to play a game. They were going to boycott a game. Call Bowen Lofton. Call him and ask him, how did that go? And what pain did Missouri go through? Oh, I know he's president emeritus of Texas A&M and a graduate.

Give him a call and ask how did they go at Missouri. Texas A&M don't play with fire. Don't play with fire. Y'all paying Jimbo $7.5 million a year, 10-year contract. What you think might happen if all of a sudden top recruits say, I'm good. I'm taking my talents elsewhere. You don't think that day isn't coming?

Okay. Keep playing. Keep playing. This is a different generation. We are seeing what is happening all across this country. We are seeing how institutions are being challenged. We're seeing how institutions are having to confront their past in order to have a future. Black athletes today don't have to come to Texas A&M. They have options.

But if leadership does not step up, leadership will be the ones that get blamed if this thing escalates. I know there's somebody who's sitting here and they're telling me, is it this big of a deal? Oh, yes, it is. Let me be clear. What I'm laying out is not just about a statue. What I'm laying out is about a change in this country. Let me address one more thing that's important. Yesterday, I get this tweet.

President Young announces the membership in charge of new comprehensive commission on diversity, equity Inclusion at Texas A&M. So I sat here and I read through this. It says, today we announced the membership in charge of a comprehensive commission on diversity, equity, and inclusion as indicated in a recent message to the Aggie community accompanying a list of other specific actions underway to contribute to the climate at Texas A&M and combat racism. It says, I am deeply grateful to diverse groups of dedicated Aggie students, former students, faculty and staff who are volunteering their time to engage in research and discourse across topics of racial intolerance, historical representations, such as statues, policies and practices. It lays out all these different things this commission is going to do. And it mentions it's going to be it's going to be chaired by. Then it mentions a board of regents and distinguished visitors who are on it.

Ruth Simmons, president of Texas University, excuse me, Prairie View University. Bill Mayholmes is a member of the board of regents, Elaine Mendoza, another member of the Board of Regents, class of 87, the same class that I graduated from. It lists the current students involved in it. It goes here and enlists the former students of the enlist faculty and staff. I'm not satisfied with this list. I need somebody at Texas A&M to explain to me. And let me be real clear. I haven't had, I don't need to talk to the people I'm about to mention to speak on this.

What I'm trying to understand is, let me fix my microphone so I need y'all to hear me real clear on this one. I need somebody toall to hear me real clear on this one. I need somebody to explain to me how is how did you have the first black student body president of Texas A&M University on staff right now at Texas A&M University? Fred McClure, who's not on this committee. Who the hell put this committee together? I call that a no-brainer. Now, I don't know if Fred was asked and said no, but if he did,

somebody's job was to get him to say yes. That's about the dumbest thing I've ever seen. To have your first black student body president who's now on staff at the university not be on this committee. That's just dumb to me. Let me get to the former students. I appreciate this group of former students

and several of them I know personally. But it offends me that Ken Robinson, who's my alpha brother, who has been in the trenches for more than 20 years, the longest serving leader of the Black Form of Student Network, a brother who the last several weeks organized Zoom chats in the Aggie community to address these issues. How do you create the committee and you don't have somebody like him on the committee? How is my other frat brother, Paul Stafford, my line brother, one of only five African Americans to serve on the Association of Former Students Board Directors again in the trenches.

Who was vice president of the Student Government Association when we pledged together. How is he not on the committee? Bill T. Jones, former Board of Regents. I can list a number. Hale, my brother, Reginald Martin. Top executive for the Greater Houston Partnership in Houston. Bookwire Spirit Award winner're Texas A&M.

Maybe they did not want to have these folks on the committee because they would be making too many demands. I'm sorry, this list is invalid. This committee is invalid. And I'll say this. I don't know what President Young did putting this together. But this is unacceptable. It's unacceptable.

If you're truly trying to change. Black folks want to know It's unacceptable. If you're truly trying to change. Black folks want to know that they're going to be black folks on this committee who are going to raise enough hell to make sure stuff gets changed. Now, maybe that's why they didn't get picked. But what I do know is this is incomplete. What I do know, President Young, that if you wanted to pick African-Americans, former students, you might want to ask the Black Former Student Network who they wanted on the committee. See, that's the issue right here. You pick the committee who you wanted on the committee, but not who black students and black former students wanted on the committee. See, this is the kind of george floyd's death that was an abomination it was an awful letter and i sent him an email then i sent him an email of the rice university president

who wrote the kind of letter I expected from A&M. Then the next day, President Young released a much better letter. And all this time, I've never heard from President Young. Never emailed me back. Didn't acknowledge, didn't even acknowledge the email. And let me be real clear. I've interviewed four United States presidents, countless United States senators, members of Congress, governors, athletes. I don't need my ego stroked. I don't need to be on this committee. I didn't even request to be on the committee.

Me doing this video has nothing to do with any of that. But what it does have to his prominent black graduates. And ask for their opinion on these very issues. Well, I participated in the event that took place on the campus when Richard Spencer held his the white supremacist held his little lecture at A&M. Oh, I was there. But see, this is what I'm talking about when it comes to leadership. Leaders lead. And yes, I'll say it.

I have been greatly disappointed in the leadership of President Michael Young. Yes, I have been. I believe that President Young has been absent in the last several weeks. I believe that he has not been fully engaged. And when you are the university president, I expect you to be on the front lines. I expect you to be public. I have no faith in this commission being able to present the kind of change that's needed. It says they're going to provide a final report with findings to the Texas A&M System Board of Regents and President Young no later than October 30th, 2020. Prove me wrong. But I have no faith in this.

Because what I need to see are people on this committee who I know are going to challenge everything tooth and nail. That's what I need to see. And so let me say this is my final word to the Aggie faithful. I want you to understand something.

I have a voice and I damn sure plan to use it. I have a platform that I damn sure plan to use. And if you think I was willing to challenge folk when I was a student, oh, surely, you know I'm willing to challenge people today. There are black students who love this university. It is our university. I'm a third generation Texan. My parents are taxpayers. That school is ours. And you can bet we're going to do everything that we can to ensure that the next generation of Black students who arrive on that campus are not going to have to deal with the stuff that we dealt with, are not going to have to deal with the stuff that students today have dealt with. And we fully expect to see true change top to bottom. From the Board of Regents, University Administration, faculty and staff,

student organizations, auxiliary groups, Moms Club, you name them, all of those institutions, the reckoning is here. And Black students and Latino students and our white allies are simply not going to accept the status quo. That's what the folks at Texas A&M have better get an understanding of. to university leadership, Chancellor Sharp, President Young, members of the Board of Regents, I would advise you to have some much deeper and broader conversations with black graduates. Because trust me, if we start making enough noise and tell black athletes not to come to the university, I can guarantee you they are going to hear us. And then you will begin to realize that we're not playing. I would advise you to listen before that and heed what we're saying, because we simply are not satisfied with what has been

happening. Malia, you were something I put together. This is important because don't think for a second that we don't love our university. Oh, we do. And we appreciate all that we've gotten out of it, but we expect to get a lot more out of it. OK, folks, thanks a bunch. And so I want to leave you with this here. This, of course, is a video here As the rings there. Videos here. Of us on the campus at games of black former students. This represents.

The university. We need the university to pay attention. Folks, thanks a bunch. I have more to say as developments more. the university. We need the university to pay attention. Folks, thanks a bunch. I have more to say as development's born. Y'all take care. I'll see y'all in Rolemark and Filter at 6 p.m. Eastern. Peace out. This is an iHeart podcast