#RolandMartinUnfiltered - Social Security Day of Action, MAGA vs. Black farmers, Renting a car while Black

Episode Date: April 16, 2025

4.15.2025 #RolandMartinUnfiltered: Social Security Day of Action, MAGA vs. Black farmers, Renting a car while Black Democratic lawmakers are fighting to keep MAGA from dismantling Social Security..  We'll tell you what lawmakers are doing on this Save Social Security Day of Action. Black farmers have always been excluded from federal funding grants. Now that MAGA is running the government, black farmers are struggling more than ever since the USDA cut DEI programs. The President of the National Black Farmers Association will be here to explain what they are doing to help farmers keep their land.  We'll talk to the CEO of the Center for Rural Enterprise and Environmental Justice about the DOJ decision to terminate the agreement to fix a decades-old water and sewage crisis in the Alabama's "Black Belt." We'll talk to three black men who were detained for stealing a car.  But they rented it.  It's a wild story you don't want to miss.  And we'll talk to LPGA great Renee Powell about the C.learview Legacy Foundation. #BlackStarNetwork partner: Fanbasehttps://www.startengine.com/offering/fanbase This Reg A+ offering is made available through StartEngine Primary, LLC, member FINRA/SIPC.  This investment is speculative, illiquid, and involves a high degree of risk, including the possible loss of your entire investment. You should read the Offering Circular (https://bit.ly/3VDPKjD) and Risks (https://bit.ly/3ZQzHl0) related to this offering before investing. Download the #BlackStarNetwork app on iOS, AppleTV, Android, Android TV, Roku, FireTV, SamsungTV and XBox  http://www.blackstarnetwork.com The #BlackStarNetwork is a news reporting platform covered under Copyright Disclaimer Under Section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976, allowance is made for "fair use" for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This is an iHeart Podcast. Folks, today is Tuesday, April 15, 2025. Coming up on Rolling Mark Unfiltered, streaming live on the Black Star Network, President Joe Biden gives his first major speech since leaving office defending Social Security. It will go live to Chicago. Democratic lawmakers, they continue to fight MAGA regarding the dismantling of Social Security. Black farmers have always been excluded from federal funding grants, but not always, but pretty much ignored. Now that MAGA's running the government, black farmers are struggling even more

since the USDA cut DEI programs. We talked with the president of the National Black Farmers Association. Also, the CEO for the Center for Rural Enterprise and Environmental Justice joins us to talk about the DOJ terminating the agreement to fix a decades-old water and sewage crisis in Alabama's Black Belt. Also, three black men were detained for stealing a car, but they rented the car. It's a wild story you don't want to miss. Plus, LPGA great Renee Powell talks about the Clearview Legacy Foundation.

Plus, today is the ultimate DEI day. It's Jackie Robinson day when the white race has finally allowed a black player in baseball or white baseball. It's time to bring the funk on Roland Martin Unfiltered on the Black Star Network. Let's rolling. Best belief he's knowing. Putting it down from sports to news to politics. With entertainment just for kicks. Yeah, yeah It's on go-go-go-yo Yeah, yeah It's Rollin' Martell Yeah, yeah Yeah, yeah Rollin' with Rollin' now

Yeah, yeah He's funky, he's fresh, he's real the best You know he's Rollin' Martell Now Now Now Now Now. Progressively standing up for Social Security as MAGA seeks to cut billions of dollars from Social Security. President Joe Biden, in his first major public address since leaving office,

is speaking live in Chicago as it relates to this issue. Let's go live there. Hardly any black people in Scranton at the time, and I was only going in fourth grade. And I remember seeing the kids going by at the time called Colored Kids on a bus going by. They never turned right to go to Claymont High School. I wondered why. Asked my mom, why?

So in Delaware, they're not allowed to go to school, in public school, with white kids hunting. That sparked my sense of outrage as a kid, just like it does, I mean, and these young kids right here can tell you things affect them when they learn about something that's really just unfair and unjust. You know, my dad, my dad was an honorable man. And my dad used to have an expression. He said, Joey, your job is about a lot more than a paycheck.

It's about your dignity. It's about respect. It's about being able to look your kid in the eye and say, honey, it's going to be okay and mean it. Well, that's what you're all about. That's what the legislation is about. It's about dignity. Simple dignity. Everyone, everyone deserves to be treated with dignity,

regardless of their standing, regardless of their economic status, regardless of who they are. Making sure that more than 60 million Americans who are living with disabilities are treated with dignity is who we are as Americans. That's what it's about. I mean it. Dignity at work, at school, in their communities, in every corner of American life.

Laws like the ADA need advocates like you. You're the ones that keep it going. God love you. You fight like hell every single day to make sure the laws are respected and your clients' rights are protected. So from the bottom of my heart, I mean this. I give you my word as a Biden. From the bottom of my heart, I say thank you. Thank you for what you're doing. Thank you for your commitment to the dignity of all Americans, because that's what all of this is about. Folks, today I want to talk to you about an issue that's front and center right now for

millions of Americans, Social Security. You know, some of you may know the Democrats have declared today the Save Social Security National Action Day, National Day of Action, I should say. We know just how much Social Security matters to people's lives. Everyone in this room fights for people with disabilities who rely on Social Security to survive, to survive. Not just the physical side, it's the mental side. It's the mental side. You make sure folks get the benefits they earn

after a lifetime of hard work. The work they do is more than just a profession. What you do is a calling, not just a profession. And Social Security is more than a government program. It's a sacred promise. We made it today, a sacred promise. Seventy-three million Americans receive Social Security. From their first paycheck through their entire life, they pay into Social Security. In return, they count on Social Security to be for them when they're going to need it. Folks must never, ever betray that trust or turn our backs on an obligation.

That's why during my presidency, we protected Social Security and made it stronger. Martin, the governor can tell you, we came into office, Social Security Administration had its lowest staffing, she referenced it, lowest staffing levels in 50 years. And demand is going through the roof because of my generation and the baby boom generation reaching the retirement age.

So the demands on Social Security increased significantly. Our administration secured nearly $2 billion to reduce the backlogs and improve customer service. We slashed wait times for folks in need. We're calling the 1-800 number. We got it down to under 13 minutes. It used to be three times that long we took office. Made it easier for people to get help with their claims online. Reduced how long it takes to review a case. We fixed the appeal system to make it uniform in all 50 states, which made a difference.

We strengthened the anti-fraud measures to protect people's identities and to make sure benefits are going to people who actually they belong to. By the way, those 300-year-old people getting that Social Security, I want to meet them because I like to figure out how they live out there. Hell of a thing, man. By the way, those 300-year-old people getting that Social Security, I want to meet them because I like to figure out how they live.

Hell of a thing, man. I'm looking for longevity because it's hell when you turn 40 years old. But as a result, by the time we left office, we had improved every single line of customer service, from applying for disability to filing an appeal to reporting fraud. It all became more efficient and more effective. And I'll bet it made your jobs easier, too, in the process. Now, these achievements... These achievements... ..may not sound so glamorous to most people,

but, you know, they're absolutely essential. And by my view, one of the most important jobs of any elected official is to make sure the government works for the people, works for all people. It's understandable. They can understand what it is. And we keep our promises to the people, to all the people. That's exactly what we did, thanks to all of you. I also signed into law the Social Security Fairness Act. That act eliminated two unfair rules so public employees wouldn't get shortchanged. The government pension offset and the windfall elimination provision can never come in ever again.

But as a result, more than 2 million people are now finally receiving the full benefits they earned. And remember, we also face the constant threat by some members, Republican members of the Congress, to cut and gut Social Security, period. Cut and gut it, period. They wanted to let Social Security expire every five years. That was a proposal. Let it expire every five years unless reauthorized by the Congress. Who in the hell do they think they are? Every five years and then wait around and be... I will not go further or get in trouble, but look, folks. Can you imagine the chaos it would have charged? Every five years, Congress is going to step up. Imagine this Congress stepping up.

They threatened to raise the retirement age as well. Now, that might not be a hardship for someone working in a comfortable job. But if you're on your feet all day, you're doing manual labor all day, you're working with a disability, It's a very different matter. And then they even tried to force cuts on Social Security during the negotiation of the debt ceiling. These are wonderful guys. Last time this guy had the job, he raised the debt ceiling because of an enormous and profligate tax cut to the super wealthy. And then he said, look, then they started talking to his colleagues. Well, maybe we can do something about Social Security, but we got to do something about the debt ceiling. How are we going to, we can find the money in Social Security. Unless we do what they wanted, they wanted to cut Social Security.

Not on my watch. We refuse to go along with any of that. Look, Americans can, I've always been able to count on these benefits. And let me pause a second here and say this. We talk about the physical needs that Social Security provides for people, particularly people, hardworking people, people retired, people on the edge. But the psychological impact is profound. Profound. You're a man or a woman, you're 70s, 80s old, you're not in good shape, you have a disability, and you hear, the check may not come.

How do you sleep at night? How do you sleep at night? We lived up in Wilmington, a three-bedroom split-level home in a new development, 40 homes, with four kids and a grandpa living with us. And I remember my bed, our bedroom headboards was near my dad's and mom's room. And you could tell when dad was restless. I remember asking one night, my mom, what's the matter with dad? The next morning, she just found out

that they're not going to provide insurance anymore where he works. Imagine if you're somebody who's been struggling your whole life. You literally count on Social Security to buy your food just to get by. And you hear the threats of what might happen. Many of these beneficiaries, that's their only income. If they were cut or taken away, it would be devastating, devastating for millions of people. And the psychological pressure we put people under by having this debate is absolutely devastating.

That's why we work so damn hard to make Social Security Administration stronger than it had been in years. And that's why I asked the governor to take over, by the way. But look what's happened now. Fewer than 100 days, this new administration has done so much damage and so much destruction. It's kind of breathtaking it could happen that soon. They've taken a hatchet to the Social Security Administration,

pushing an additional 7,000 employees, 7,000 out the door in that time, including the most seasoned career officials. Now they're getting ready to push thousands more out the door. Already we can see the effects.

For example, thousands of people use the Social Security website every single day to check on their benefits. I know a lot of cops, and they get asked all the time, have you ever had to shoot your gun? Sometimes the answer is yes. But there's a company dedicated to a future where the answer will always be no. Across the country, cops called this taser the revolution. But not everyone was convinced it was that simple. Cops believed everything that taser told them.

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

Binge episodes 1, 2, and 3 on May 21st, and episodes 4, 5, and 6 on June 4th. Ad-free at Lava for Good Plus on Apple Podcasts. I'm Clayton English. I'm Greg Lott. And this is Season 2 of the War on Drugs podcast. Yes, sir. We are back. In a big way.

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

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

It really does. It makes it real. Listen to new episodes of the War on Drugs podcast season two on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. And to hear episodes one week early and ad free with exclusive content, subscribe to Lava for Good Plus on Apple Podcasts. ...and submit their claims. But now, the technology division of the Social Security Administration has been cut in half.

And so the website's crashing. People can't sign on to their accounts. What do you think it does to that woman living alone, a 74-year-old check-in, just not able to even find out whether she can't even find out what that disability claim is she has? She can't file a new disability claim. And it's not these people being told incorrectly that their benefits have ended. Folks, imagine the panic that causes if you're an retiree living alone with only

Social Security to depend upon. So now people are overwhelming the phone lines. They're showing up at the local Social Security office, tearful and frantic, and told, Do you have an appointment? In that tone, by the way. I can give you a personal example if I'm not going to, though. To cap it all off, serious people are now generally concerned for the first time in history, for the first and only time in history, that Social Security benefits may be delayed or interrupted.

Folks, let's put this in perspective. In the 90 years since Franklin Roosevelt created the Social Security system, people have always gotten their Social Security checks. They've gotten them during wartime, during recessions, during a pandemic. No matter what, they got them. But now, for the first time ever, that might change. It would be calamity for millions of families, millions of people. The current Secretary of Commerce doesn't seem to get it. Or based on his comments, he doesn't seem to even care. Many of you saw what he said the other day.

And by the way, he's a billionaire. God love him, as my mother would say. Paying 8.5 percent in taxes. Anyway. Billionaires, I don't know what he's paying. But when he talked about the possibility that Social Security checks not going out this month, he shrugged it off. Here's what he said. He said his 94-year-old mother-in-law

wouldn't complain, wouldn't bother her. She's probably a lovely woman. No kidding. Her son-in-law is a billionaire. What about that 94-year-old mother that went all by herself? She doesn't have a billionaire in the family. All the retirees who depend on that monthly check to feed themselves. All those people with disabilities have no other source. What about all those people? That's who you fight for. So they should desperately need you.

Folks, it's not just the Secretary of Commerce. We heard how others, empowered and emboldened by this administration, talk about Social Security. One of them called it a Ponzi scheme. A Ponzi scheme? What the hell are they talking about? People earn these benefits. They paid into that benefit. They rely on that benefit.

And no one, no one, no one should take it away. You know, Franklin Roosevelt had a different view. He was president coming out of the Great Depression. He and all his colleagues saw great suffering, so much poverty. He also took steps to raise standard of living for ordinary Americans, including creating Social Security. He himself was from a very wealthy family.

He didn't need Social Security, but understood how much it would mean to millions of Americans. He knew it would make America stronger in the process. And it has. It makes our economy stronger. It makes the community stronger. It makes the community stronger. It makes families stronger. It gives peace of mind.

That's why the vast majority of Americans, including many wealthy Americans, still support, thank God, Social Security. Very wealthy billionaires still support Social Security. They may not rely on themselves, but they know, they know Social Security deserves to be protected for the good of the nation as a whole. You've got to ask yourself. You've got to ask yourself, why is this happening? Why are these guys taking aim at Social Security now? Well, they're following that old line from tech startups.

The quote is, move fast, break things. They're certainly breaking things. They're shooting first and aiming later. As a result, the result is a lot of needless pain and sleepless nights. My friend Governor O'Malley knows what they're really up to. He says, and I love his quote, they want to wreck it so they can rob it. They want to wreck it so they can rob it. They want to wreck it so they can rob it. And why do they want to rob it? In order to deliver huge tax cuts to billionaires and big corporations and keep it going. They want to make permanent the 2017 tax cuts, which overwhelmingly benefits the wealthiest

Americans and the biggest corporations. That's going to cost $5 trillion. Where are they going to get $5 trillion to pay for it? Are they going to continue to run the deficit up? What will they always do? By winning, by running up the national debt, number one, and then by taking the money from someplace else. What are the two big pots of money out there in raw numbers? Social Security and Medicaid.

Well, from other programs people rely on and have paid into. Republicans, these guys are willing to hurt the middle class and working class in order to deliver significant greater wealth to the already very wealthy. Who in the hell do they think they are? I really think they are. I mean, just basic, just basic decency. Who do they think they are? I think anybody should go out.

They can make a billion dollars a year, fine. Pay your fair share. You know what the average, we have 1,000 billionaires in America. You know the average federal tax they pay? 8.2%. Anybody want to trade that number? What's your pay? Folks, look.

Let me close. I'm sorry to go on so long. Anyway. I grew up in Scranton, Pennsylvania as a kid and then Claymont, Delaware. Middle class towns, working class towns. Places where people worked hard all their lives with the promise that they'd be able to retire someday with a little bit of dignity. Because they'd been paying anything called Social Security since the very paycheck they ever earned.

These people get knocked down every day, learn to get up. My dad's one of those people who get knocked down, just get up. Get up. They get up every day. The last thing they need from their government is deliberate cruelty. It's about people and neighbors across the country who look out for each other. They don't see empathy.

They don't see it as a sign of weakness. They see empathy as a decent instinct. They don't see cruelty as a sign of strength. Social Security is about more than retirement accounts. It's about honoring a fundamental trust between government and people. It's about peace of mind for those who work their whole lives so they can rest assured they'll have a chance. They'll get back some of what they earned and what they deserve. But more than anything else,

I mean this sincerely. And as my friend says, as maybe you see Irish of it, I mean it. It's about who we are as Americans. Who are we? What makes us distinct from the rest of the world? It comes down to basic, in my view, fundamental American values. Nobody's king. Nobody's the boss. Everybody has a shot. All people ask for is a shot.

Honesty. Decency. Where hard work is rewarded. Have some faith in each other. Fairness. Simple fairness. We can't go on like this as a divided nation, as divided as we are. Like I said, I've been doing this a long time. It's never been this divided. Granted, it's roughly 30%, but it's a 30% that has no heart.

What we see in America, that's what we believe in, fairness. And that's the America we can never forget or walk away from folks I mean this I know it sounds trite but I have to remember who we are we're the United States of America the United States of America the most unique country in the history of the world.

And that's not hyperbole. Every other nation was founded because of religion, geography, ethnicity. We're the only nation in the world founded on a notion. We hold these truths to be self-evident. That all men and women are created equal and endowed by their creator.

That's the one thing that unites us, an idea. Every other nation was because of a purpose. It's an idea. How can we fulfill the outcome, the meaning of that idea? We walk away from just basic fundamental decency. Folks, sorry to go on so long, but I feel deeply about this. You know, I've heard me say it before and I'll say it again. There is nothing, nothing beyond the capacity of America to do

when we do it together. Let's do it together. God bless you all and may God protect our troops. Thank you, I mean, thank you for what you do. And thank you for this wonderful award. Thank you, thank you. I mean, thank you for what you do. Thank you for this wonderful award. Thank you. Thank you. That was President Joe Biden speaking live in Chicago. This issue is, again, all across the country. Democrats are making it clear that they have to speak loudly against it. You see a number of members of Congress posting videos on social media talking about Republicans, their attacks on Social Security.

Here is Democratic House Leader Hakeem Jeffries. All across America, House Democrats and Senate Democrats are holding a safe Social Security Day of Action. Why? Social Security here in New York City and across the country faces an unprecedented assault, the likes of which have not been seen since 2005 when former President George W. Bush tried to privatize it. Donald Trump, Elon Musk, and House Republicans

think that Social Security is a Ponzi scheme. Social Security is not a Ponzi scheme. It is an earned benefit. Hard-working New Yorkers pay into Social Security and have done so throughout their entire working life. They've earned their Social Security benefits, worked hard for their Social Security benefits, and deserve their Social Security benefits. It is unacceptable, unconscionable, and un-American that Donald Trump, Elon Musk, and House Republicans are dismantling and closing Social Security offices,

jacking up wait times, and preventing hardworking Americans from securing their benefits. Bob Pound, Joe Richardson, civil rights attorney out of Los Angeles, Dr. Larry J. Walker, assistant professor who joins us out of Orlando, Florida. Dr. Mustafa Santego, first of all, University of Central Florida, Dr. Mustafa Santego Ali, former senior advisor for environmental

justice at the EBA out of D.C. as well. Larry, I want to start with you. The thing here is, look, this is going to have devastating impact on lots of people. I saw Chris Sununu, former New Hampshire governor, go, oh, hey, what the heck, you know, retirement age. But we should raise it to 67, raise it to 70 as well. And he says, you know, people shouldn't be retiring at 62, says the guy who gets an annual pension when he turns 55 because he was governor. Yeah, so the idea here is, you know, I want to be able to thrive. We talked about Sununu, while other people, you know, family members,

aunts, uncles, grandparents, et cetera, struggle. Roman, this essentially what's happening here is dismantling the social safety net in America, which will lead eventually to some depression and probably a recession and a depression. The other point is about Social Security is people watching this understand those individuals that are retired have already paid into the system. So it's like someone giving you – you get a check for your job, and then someone coming back, we're going to have to take that check back. That's essentially what's happening here. These people who are retired have already paid into the system. And for 90 years, Roland, this year, Social Security has been an integral part in terms of making sure individuals,

hardworking Americans, like I said, who have paid into the system, who have retired, who deserve to live peacefully, don't have a rug pulled from under them. This will have a devastating impact. And I know, particularly, we talk about the Black community in terms of a lot of communities under-resourced and a lot of folks have worked all their lives and depend on Social Security to survive. But a lot of these Republicans and these white—representing these white districts, the members of their community are going to see some serious heartache. And they voted for this just a couple of months ago. So, and the Republicans have made it very clear, they've got to cut like at least $1.5

trillion from the budget. Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, SNAP, all these programs that play a vital role in making sure Americans can eat, can live their lives. Once again, if you dismantle and remove these programs, we will see tremendous stress on the U.S. economy, and people will struggle. And I say to a lot of these white folks who voted for Trump, y'all about to learn real quick what happens when they want to wag Social Security to give rich folks tax breaks. Joe?

Yeah, I mean, at the end of the day, Social Security is about, it is the social safety net, right, that is having to do fundamentally with this country fulfilling its commitment. You pay into the system during your working life, then you get money from that system, which you put in. It is actually an earned benefit, right? It's not something that you didn't earn. It's not something that you didn't do something tangible or tangibly in order to receive. And so, therefore, we are now in a situation where that is being threatened. You cannot cut $1.5 trillion from any budget, you know, let alone this budget, without dealing with Social Security. Now, in the real world, 80 percent of our economy is based, the strength of our economy, the nuts and bolts of our economy

is based on consumption. So if people that get Social Security, people get any check, you know, disability, whatever it may be, fill in the blank, they don't get it at the same level, they don't get to buy the things that they need, then that grinds your economy to a halt. So even those that are at the top, they're not thinking of it that way. But Social Security, a damage to Social Security is going to wreck all boats, just like they argue that doing something at the top floats all boats, which it doesn't for sure, even though, you know, in the short term, they'll feel a little bit better because they've cut taxes. At the end of the day, this is going to grind a whole lot of things to a halt. And I imagine that even those that were too clueless and too disillusioned or delusional, is my word, to see what was going on and voted for Trump anyway, would then at that point come to a point of inflection and revelation.

Mustafa. You know, 73 million Americans right now are counting on basic decency. 73 million Americans are also counting on America's promise to the working class, those people who've got up every day and done what they needed to do. And now America, once again, is breaking the promise. Now, people often don't realize when we're talking about Social Security, we're talking about the average benefit of about $1,980 a month. That breaks down to a little less than $500 a week. So I would just ask the folks who are

watching, could you survive on $500 a week, knowing how inflation has happened? We've seen the prices of food. We've seen all these things that continue to go up. And then these individuals have, you know, the gall to actually try and take away these basic, basic ability for folks to hit their basic needs. The last thing that I'll say, Roland, is most folks may remember when Donald Trump was running, when he's on the campaign trail, he pledged to protect Social Security benefits. He said, and I quote, that he would never do anything that would jeopardize or hurt Social Security or Medicare. I know a lot of cops and they get asked all the time, have you ever had to shoot your gun? Sometimes the answer is yes, but there's a company dedicated to a future where the answer will always be no. Across the country, cops called this taser the revolution.

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

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

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

We have this misunderstanding of what this quote-unquote drug man. Benny the Butcher. Brent Smith from Shinedown. We got B-Real from Cypress Hill. NHL enforcer Riley Cote. Marine Corvette. MMA fighter Liz Karamush. What we're doing now isn't working, and we need to change things.

Stories matter, and it brings a face to them. It makes it real. It really does. It makes it real. Listen to new episodes of the War on Drugs podcast season two on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. And to hear episodes one week early and ad free with exclusive content, subscribe to Lava for Good Plus on Apple Podcasts.

No cuts or increases in the age of those who receive the benefits. So once again, folks got bamboozled. So the question becomes, what are you going to do about it? Are you going to actually pick up the phone? Are you going to actually get out and use nonviolent ways of addressing what's going on in this space? Are you going to hold your elected officials accountable? And are you, when next time you have the ability to vote, are you going to make sure that you put people in office who will actually make sure that your grandmother and maybe somebody who's dealing

with a disability has the ability to actually be able to live in a decent way, to be able to live in a humane way. So the question is, what are you going to do with your power? Well, we all know he a liar. I mean, he lies about lies. So anybody who believe that, they're stupid. They're stupid as all get out. And the people who are also stupid are the people who agree with this

dumbass' tariffs. Let me give y'all a sense of this here. When the idiot was there four years ago, more than $25 billion in taxpayer money was provided to largely white farmers because of his

tariffs. I remember there were farmers who announced that they were losing their farms, filing bankruptcy. And I'll never forget, one of these white boys said, oh, I would vote for him again and it's worth

losing. And I'm sitting there going, time out. Yo, dumbass. Defending that the man lost the family farm because of Trump's idiotic tears. That did nothing. That accomplished nothing. And more than $25 billion of that were given to farmers. But let me be real clear.

White farmers. So what are we now seeing? On today, which is the ultimate DEI day, diversity, equity, inclusion, when the white racists finally allowed Jackie Robinson, because it wasn't about merit, to come and play Major League Baseball. And we'll cover that later. But we're seeing the attacks on DEI in every federal government. And guess what that includes? Agriculture, USDA.

It's having a devastating impact on black farmers. So black farmers already got screwed and have been getting screwed for decades. Now when you had a glimmer, a glimmer of hope, Trump is like, shut the door. And guess who's quiet? All of these black MAGA people. You hear nothing from Senator Tim Scott. It's black farmers in South Carolina. You don't hear Jack from Congressman Byron Donalds. Nothing from Utah Congressman Burgess Owens. You don't hear Jack from Texas Republican Congressman Wesley Hunt.

Black farmers down in Texas. There's some black farmers in Florida. Nope. No, we ain't no black farmers in Utah. So you don't hear nothing. Not a peep. And how about all these other little mega minions? What's that little girl down in Atlanta?

Makayla? Whatever the hell her name is? Ain't heard nothing. Ain't heard nothing. Ain't heard nothing. What about that little other fool, Harris? They love all them fools. All them fools who were sitting here at the White House Black History Month reception,

oh, smiling and cheesing and profiling and posting their videos and all on social media. Oh, yeah, they were all doing that. And guess what? Silent. Silent. How about Sharice Lane? Here's a black woman who's a Florida A&M graduate.

Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University. Uh-huh. She one of them folk. They cut $16 million from Florida and his pharmacy school ain't heard of Pete. I told y'all we saw what happened down there. And when they when Trump declared it was illegal DNA. It was illegal DNA. It was illegal DNA. DEI, illegal DEI.

So they canceled the deal in Alabama. We're going to talk about it a little bit later. What have I constantly said? These people do not like black people. And these same black conservatives, these black MAGA people, none of them are standing up for black people. None of them.

John Boyd is the president of the National Black Farmers Association. John, we made it clear. Yes. Trump didn't give a damn about black farmers last time. He don't give a damn about black farmers now. That's correct. And

Roland, you laid it all out there loud and clear. One thing that I want to highlight before we get into this terror thing is the president put an executive order out there allowing white South African farmers to provide them with a fast pathway to citizenship in the United States. And they're going to give them land out of federal inventory from the United States Department of Agriculture and grazing land from the Department of Interior and provide them a homestead. Things they never did in this country for Black people. And I've

been trying to get our land, Broden. You've been covering this thing, man, for 15 years, man. We've been talking about this land and inventory. They want to give it to South African white farmers that Trump says face discrimination in South Africa. But all these 40 years I've been trying to get it right here in the United States, it's always a reason why we can't get our land out of federal inventory, that should be on blast on everybody's social media line, because land rolling is everything. It's absolutely everything. And that's why I've been after it for all of these years. And this president came in and closed up civil rights on the first day at the United States Department of Agriculture. It took an act of Congress for me to get the civil rights office reopened under the Reagan administration. An act of Congress had to reopen it and fund it with money from with the support of President Bill Clinton. We had to do all of this through Congress.

And this president comes in one day and wipes away 40 years of work at the United States Department of Agriculture. It's crazy. And he's circumventing Congress. This man's acting like a dictator in my standpoint. He's going around the courts. He's not abiding by the court decisions that's out here. It's rampant. And we have to rise up and speak out against it. And And you know, Roland, thank God for this platform, man. And I roll through my social media just about every night and I see you on the front lines with the consistent message of

fighting back, man, and pushing back and we have to do more of it. I mean, what are you hearing from these Black MAGA people? Are they responding to emails, phone calls? Where they at? I'm glad you raised that.

I'm glad you raised that. And we're a national organization. We've got 150, 51,000 members who've been around since the 80s. And we have some of those people. Roland, you hear from some of these crazy people. And they want to argue you about Trump. And now the debate is bare minimum now. But I had a lot of pushback when I came out nationally for a VP, for the VP Harris, from

people and the organization itself that didn't want us to do that. Some of these are the very same type of individuals that you are describing here. We got to do better at understanding. Yes, I agree we didn't get everything that we needed from the Democratic Party, but anybody who's confused about the difference between the Democratic Party, Joe Biden, and this president in office right now, something's wrong with you. And here's the other thing that is very alarming. They changed our name, really.

DEI. Minority Farmers. Socially Disadvantaged Farmers. Farmers of Color. They were spitting on me at USDA because I was black. They wouldn't allow me to see the loan officer for one day of the week because I was black. I was coming in the back door, yes, in the 80s and 90s because I was black.

They got to stop changing our definition. We are black people, and these are... And we face a special set of issues in this country that no other people face with pure hatred. And this president hates black people if anybody's confused out here. See, here's the mistake that people make. They go,

oh, but no, no, he's got a black HUD secretary and oh, you know, he had Ben Carson last time and oh, he's got, well, here's the whole deal. Look at his White House. Yes.

Are there any black top aides? No. No. Advisors? No. None. So all these little black mega minions taking photos, posting stuff, all of them, all these little folk, and I'm going to name them.

The silly-ass brother, the Cartier family, all these folks, the Hodge twins, all these folks got lots to say on social media, but they are saying nothing about the impact on black people.

Yes, and you know what? This is going to be devastating on black farmers because, and And you know what? This is going to be devastating on black farmers because, Roland, and that's the tariff piece. A lot of our people don't understand the commodities that I've been raising for 42 years. Corn, wheat, and soybeans

are controlled by the market. Every time the president says the word tariff, the price plummets. The other countries don't want to trade with us. China is now buying soybeans from Brazil. And now they just said they're pulling out $2.5 billion of beef. I raise beef, too.

All these things are going to affect us. But when the money's rolled out, and you laid it out in your commentary, they said, oh, we're going to roll this money out through the Department of Agriculture. The same Department of Agriculture that was calling me a nigger, the same Department of Agriculture that was tearing my application up, throwing it in the trash can, is going to be the same Department of Agriculture to make sure black farmers get money. It's not going to happen. And that's why I support, you know, we got to get the prices up. We got to get rid of this president. I mean, I hate to start talking about that. We got to put a candidate out there.

They got the goals and balls enough to stand up to them. And also say, you know, I'm going to come into office the first day and do away with every one of those executive office orders that he put out there. We're going to do away with it. We need a person like that who's standing up and fighting right now and talking and saying those things right now. That's the first thing we've got to do. And then black people, we've got to voice up and come together.

If we can't come together under Donald Trump, we're never going to come together in this country based on the way this man is treated. Black people, every week he's saying something directly, do away with Black History Month. Do away with anything that has anything to do with color and blackness in this country.

He came in, and his architect role, we don't want to leave his name out, his name is Stephen Miller. And we had a conversation on your show years ago when he started suing me in federal court, blocking the five billion dollars to black farmers. The person who orchestrated the language and who is crafting the language for this president and his executive office,

his name is Stephen Miller and some sort of way he needs to be dealt with as well. Again, I just want folk to know, these are the people who run around. These are the people who run around. Black folks need to be supporting Trump. They sitting here touting all the wonderful, great stuff he's doing. But again, on things that are specific, they are silent.

They are saying nothing. Yes. Yes. And you're exactly right. And you can look at the brother from South Carolina. We ain't heard a word from him. Nope. And, you know, we got thousands of black farmers in his state, you know, that need help and assistance.

Right now, black farmers don't have farm operating loans in place in this planting season. And we need for our people to come together and help support these brothers. We should have our corn planters in the field right now rolling. They're closing up our local offices. And they have done away, ain't doing away, with anything that had to do with color at USDA and NRCS, Farm Service Agency, Rural Development. The agencies

that are supposed to be extending credit out here, they went away and done away with civil rights directors in those agencies. Anybody that was doing anything around color, they're already gone. So I want to be very, very clear. Those positions have been terminated and they fired them and they fired these people. That's what this president is doing to black people in this country. And we're too silent about it, in my opinion.

Questions from the panel. Mustafa, you first. John, it's good to see you again. Hey, brother. How you doing? Thank you for what you do. Yes, sir. I'm blessed.

I'm blessed. I remember our signing at EPA years ago. Yes. You know, we got 48 million black folks in our country. And if you had the ability, this is one of the platforms to be able to speak to them, what would you ask them to do in this moment to address the issues that are happening to our Black farmers across the country? Go out and support us, blackfarmers.org. That's the first thing you've got to do. You don't have to be a farmer to support this cause.

I want to be very, very clear here. That's the biggest thing you can do to come out and support Black farmers right now. Make a contribution is the second thing that you can do. And stay in contact and spread the information. This particular segment needs to be on everybody's timeline tonight. Share this show right now on all of your social media, Instagram, Facebook, whatever suits your fancy. Post this segment out there tonight so people can get the facts about what's going on in America. Larry? Yeah, thank you for your time and everything you do for Black Farmers. It's critically important.

Can you talk a little bit about, you know, there's a long history of Black farming in the United States. A lot of folks don't know about, you know, our history in agriculture. Can you talk a little bit about, you know, there's a long history of black farming in the United States. A lot of folks don't know about, you know, our history in agriculture. Can you talk about what the future could look like? You talked about some of the challenges, particularly the tariffs. And I know it's having a major impact on farmers in general. And we talked about the challenges that black farmers encounter. What could the future of black farming look like with tariffs, particularly with the tariffs, in this fight with China, et cetera?

What could black farming look like over the next five to 10 years? Well, it's going to be the loss of farms for us. That's the first thing, that these tariffs are going to put us out of business with no oversight and no regulation from the courts or from the United States Department of Agriculture. And I'm telling our people, and to back up just a little bit, buy some land. Buy some land. Guess what? White farmers are going to be losing some of these farms, too. It won't be just black farmers.

Some of these mid-scale farmers are going to be losing their farm. Buy some land. If you can afford a ragged-ass Cadillac and Mercedes-Benz, you can afford five acres in the country. Yes, I said it. Stop buying them cars. Stop buying them designer clothes and buy five acres in the country. That's the first thing we can do as Black people.

Don't leave that money in the bank right now. Buy some land when it's going to become available. And you heard it from me first. There's going to be a lot of land for sale in America, and we can't let Bill Gates and China and the rest of the people buy it. That's the first thing. We have a rich history of farming. I bet everybody on that panel came from somebody's farm

and somebody from one of these southern states here in the country, and we have a farmer in our family. Tell the rich story of history of what our forefathers did. We owned 20 million acres of land at the turn of the century. We're down to 3 million acres of land, roughly hovering around 50,000 Black farmers, full-time farmers that make a living. I'm proud to be one of those Black farmers that farm full-time and a host of other part-time farmers. And we raise everything. We own, and guess what, people?

We're the best. I said it on your show, Roland. We're the best farmers ever in this country because we survive with no loans. We survive with discrimination. We survive with ag companies not supporting us. And we're still here by the grace of God. And guess what? We're going to survive. You want to know why? We survived slavery. We survived Jim Crow. We survived sharecropping. All the things that they thought

would put us out and put us down, we're still here. We're still here by the grace of God. Larry, I'm sorry, Joe. and put us down, we're still here. We're still here by the grace of God. Larry? I'm sorry, Joe. Thank you so much, sir, for what you're doing. To build on what it was that you were saying, my grandmother, Lucy Perdue, was born in Sparta, Georgia, grew up in Macon, Georgia. My mother's side of the family,

everybody's from Mississippi and Alabama through Salina, Tennessee. Give us, us city folk, a one-on-one, a one-on-one on why farming is important. It's gotten a little trendy for us to sit and talk in church about, oh, yeah, we should use this land and you should grow some things, et cetera, et cetera, et cetera. But give those of us that don't know and haven't really gotten it a quick one-on-one about the importance of farming to what we eat every day already. Thank you for that.

And my grandfather's name was Thomas Boyd. He said land was everything. Everything good and great came from the land. Clean drinking water, fresh food to feed your family, timber to build a house on. is where we built our families. Yes. We spent time together. We were raised together. Many Black families. My daddy came from 15, the last of 15 kids. And a lot of Black families. My mother had 10 siblings. We've gotten away from the family structure of the farm and also the ability to feed ourselves.

If you look at our forefathers, they live longer than we do now. It's because they was eating healthy foods from their farms that wasn't tainted with chemicals. They were eating meats and all these great fresh things, and they lived longer because of their lifestyle. We've gotten away from the lifestyle. And to answer that question more directly, we take for granted that we have food for abundance in this country. That's what we're taking for granted that we have food for abundance in this country. That's what we're taking for granted. So when you look at our farmers and why it's important, we're going to sit down, we're

going to eat dinner tonight. Some of us are going to eat too much like I do. And we take for granted that that food was grown from someone's farm in this country. So we need to go back and redevelop our connection with food, healthy foods, and the family structure that came from our forefathers. They taught us at home how to live and how to survive on these farms. And we've gotten away from that. And I want to tell the young people, that's the way to survival. Land ownership is the way to freedom. If you want to be free in this country, you need to own some land so that they can't take that from you.

All right. All right, Dan. With John Lick, keep up the fight. Hey, man, we love you. We love you. We support you. And we appreciate the fight that you put out here every single day, man. Thank you. I know a lot of cops and they get asked all the time, have you ever had to shoot your gun? Sometimes the answer is yes, but there's a company dedicated to a future where the answer will always be no. Across the country, cops called this taser the revolution. But not everyone was convinced it was that simple. Cops believed everything that taser told them. From Lava for Good and the team that brought you Bone Valley

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

episodes of Absolute Season 1 Taser Incorporated on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Binge episodes 1, 2, and 3 on May 21st and episodes 4, 5, and 6 on June 4th. Add free at Lava for Good Plus on Apple Podcasts.

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

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

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

It makes it real. Listen to new episodes of the War on Drugs podcast season two on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. And to hear episodes one week early and ad-free with exclusive content, subscribe to Lava for Good Plus on Apple Podcasts. I appreciate it, and I have not forgotten your offer to come down to the farm to ride a horseback. Come down here, man.

I saw you out there with that cowboy hat on, Roland. Come on now. I want you on my farm wearing that cowboy hat. Oh, that ain't a problem. I got a few I can rock. Now, how far are you from D.C.? About three hours from D.C., Roland. Straight down 95 to 80.

Okay. All right, then. We're going to make that happen. I appreciate it.C., bro. Straight down 95 to 80. Okay. Alright then. We're going to make that happen. I appreciate it. Thanks a lot. Thanks a lot, brother. Alright, folks. Gotta go to a break. We come back. Lots more to talk about, including today being the ultimate DEI day. Today is a day called

Jackie Robinson Day. This is a day when the white folk allow one black man merit to play in their game. I got a lot to say about that, especially in this space where all we have nothing but attacks against D.A.I. D.E.I. I got lots to talk about. You're watching Rolling Martin Unfiltered on the Black Star Network. Support the work that we do. Join our Bring the Funk fan club. Of course, if you want to contribute to us via Cash App,

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We should not want our country to be the big bad wolf of the globe because that puts us in a really vulnerable position safety-wise as well. Only on the other side of change on the Black Star Network. This week on A Balanced Life with Dr. Jackie here on Black Star Network, we are talking about all things, you got it, stress-related. Yes, the big S, whether it's spiritual, physical, emotional, or sometimes it could be just in your head. Stress has a way of manifesting itself in our lives in such a way that it disrupts who we are and who we're in the process of becoming. Stress is just as bad as a lot of the physical ailments that we think of. That's all next on A Balanced Life on the Blackstar Network.

You want me to do something crazy, but I don't know what to do. I'd rather just sit here. I'm Chrisette Michelle and you're watching Roland Martin, unfiltered. I mean, could it be any other way? Really, it's Roland Martin. Folks, on Monday, we reported the Department of Justice

had terminated a landmark agreement to address longstanding sewage issues in Lowndes County, Alabama. This rural majority black community has faced problems for decades with raw sewage in backyards in their homes. Catherine Coleman Flowers, the CEO of the Center for Rural Enterprise and Environmental Justice, joins us right now.

Glad to have you here. So this is very simple. These are black people. These are black people impacted. This had been going on for decades. This was an infrastructure issue. This was an infrastructure issue. This was an infrastructure issue. And Trump decides

to, oh, what the hell? Get rid of the settlement and calls it an illegal DEI settlement. What the hell? I'm still trying to understand that one myself. So for folks who don't understand, explain the settlement. I'm still trying to understand that one myself. So for folks who don't understand, explain the settlement.

Well, the settlement occurred because for years, actually, I've been doing this work since 2002. Because initially, the Alabama Department of Public Health were arresting people who could not afford on-site sanitation. And that's how I got involved in doing this work. And as a result, we ended up working with Earthjustice and we filed a complaint against the Alabama Department of Public Health alleging a civil rights violation. This is the first time that Title VI was used to look at environmental justice and to try to obtain justice. And as a result, the health department entered into an agreement with the Department of Justice and Health and Human Services, where they would work to try to remedy the wastewater problem in Lowndes County by putting in place, helping to put in place septic systems. And some of that was funded by the government. Because the other question is,

that we still don't know the answer, is how much of the money that's been allocated has been spent and how much of it will go to actually putting in place septic systems for families? Or are they taking that away too and call it a DEI? And again, for the people who don't understand the impact here, we're talking, so describe the problem. This raw sewage in the yards, front yards, back yards, in the house. How dire was this? I've seen it front yards, back yards,

under homes, going out into the woods. I've seen it every way you can potentially see it. We also have seen where there are balls with children were playing around it. We've seen basketball courts nearby. And one basketball obviously ended up in the sewage and they didn't get it. So we've seen all kinds of ways in which people have tried to get this away from their homes.

And this has been going on far too long. And what is significant about Lowndes County is that it's located between Selma and Montgomery and at one point was called Bloody Lowndes. And it's very, very significant to our voting rights history as well. And again, for people who don't understand, this was called

racism when it came to infrastructure. Yes. We call it sanitation inequality where the type of infrastructure investments that should have been made in these communities, really in rural communities across the United States, have not been made. But certainly Lowndes County, because it's hard to not see it, because so many people travel between Selma and Montgomery, and this is right outside of Montgomery, which is the capital city, and it should have been rectified many years ago. My concern now is whether or not, hopefully, they will not go back to the policy of arresting people who cannot afford on-site sanitation.

And again, I want to reiterate, you are there where the state capitol is. It's right outside the state capitol. Actually, there are people living with raw sewage in Montgomery. I mean, so it's a problem in all 67 counties. I have to give credit for the people in Lowndes County who uplifted their stories and put it out there because they were so marginalized. They had nothing else to lose. But it is not only helping them, but helping people around the state and certainly around the country

who are living in the same situation. The sad part is that since we've been doing this work, and I've been doing it for over 20 years, that I've gone to places around the country and people have said this is a problem that they've had as well. So hopefully, I'm challenging the administration to go and see it for themselves, because a lot of their constituents got the same problem. But the issue is people don't want to deal with it,

and I'm very concerned about the health consequences of not addressing this environmental issue. I mean, it's just shameful and despicable. That's what it is. Mustafa? Well, Catherine, it's good to see you. If I give you a quick shout out, I just want to make sure everybody goes and gets your book, Waste, which is an anthology of the types of things that are going on in communities across the country. Catherine, can you talk a little bit about the public health impacts? Because a lot of folks don't understand about the hookworm and the hepatitis A and the parasites and everything that people are dealing with. Well, actually, when I first started doing this work, I wasn't getting a lot of support. And what helped us was that we partnered with Dr. Peter Hotez at Baylor's National

School of Tropical Medicine and worked with the local community who gave us, actually gave us samples of their fecal samples. We got fecal samples, water samples, blood samples, and also soil samples. And they were taken to the lab and they used PCR technology. And they used this PCR technology to look at the samples. And they found hookworm. They found strontoloides. They found other tropical parasites that you generally see in third world nations that don't have sanitation treatment. And when that story was broken in 2017, it made

worldwide news because people were surprised to see that this was in the United States. In addition to that, the UN Special Rapporteur on Extreme Poverty came to Lowndes County. He said, Catherine, I've seen this in undeveloped nations. I never expected to see this in the United States. And this exists right outside of a capital city. And it doesn't make any sense for it to exist. And I think we have to find ways to remedy it. And the health consequences are so extreme that during the pandemic, Lowndes County, who has a small population, actually had the highest COVID death, highest per capita COVID death rate in the state of Alabama. Joe?

Thank you so much for the work that you're doing. I am wondering if—and you kind of alluded to it a bit—with the idea that there are plenty of white people that are just as poorly off as it pertains to these issues and in general in Alabama, that there would seem to be some potential for commonality there. Is there any potential at all for collaboration with all affected communities, rural and otherwise, to get on the same page and perhaps develop more strength in terms of getting progress on this issue and pressing forward. Well, you know, the irony, you know, and Mustafa alluded to my book Waste and I write about it. When I first started doing this work, one of the persons who was an ally was Jeff Sessions, because he was from rural Wilcox County that had the same problem. We have been contacted by people from most counties in Alabama, even people that are having the same issue. The

difference is they're not being arrested. People in Lawrence County were arrested for having this problem. In addition to that, this is a problem throughout the United States of America. It's in California. It's definitely in Texas, in the area called the Colonias, where there are a lot of rural Latinos living. They are living with raw sewage on the ground, too. It's throughout the United States. And we're hearing from people from throughout the United States that are actually applauding the people in Lowndes County for lifting up this problem. And they want solutions, too, not only in Lowndes County, but around the United States and these rural communities that have been ignored for years.

All right. Thank you. Larry? Yeah, thank you for all your important work. And you mentioned, you know, sessions, and it made me think of two policymakers in Alabama, Britt and Tuberville. And I'm wondering, have you heard anything from their offices about, you know, this decision by the White House and the impact it will have on their constituents? No, I have not. Well, this is what they do, though. Again, they don't care. And I posted this tweet moments ago.

And I'm just gonna go ahead and read their names again. And let me go ahead and say it. Joseph Pinon, Black MAGA, where are you? The Hodge twins, where you at? David Harris Jr. Them young black guys, the Cartier family. Y'all always talking on YouTube. All y'all talking about this story.

Sharice Lane. You a Florida A&M graduate. Why you been so silent? Michaela Montgomery. You keep running your mouth down there in Atlanta. Do you care about rural black folks in Alabama? Why you quiet? C.J. Pearson, you actually enrolled at the University of Alabama.

Why are you so quiet? Lorenzo Sewell, you that black preacher in Detroit kissing Trump's ass, giving that ridiculous prayer at the inauguration? Why are you so silent? Also, Reverend John Amanchukwu Sr., you posted a video, posted a photo on TikTok, excuse me, on Twitter,

how Trump has tapped you to help ban books. How about you ban raw sewage in the yards in the homes of black people? Oh, and your black members of Congress, Byron Donalds, Burgess Owens, Wesley Hunt, Senator Tim Scott, why are y'all so silent? All y'all black MAGA people, if y'all claim to love black people, why are you so

quiet when Trump is screwing black folks? Question, what's next? What do y'all plan next? I mean, what do you do? What's next for you? Well, we plan to continue to uplift these issues. And we want to expand. We're not going to only talk about what's happening in Lowndes County.

We want to talk about what's happening in these other counties across the United States that have the same problem. In West Virginia, in Virginia, in Georgia, in Margaret Taylor Greene's district where I spoke and people there were telling me about the sewage issues they were having there as well. I think we need to lift these issues up, and we need to make sure that people understand that how in the world can we seem to be a prosperous nation when we allow these third world activities to exist, and we do nothing to help it, but we can send people in and out of space to do things that are not significant. However, there's a way in which we can address this problem. We just have not made it a priority. I'd like to see this administration fix it.

All right, Catherine Goldman Flowers, we appreciate it. Thanks a lot. Thank you. All right, folks, going to a break. We come back. Donald Trump, now he's trying to extort Harvard and other Ivy League schools, and Harvard and MIT basically say, you can kiss our entire ass.

I'll explain when we come back. Roland Mark unfiltered on the Black Star Network. On the next Get Wealthy with me, Deborah Owens, America's wealth coach. I'm sure you've heard that saying that the only thing guaranteed is debt and taxes. The truth is that the wealthy get wealthier by understanding tax strategy. And that's exactly the conversation that we're gonna have on the next Get Wealthy,

where you're going to learn wealth hacks that help you turn your wages into wealth. Taxes is one of the largest expenses you ever have. You really got to know how to manage that thing and get that under control so that you can do well. That's right here on Get Wealthy, only on Blackstar Network. What's up, y'all? I'm Will Packer. Everybody, this is your man, Fred Hammond.

Hi, my name is Bresha Webb, and you're watching Roland Martin Unfiltered. And, well, I like a nice filter usually, but we can be unfiltered. Well, Donald Trump is seeking retribution against more folks, this time Harvard University. They're claiming that they are targeting Harvard because they would not crack down

on anti-Semitism on campus. That's bullshit. That's not what it's about. It's about controlling who gets hired as professors, what students get let in, and so he's using the threat of withholding federal funds in order to get them to back down. So as a result, he announced that they're gonna withhold

some two billion dollars in federal aid. Well, Harvard was like, really? Really, that's what you think you're trying to do? And then now the fool is trying to say he's going to repeal their tax status. Let me know how that goes. Let me know how that goes. Now, remember, Columbia, they bowed to pressure. They bowed to pressure by agreeing to Trump's terms. Harvard said, nah, we ain't doing that.

And they made it clear that no government, regardless of which party in power, should dictate what private universities can teach, whom they can admit and hire, and which areas of study and inquiry they can pursue. Well, MIT followed that up and said, yeah, we ain't buckling to you at all. See,

this is the whole thing here that people got to understand, Larry. If you buckle to pressure, the thug is going to come back. This ain't no different if a mafioso comes to you and says, yo, you got

to pay us a cut. They're going to up it and keep upping it and keep upping it and keep putting a squeeze on you. You respond to thugs like Donald Trump by saying, hell no, we're not bowing to you. And about, you know, Harvard, but let's talk about another Ivy League college, Columbia University. And they basically caved in, Roland. And what happened after that? They were like, OK, that's good, but we need one, two, three, and four. So listen, if you're reading books, understand how authoritarianism works. One of the institutions they go after is higher education. Obviously, Columbia and Harvard University have large endowments for Ivy League institutions.

But the stark difference in how both those—the leaders for both those institutions have responded, Columbia has since gotten rid of their president. But Harvard's leadership and their president have stood steadfast. But let's be clear, Roland. Let's not give them too many pats on the back. They have provided the largest, one of the largest endowments at a post-secondary institution, certainly maybe not in the United States, but in the world. So they can survive this. But we need to also see the leader from other institutions that, you know, particularly those leaders that have something more to lose, including their jobs, step forward and be able to say, if they get these letters and say, no, we're not going to

compromise. And we also need a lot of those law firms to do the same thing. But, you know, Harvard did the right thing, but it's easy for them to do the right thing when they have a large endowment and alumni base they do. I don't care if they have a large endowment. I don't care if they have a large endowment and alumni base.

Their response is the response that you need. It doesn't matter if they're having an endowment. First of all, them having a large endowment gives them that ability. But again, you have to have somebody who says, I'm going to punch back to give the next person courage. If everybody keeps capitulating, the dominoes just keep falling. Yeah, no, I agree with you 110%. And that's why I said when we talked about the president of Columbia University did the exact opposite, right, and gave in. So what Harvard University has done is important.

And hopefully it's the first in many steps of institutions saying that we won't compromise in terms of how we enroll students, the kind of training we do, the programs and classes we teach. And trust me, I know this from a firsthand experience that if you cave in, then they will continue to come for you on other issues. I mean, first of all, Joe, we see this with these law firms all buckling, all bowing their knee to Donald Trump. Major law firms scared to tell him your executive order is illegal and we're going to take your ass to court. Yeah, it's nuts. Big laws just they cave in like a caveman. It's really nuts.

So we appreciate those that actually do take stands and even though I think it is true that Harvard's got a little bit more ability to do it and we can talk some other time about how I wish they had supported Sister Gay the way that they should have.

That being said, they're doing the right thing now. This is about control and an irony, several ironies here. You know, Republicans, you know, free markets, you know, no control, states' rights, things like that. Now he wants all the control. This is really about control. The other thing is that there's an irony with, among other things, falsely claiming, as you said, it is bullcrap on a sesame seed bun, that this is about anti-Semitism. But it wasn't about anti-Semitism when Donald Trump was saying that the folks that were saying Jews will not replace us in Charlottesville were fine people.

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

when a multi-billion dollar company dedicated itself to one visionary mission. This is Absolute Season 1, Taser Incorporated. I get right back there and it's bad. It's really, really, really bad. Listen to new episodes of Absolute Season 1, Taser Incorporated on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Binge episodes 1, 2, and 3 on May 21st, and episodes 4, 5, and 6 on June 4th.

Ad-free at Lava for Good Plus on Apple Podcasts. I'm Clayton English. I'm Greg Lott. And this is Season 2 of the War on Drugs podcast. Yes sir, we are back. In a big way. In a very big way. Real people, real perspectives. This is kind of star-studded a little bit, man. We got Ricky Williams, NFL player, Heisman Trophy winner. It's just a compassionate choice to allow players all reasonable means to care for themselves. Music stars Marcus King, John Osborne from Brothers Osborne.

We have this misunderstanding of what this quote-unquote drug thing is. Benny the Butcher. Brent Smith from Shinedown. We got B-Real from Cypress Hill. NHL enforcer Riley Cote. Marine Corvette. MMA fighter Liz Caramouch.

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

And to hear episodes one week early and ad-free with exclusive content, subscribe to Lava for Good Plus on Apple Podcasts. His firing shot against intellectuals, this is all part of his exacting revenge. And if they really want to, these cats can get together and outthink Donald Trump. He's just going to try to muscle you. He doesn't have any strategy. He doesn't understand that he could actually probably destroy the rest of the world and people not get it if he held on to Social Security. But he doesn't want all that.

There's greed. He wants all of it. And so, therefore, he tells you what he's going to do before he does it. And it's important and incumbent for people to take those stands and to be strategic and to fight back and to stay at it. And so in the final analysis, I'm glad that Harvard's doing what they're doing. And hopefully it creates courage for other folks to do the same. Mustafa. You let somebody punk you, they're going to keep punking you. It's the lesson that all of us have learned when we were on the playground, and the bully kept messing with folks.

But they didn't mess with the person who said, you know what, my mama said I can pick up this brick and bust you in your head if you don't leave me alone. I'm not saying that we have to do violence, but I am saying that you can't let people continue to bully you. You know, it's interesting when you look at the move that he tried to make here. He said, nothing says fighting elitism like punishing schools for not pledging allegiance to you. And that's exactly what he wants. He wants your power. He wants you to give it up so that he can continue to just put more of it together and continue to just move down the road

without any folks pushing back against him. So, you know, I appreciate what Harvard's doing. I believe, and I think building upon what Joe said, we just need more folks to come together, both different types of schools and the individuals who went there, to be able to create this front against, you know, these injustices that keep happening. But, you know, folks are going to have to make a decision if you're going to give up your power or if you're going to stand your ground. All right, folks, let's talk about this story here that's pretty wild.

Three black men, they, in Maryland, they go to Arizona for a baby shower. Well, all of a sudden, there's this so-called mix-up where they rent a car, and then they get accused of stealing the car. So check out this body cam video footage. It shows these men all calm but also confused and caught off guard when they were surrounded by cops outside of a Cane's restaurant in Glendale, Arizona.

We got audio? Have a seat on the curb. Hey, man. Have a seat on the curb. Have a seat on the curb. Have a seat on the curb. Have a seat on the curb. Have a seat on the curb. Have a seat on the curb, please, sir. Sir.

Step out, have a seat on the curb. Have a seat on the curb, please. Take it with you. Have a seat on the curb, yes, sir. Have a seat on the curb, yes, sir. Have a seat on the curb. Yes, sir. Slow? Have a seat on the curb. Yes, sir. Yes, sir. Can I get out slow? Have a seat on the curb. Yes, sir.

Have a seat on the curb. Can I get out slow? Yeah, have a seat on the curb, please. Yes, sir. Please, sir. No problem. Can I get out slow? Have a seat.

Yes, sir. Five, five, Kevin, dressing three. Can you step in the please? Hey, I'll explain it all to you guys in just a moment. OK, alright. What's that? I'm from DC. OK.

We'll explain it all. I just need you guys to get here. Hopefully you guys walk out of here, OK? Yes, sir. Anybody got any guns? No. Oh, OK. Going home tomorrow.

I have a flight at 6 in the morning. A flight? Yeah. Not a good time to fly. All right. You go out to DCA, too? Yeah, DCA. Yeah.

All right. Don't let them scare you. They're just coming for us just because I called. No problem. No problem. Okay. Whose car is this? All right. So, y'all, this is a 15-minute long video.

Now, they were driving a blue Dodge Charger, okay? They rented the car through the app Turo, which is a car-sharing app like Airbnb for vehicles. Joining me now is Jeffrey Adu, Kwabena Asante, Daniel Ampofo, along with their attorney, Kevin Murray. So glad to have y'all here. So I'm just, so what happened? What caused y'all to get stopped? Did somebody call in? Did somebody see y'all make a wrong turn?

How did y'all get stopped? We don't know. We were inside the Cane's restaurant when we came out. As you can see in the video, we were getting into the car. Okay, stop, stop, stop. I'm sorry. Y'all weren't driving?

No, sir. Y'all were in a restaurant? Yes, sir. The car was parked. Car was parked? Yes, sir. So that means that they were just scanning license plates? Unfortunately.

I couldn't tell you. From what they said is that we tripped a system something in the system when we passed a traffic light or a camera something like that something to that effect that's what they told us okay they claim y'all tripped a system and then all of a sudden how long were y'all inside the canes? Probably 10, 15 minutes max. Placed the order to go, got the food and left. So y'all walked out of canes, and all of a sudden y'all look up,

and it's just cops everywhere? Guns drawn immediately. So me and Jeffrey actually got into the car. We didn't see the cop. The driver, Quab, was the last one getting in the car because he had put his food at the top of the car. And then we heard the cop kind of like yelling at him to sit on the curb. We, of course, were clueless. We didn't know what was going on. So you could see the confusion initially.

So it was one cop at first. He had his gun drawn as soon as he got out the car, as you can see in the body cam footage. After he told Quav to sit on the curb, he told me to get out of the car. I was in the back passenger seat. I had my drink in my hand and I asked if I could put it down. He said no, so I had to take it with me. And then he told Jeff to get out the car last. And then he called for backup. You can hear him coming in the background. You heard him say that the backup is coming. At this time, he didn't tell us what

was going on. We still don't know why we're being pulled over. So right now, y'all don't know. Y'all still don't know why you got pulled over. No, as you heard him say, he said he was going to let us know in a minute. It may have turned into maybe five to seven minutes. We didn't know for a while why we were being pulled over. Yeah, bro, and these are all great questions you're asking,

and that's what we're starting with to get to the bottom of the initial provocation of the officers and why these young men were pulled over, excuse me, why they were handled the way they were handled. Okay, so first of all, I don't see it in, okay, I don't see it in the script. What it says you're visiting Arizona. Where did this take place in Arizona? Glendale, Arizona.

Okay, Glendale, Arizona. Okay, got it. Correct. Alright, so how long were y'all detained? Like 15 to 20 minutes. Yeah, I would say 20 minutes. Yeah, 15, 20 minutes for sure. So after 15, 20 minutes, then what happened? They didn't were y'all detained? Like 15 to 20 minutes. Yeah, I would say 20 minutes. Yeah, 15, 20 minutes for sure. So after 15, 20 minutes, then what happened? They didn't let y'all go?

Yeah, so once they detained us and read us our Miranda rights, put us in handcuffs, put us in the back of the police car, then they told us why they were treating us that way. Once they said that, my brother, Quav, he had the reservations for Turo for the car, so he was able to show he didn't show handcuffs, but he gave him his password. They unlocked his phone.

That's when they saw the reservation and saw that we didn't steal the car. We legally rented it from Turo. And then they had a brief discussion with their other officers, and then they took the handcuffs off of us eventually. They confiscated the rental car though. Well, hold up.

So they reported so they claim that someone else reported the car stolen? Correct. They said it was a stolen car and we were the ones in possession of the stolen car. They also said that we fit the description of the suspect, which he still to this day

haven't heard. Wait a minute. So you rented ran it okay so you rented the car through turo correct and so is that was that a person y'all there was a person's car so yeah there was another company that uses turo to rent out their cars and we rented it through that company but of course yeah the umbrella company is two row so so ultimately it was through two row so did y'all then call the company and say yo why is something that they claim this car was reported stolen what did the company say well not at that moment because of course you know after a situation like that you deal with the shock and the trauma. So our main goal after that situation was just to make it back to our Airbnb safe and sound because we've never been in a situation like that.

Now, when did this take place? This was Saturday night, guys. Yeah, Saturday night, February 1st. February 1st. Okay, so it's been two months. What did the company say when y'all said, hey, the cops claimed this car was reported stolen? Well, they said it was a mistake. They said they did report it stolen,

but then they said that they recovered the car. That's what the company said. The company claims they did report it stolen. Correct. But they... Recovered the car, yes. They recovered the car. Correct.

So did the company ever notify cops? That's the million-dollar question, sir. We're not sure. Okay. And that's where I'm going. So, Kevin, I got to ask you, you're an attorney. Who the hell y'all suing? Everybody. Everybody.

I'll be very, very clear. We're investigating, and all the responsible parties are on the line until they're not, until they can prove that they didn't do something wrong. I'll be very, very clear. Whether it be the name of the company that used Turo, Turo for not clearing it, and we're even looking into the police department, making sure they went through the proper protocols, the proper policies and procedures that they were supposed to do and the way they handled the situation.

Okay, I got to go back. They said y'all fit the description. Correct. So was there a description that three people stole a car? When we asked what the description was, they never told us. We asked multiple times, and nobody gave a description. So, you know. Okay.

You didn't even give us a benefit of the doubt. We know what that means. No, no, but here's the whole deal, though. If a car was reported stolen by the company that used Turo, they had to file, they had to actually file a report. Have y'all seen the actual stolen car report they filed? I haven't seen it.

I haven't seen it. And we've just been hired recently and we're investigating. We have an investigator in Arizona right now doing just that. Because bottom line is, if they filed, bottom line is, if they filed a report, this notion fit the description, which means that it had to have been described to them that three black men stole a blue Dodge.

Correct. Wow. Did y'all eventually make it to the shower? Well, this was after the shower, actually. Got it. And how soon did y'all get out of Arizona? The next morning. The next morning.

Picked up that night and got out of there the next morning. Unbelievable. Unbelievable. All right, gents, keep us abreast. What happens next thank you we appreciate you very much for having us on your show I appreciate it thanks a lot

Joe this is the reality being black in America damn you can't even rent a vehicle and you fit the description come on man it's a cold game and of course, first of all, I'm glad the brothers are alive

because, you know, you've got guns drawn, you've got all this stuff going on, and obviously these brothers would be a threat with a drink from canes in their hand, right? So I think it's going to be very interesting. Turney, of course, is dealing with it the right way

that everybody's on until we see demonstrably that they're off. But I give you 10 to 1 that they won't find anything in writing with a description, three black men still in that vehicle. I'm almost certain of that. You'll probably be able to catch them in that lie. But this reminds you how quickly things can go awry. And I remember speaking on a panel once at a college, and the kids were mad when I told them—we were talking about how to deal with police stops, being stopped by police—and they want to argue the unfairness. We understand that, but it's kind of hard when they're the ones with the gun and society's benefit of the doubt, because what I told them is I would rather deal with you being that you made it as opposed

to dealing with your parents because you didn't. These brothers deserve a lot of credit because they stayed calm. They didn't give these guys a reason to fly off the handle. And the most important thing, frankly, I think they've got a good case, but the most important thing is surviving the contact. And they were able to do that because they were compliant. They asked questions. Can we do that? Can I hold my train? You tell me to hold my train. Can I sit down with it? You know, those types of things. I think that every brother that's out there that wants to channel 400 years of slavery and all this other stuff into this police stop, which should not have happened, but you decide that the hill you may literally want to die on. I'm not saying that you're wrong in feeling that way.

What I'm saying is survive the contact. And I think these brothers did a good job of that. Larry. Yeah, watching that video rolling is just traumatic for all of us. You know, either been in situations like that or know other people in our family and friends have been in situations like that. And I think the bottom line is these brothers survived this encounter. Let's remember statistically black folks are two to three times more likely to be killed by law enforcement based on encounters. Not being arrested, encounters. So anytime we see situations like this, as my

colleague highlighted, it can go south really fast. And then you can have an issue where someone has been shy and accused of reaching or whatever else they will come up with. But the language you heard in terms of they fit the description, we've heard that far too many times to count in our lives. So, but once again, you know, who, I'm glad they're going to sue whoever is going to be responsible. This could end in a tragedy and really impacted the lives of multiple families. But this is another example of things that happen every day in America. Mustafa. I mean, those brothers had the trifecta, right? Driving while black, parking while black, eating while black.

Luckily, we get to talk about black joy because they got a chance to make it home. And Joe talked about survival, and that's what it's all about, so that we can live to fight another day. So it'll be interesting to see how the case plays out, and hopefully they get justice. All right, folks, hold tight one second. We come back. We'll talk with golfing pioneer Renee Powell, who is continuing the family tradition. Her father built with his own hands the first black golf course in America. We'll talk about that next. You're watching Rollerball.

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

comes a story about what happened when a multibillion-dollar company dedicated itself to one visionary mission. This is Absolute Season 1, Taser Incorporated. I get right back there and it's bad. This is Absolute Season 1, Taser Incorporated. I get right back there and it's bad. It's really, really, really bad. Listen to new episodes of Absolute Season 1, Taser Incorporated on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Binge episodes 1, 2, and 3 on May 21st

and episodes 4, 5, and 6 on June 4th. Add free at Lava for Good Plus on Apple Podcasts. Binge episodes 1, 2, and 3 on May 21st and episodes 4, 5, and 6 on June 4th. Add free at Lava for Good Plus on Apple Podcasts. a very big way. Real people, real perspectives. This is kind of star-studded a little bit, man. We got Ricky Williams, NFL player, Heisman Trophy winner. It's just a compassionate choice to allow players all reasonable means to care for themselves. Music stars Marcus King, John Osborne from Brothers

Osborne. We have this misunderstanding of what this quote-unquote drug thing is. Benny the Butcher. Brent Smith from Shinedown. We got B-Real from Cypress Hill. NHL enforcer Riley Cote. Marine Corvette.

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

And to hear episodes one week early and ad-free with exclusive content, subscribe to Lava for Good Plus on Apple Podcasts. We'll be right back. If you're listening, go to BlackstarNetwork.com. If you want to send a check of money, order to do so, please, by making it out to Roland Martin Unfiltered. Make it payable to Roland Martin Unfiltered. Again, not Roland Martin, not Uncle Roro, not Unfiltered, not Blackstar Network. Make it out to Roland Martin Unfiltered. Makes it a lot easier dealing with our bank. Y'all, PayPal's R. Martin Unfiltered. Venmo's R.M. Unfiltered. Zelle, Roland at RolandSMartin.com.

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and you're watching Roland Martin Unfiltered. Thank you. Imagine being a pioneer golfer on the latest professional golf association tour. But then again, you're like like that's in your dna when your dad built the first black golf course in the country it's in clearview ohio and of course bill powell built that course uh the family continues that uh that uh course is called clearview golf club is in canton ohio i'm sorry uh first of all it's near canton ohio uh and uh That course is called Clearview Golf Club. It's in Canton, Ohio. Sorry, first of all, it's near Canton, Ohio. And they have an annual fundraiser. There's a golf tournament taking place in June.

Renee Powell joins us right now. She is the LPGA, PGA Head Golf Professional at Clearview. But not only that, she also, of course, made history herself on the LPGA tour, has traveled all across the country, and also a lot of different things are named after her as well. Renee, glad to have you here. How you doing? Good to see you. I know yesterday you were wearing a great big cowboy hat. You played in South Carolina, so I'm wearing a hat tonight. Well, yeah, I was at the Hootie and the Blowfishers Monday after the Masters golf tournament.

My man Darius Rucker invited me. I had all my Houston Rockets gear on, so I had to represent H-Town. And so that's what I was doing there. And, of course, but today is Jackie Robinson Day. And so I always, listen, I normally only wear Houston Astros stuff. But on this day, I make an exception by wearing the Brooklyn Dodgers blue. So that's what I'm doing. So, again, like I said, we had a great time yesterday teeing off with the guys. They raised a lot of money for education efforts there in South Carolina.

And so we had a good time. So, yes, I had some fun and am always hitting the golf course somewhere. This was us playing Sunday, teeing it up in the practice round. And so we had a great time yesterday. So let's talk about what you're doing next month. I'm sorry, in June. Yes. In June.

Well, in June, in June 8th and 9th. Well, you know, a really great friend of ours who actually sponsored I was the major sponsor for our LPGA Pro-Am was a good friend by the name of Franco Harris. And so we are we've been in the process

of raising lots of funds for an automatic irrigation system. And so we're having an event on June the 8th, June the 9th. There's a dinner at the Pro Football Hall of Fame. And on that Sunday and then Monday the 9th, we're having an LPGA Pro. I am honoring Franco Harris because he was such a great part of all the things that we do here. And as I say, a really good friend. So, because of that, we're honoring him

and it's a fundraiser both evenings, both days. For the folks who don't know, who don't know the history of Clearview, just explain to folks the historic nature of this course. Well, we're celebrating 79 years this year. We've never had an irrigation system. But 79 years because my dad, after World War II, back in 1946, came back from Scotland and England and found that he still wasn't welcome at area golf courses. And his thing was to create opportunities for all people, regardless of the color of your skin, regardless of your religion or whatever. You know, they didn't want women on the golf course much. They didn't want kids and juniors on the golf course

very much in those days. And they certainly didn't want people that look like me and black people in the golf course. So my dad's big thing was creating opportunities. And so that's how Clearview was built. The first nine holes, he literally built by hand with a hand seater around his neck that he turned and literally walked back and forth, back and forth, every single fairway to see the fairways. And that's how Clearview came into existence. So built by hand. And so that was the first nine holes. What about the next nine? When did it become an 18-hole course?

And not until actually not until 1978. So he opened, he began building the course in 46, opened it in 48. And then for the first nine holes and second nine holes, he was able to put in in 1978, which was 30 years later. And so you talk about this irrigation system of people who don't understand. If you don't have water going to all parts of the course, it's going to be a problem keeping it in shape. You're right.

And the thing was that we have sort of antiquated irrigation where we had to drag hoses from green to green. And the greens are big. When Daddy built the course, his thing was he was only going to build nine holes. And he made the greens very large based off of some of the greens that he saw in Scotland and they were for different pin place, different pin positions. So when we put the hoses out, we have to water the greens. It's four different pin positions and it takes an hour each time. So every green takes four hours to water, but we can water nine greens at a time. But now it was so dry last year and so hot. We said that there's something we needed to do. We needed to make a change somehow, some way, find a way to get an irrigation system in.

And so that's what we're working on now. And they're working on it. And we're doing lots and lots of fundraisers and making contacts with lots of people. So you and your brother, talk about how do y'all still keep this going? Who does it? So go ahead. Yeah. So, I mean, because of the fact that it's, you know, it's pretty incredible.

I mean, Clearview is now the National Register of Historic Places, one of a very handful of golf courses out of the roughly 16,000. My brother has been the golf course superintendent for years and years. I came back to be the head golf professional. So the two of us work together. He knows everything on the golf course as far as maintenance. And I helped to put together different things. And as a golf professional, I do a lot of teaching. We do programs for military veterans. We do programs for kids, for seniors, and then events and fundraising events because it's the Clearview Legacy Foundation for Education, Preservation, and Turfgrass Research.

We're a 501c3 tax-exempt charitable foundation. So if folks want to support, obviously they get a text write-off by doing so. How long is the course? The course is 6,700 yards from the backs. And the front nine is a nice walkable nine. The back nine is not as walkable. Well, it is. I mean, you can get good exercise, really.

And there's four sets of tees on all the tees. is not as walkable. Well, it is. I mean, you can get good exercise, really. So, and there's four sets of tees on all the tees. I play, so I'm trying to think, I think I've played there twice. I know, I think the OJs had their golf tournament there. I played there. And let me say, listen, if there's

anything people need to understand, golfers will tolerate decent tee boxes. They'll tolerate decent fairways. But if you got some jacked up greens, it would get added to it. And I have no problem saying this here. The greens at Clearview were absolutely impeccable. And again, I played golf courses all around the world,

and I was like, yo, yo brother be handling his business with those greens. Yeah, he's, I mean, he babysits those greens. So, yeah, and you know what? I think that golf course and the greens helped me when I went out on tour, actually. Yeah, because bottom line is you got those fast greens on tour. This is some video here of your father driving a golf cart. There was a story that was done on him. And again, you know, legendary figure.

And I don't think people really understand the racism that he had to deal with, but also the racism that you had to deal with when you were on the LPGA tour. Oh, my gosh, you're right. So, you know, I mean, I came along 20 years later after after daddy had built the golf course, you know, playing on the tour. And I mean, I used to get threat letters in my life and I'm like, I'm in my own country. All I'm doing is trying to hit this little golf ball. Back then all the golf balls were white. Now we have yellow and pink and green.

But trying to hit this little golf ball and not bothering anybody else. But, you know, I mean, it was because I first went on tour back in the late 60s. And so there were a lot of things that were not very pleasant. Absolutely. Absolutely. And so lots going on. So tell us about this golf tournament next month. I'm sorry, June.

Okay. So it's foursomes, plus there is a celebrity athlete with each group. I was talking to, since you're on baseball right now, I was talking to Reggie Jackson last night. And so Reggie is planning on coming to that because he and Franco Harris were very, very close friends. He's going to let me know, you know, whether he can be there one or two days or both or both days. But also Cheyenne Woods, who played on the LPGA tour after me. Cheyenne is, as most people know, is the niece of Tiger.

Talked to Clark Kellogg, who was a basketball person, and Jerome Bettis, who even though he is, you know, we're Cleveland Browns fans here, but of course Franco was a Steeler and so was Jerome Bettis. So it's going to be a fun event. As I said, the first night, on Sunday night, we're having an event that's going to be at the Pro Football Hall of Fame

and where we'll be able to honor Franco there and also the next day at the golf course for the Pro-Am. So go ahead. I was going to say, if you go on our website, which is clearviewgolfclub.com, all the information is on there as to how one can sponsor, you know, various sponsorships, and talks about the evening before and the day, the Pro-Am

day. Questions from our panel. Let's see. I don't know. Any of y'all play golf? Larry, Joe, or Mustafa? I mess with it a little bit, but I started kind of late. Okay, like I said, the question was do any of y'all play golf?

When somebody says I kind of mess with it, that means you do not play golf. Go ahead, Joe. But he's got golf clubs, obviously. I got some beautiful golf clubs. Which mean they collect dust in the garage. But he's got golf clubs, obviously. I got some beautiful golf clubs. There's a shiny suite.

Which means they collect dust in the garage. Do you have all the wrappings off of them? Actually, the wrappings are off. I will say that. And there probably ain't a speck of dirt on those golf clubs. See, Roland, now you're wrong. But in any event. You know I'm right so i'd be interested in your thoughts because what you're doing is so historic and it's

multi-generational starting with your father um how do you feel about the state of golf and the state of being uh having young people and young black people involved in golf today. How do you feel about that? We just saw the Masters happen, right? They unveiled a mural that speaks to the greatness of black caddies, which often, including for Jack Nicklaus, which people often didn't realize or didn't want to realize and tried to act like it was something other than what it was. Tell me about your thoughts about how far we've come as you see it today. Well, you know, it's great to see more and more young people playing the game of golf. There are programs.

The LPGA does an LPGA USD Girls Golf Club program. The first tee was started back in the 90s, and I was involved with helping to put together the curriculum programming. And so it's changed a little bit. It was developed for purposes for those who did not have access, and it's changed a little bit. But where I think golf needs to be a little bit more is we need to have more Black people in upper management in our industry, which we don't have as much as I think we should and could. But seeing more young people get involved, and the one sad thing is that the LPGA this year is celebrating 75 years,

and over those 75 years, there have only been eight black females to play on the LPGA Tour. That's not very many in 75 years. It's amazing. Larry, Larry's down in Florida. He don't play a stitch of golf. What? Listen, I'm working on that this summer. So, you know, I'll be back to you.

Yeah, here we go. I'll be back to you on that. I think Rowan's going to hold you to that. Precisely. I know he is. That's why I'm going to get it together before you ask me the next time. So, yeah, thank you for continuing your father's legacy.

And my question kind of relates to my colleague Gatsu about working with young people. We know that Howard University has a golf program. Steph Curry is supporting that program. What are some of the things you're doing in terms of, you know, you know, work with young people in terms of high schools, particularly HBCUs, right? With opportunity to kind of talk about Howard University. What other kind of outreach programs are you doing as it relates to high schools and possibly colleges? Well, actually, when I first left the tour,

one of the things that I did do is I went around to many of our HBCU schools before anybody else has gotten involved or even thought about them, because my thing was to go to these schools to talk to the young people, telling them that once they leave the academia world and go out to the real world, golf is a sport that they needed to know how to play and so uh i did that oh wow back in the back in the 1980s and um so you know i'm always trying to encourage uh young people in in our area to participate in in the sport of golf and um because i you know and especially young girls because there are a lot of scholarships out there for young girls i know that there is a tournament called the

national minority or national uh women's um golf championship collegiate golf championship that was held two weeks ago and they actually played for the renee powell cup and there are 13 hbcus uh women's golf teams that played in that. It was held down in Texas. A lady out of Atlanta puts that on. She's been doing it. This year was the 30th anniversary for it. Mustafa.

Now, he's rocking. He wears the Payne Stewart Kangols, but I ain't never seen him on a golf course. All right, Mustafa, go ahead. I'm more of a Lee Elder and Calvin Pete type of person, but I hear what you're saying. Fine, Calvin Pete.

What does that mean? Wait a minute. What does that mean, that you're more of a Lee Elder, Calvin Pete type of person? That don't mean nothing. What it means, they were some of the first that I ever noticed playing the game, so they were the ones that inspired me to even start to watch golf.

But do you play? Yes. I wouldn't call what I do actually playing. I wouldn't call that actually playing. You'd have to have a triple-digit handicap with me, so I'm just not... You enjoying it. I know a lot of cops,

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

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

Ad-free at Lava for Good Plus on Apple Podcasts. I'm Clayton English. I'm Greg Lott. And this is Season 2 of the War on Drugs podcast. Yes, sir. We are back. In a big way. In a very big way. Real people, real perspectives. This is kind of star-studded a little bit, man.

We got Ricky Williams, NFL player, Heisman Trophy winner. It's just a compassionate choice to allow players all reasonable means to care for themselves. Music stars Marcus King, John Osborne from Brothers Osborne. We have this misunderstanding of what this quote-unquote drug ban.

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

It really does. It makes it real. Listen to new episodes of the War on Drugs podcast season two on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. And to hear episodes one week early and ad-free with exclusive content, subscribe to Lava for Good Plus on Apple Podcasts.

Saw the same boat, y'all mess with it. I cannot believe that none of you are real golfers none of you play and here Roland plays every opportunity he can you damn skippy I didn't say I didn't play I said I'm not very good

so there's a difference right there you play at it well at least I'm accepting where I am in my journey. Gone with your question. Yes, sir. I just wanted to say thank you for your journey and your father's journey. I was curious.

We had a conversation earlier in the show with the black farmers around owning land. And I was curious about Clearview and how your father was able to get that land, especially, you know, at the time that he developed the course. Yeah, well, my dad actually grew up in a little town just 10 miles down the road, which their family was the only black family in the entire town. He discovered golf at the age of nine. And so and he actually he started the first very first golf team at his high school. And also another fact was he and his brother started the very first golf team at Wilberforce University. And the first match ever played in the United States between a historically black college and a white college was Wilberforce versus Ohio Northern.

They played two matches. That was in 1937. And Wilberforce won both matches. So after college and after World War II, my dad came back. And he found, as I said, he found out he still wasn't welcome at area golf courses, except the one that he really grew up on. And he actually taught two black doctors how to play the game of golf. My mom was from Canton, Ohio, from the city. My dad was from out in more of a rural area in Minerva. And he kept driving by trying to find, looking for land. And he finally saw that there was 78 acres of an old dairy farm that was for sale. And he actually stopped and was able to, what the doctors did, they each put in a third of their money

to purchase the first 78 acres of land, which the nine holes went on. My dad didn't have his money, so he borrowed his money from my uncle who mortgaged his house in California to give my dad his share of the money. Amazing. Amazing. Wow.

Well, that's how that is done. And so it's a lot great going on. Again, if folk want to play Clearview, the closest major city is Canton? Canton, and it's the home of the Pro Football Hall of Fame. So how far is Canton from the golf course? Well, seven miles, actually. Oh, see, that's not far. Yeah, we're in East Canton.

Got it. Yeah. Got it. So let everybody again know, first of all, date of the tournament, where they can actually donate if they can't play, all the particulars. Right. Okay. So the tournament dates are June 8th is the dinner at the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

And the event itself, the Pro-Am, with the LPGA Tour players and some other celebrity athletes, male athletes. And that is on June the 9th on a Monday. You can find all the information on our website, which is clearviewgolfclub.com on the front page. It's going to have all the information and how one can participate and all the various sponsorship opportunities. All right, then. And so, as I told you, I know folks are wondering,

as I, of course, I'm playing Warwick Dunn's golf tournament the exact same day. Otherwise, I definitely will be there. So, be sure you got to give me the date for next year so we can lock that in. Okay, will do. And next year, we'll be celebrating the 80th anniversary of Clearview. Okay, all right.

And we'll change the name to the Franco Harris LPGA Pro-Am next year. All right, that'll be celebrating the 80th anniversary of Clearview. Okay. All right. And we'll send you the name to the Frank O'Hara's LPGA Pro-Am next year. All right. That'll be great. And again, for Mustafa, Larry, and Joe, if y'all keep messing around, if y'all put some work in, y'all might be as smooth as this. This was a couple years ago at the George Lopez Golf Tournament. This is what happens if y'all put

the work in. Your golf swing might be as smooth as this. But just saying. Just saying. The problem with that, though, Roland, is that if I'm out there with you, I'm distracted because I'm looking at that hat. Well, that means you can't play.

I can't believe how smooth your swing is with that hat on. Well, see, that's what happens when you have proper rotation around your spine. The hat don't matter. See? See? See? Of course, Joe probably would hit himself in the head if he had one of those foam hats. And so this, of course, at Whitewich in Jamaica.

So, Joe, I'll help you with this one. So if you're looking, I'm telling y'all, y'all need to get on that range and y'all need to work at it because that's just silky smooth. All right, we got the bounce. Renee, I appreciate it. Thanks a bunch. Okay, thank you, Roland. Thanks so much. All right, folks got the bounce. Renee, I appreciate it. Thanks a bunch. Okay, thank you, Roland. Thanks so much.

All right, folks, we come back. I got a few words to say on today, Jackie Robinson Day in Major League Baseball. Jackie Robinson and DEI. We'll be right back. This week on the other side of change. we're going to examine how foreign policy impacts domestic policy and how domestic policy impacts foreign policy. We are all intertwined and we're going to have Hannah Reed help us break down that topic. We should not want our country to be the

big bad wolf of the globe because that puts us in a really vulnerable position safety-wise as well. Only on the other side of change on the Black Star Network. How you doing? My name is Mark Curry. And you're watching Roland Martin. Unfiltered, deep into it, like pasteurized milk. Without the 2%, we getting deep. You want to turn that shit off? We doin' an interview, motherfucker! Thank you. All right, folks, today is April 15th. Normally we know today as being Tax Day, but this is also known as Jackie Robinson Day.

This was the day that Jackie Robinson debuted in white Major League Baseball. Now, let me explain. I know some of y'all are sitting there saying, why did he frame it that way? Well, because the Negro Leagues was also the Major Leagues. In fact, the real talent in baseball was in the Negro leagues. See, the reason it was called the major leagues is because white people owned it. White people financed the better stadiums, which had better lighting, they had better uniforms, they had better travel. But the reality is, in the Negro Leagues, you had significant talent. People like Satchel Paige and so many others.

Josh Gibson, who played in the Negro Leagues. And so, on this day, all across Major League Baseball, every player, games today, will be wearing the number 42. Now, again, with Jackie Robinson, as you see, I got 42. There's no name on the back of. And so if y'all see somebody wearing a Jackie Robinson jersey with Robinson on the back, that's not how Jackie wore his uniform with the Brooklyn Dodgers. OK, so what's the correlation?

And why would I kept saying about the issue of DEI? Well, Jackie Robinson going into white Major League Baseball was the ultimate DEI. DEI stands for diversity, equity and inclusion. The reality is the racists in white Major League Baseball purposely kept black baseball players out because they were racist. They did not want black ballplayers in white Major League Baseball. So when Branch Rickey chooses to break the color barrier, that was diversity, equity, and inclusion. See, this is really what DEI is all about. When you have races create barriers that prevent entry, then you have to create programs that solidify or create

a pathway for, quote, non-traditional people, meaning non-white people, to be able to participate. And so that's all that was. Now, the problem is that after Jackie Robinson breaks the color barrier in white Major League Baseball, those same racists said we have to limit the number of black ballplayers on teams.

Now, that was no written rule that you couldn't have more than three black ballplayers, but that was a rule in Bill Russell's book. He talks about the exact same thing, how they limited the number of black basketball players. Exact same thing. And so when we talk about Jim Crow, we talk about the racism in this country, when we talk about DEI and all the attacks on DEI,

really what we are looking at and speaking to is when you had white racists excluding black people from participating in a sport. Let me say it again. This was white racists denying economic opportunities for black people from being able to showcase their talent. Let me unpack that further. This was white racists not believing in merit, but saying we believe in white privilege where we provide opportunities just for white men to play baseball

and no one else. Let me unpack that further for somebody who still is not quite understanding what I'm talking about. Here we had white men deciding that they were so scared of fragile white men losing their jobs that they created an artificial situation to where these fragile white men were able to thrive and play in white Major League Baseball because they were afraid of these black baseball players bringing their talent and then talent deciding who stays. Let me unpack that further for the folk who really are not understanding what I'm talking about. If white folk really felt that merit was so valuable, if white people really believed in meritocracy, then there would be no need for DEI programs. There would be no need for affirmative action programs.

There would be no need for you to have to create special recruitment and do specific things along those lines because you would be doing the right thing. In fact, they're not doing the right thing.

They're doing the white thing. That's why it even exists. The reason you have these Office of Civil Rights and the reason you have these DEI officers and the reason you have all of these measurements that lay out why you have to have DEI because white folk refuse to do the right, and they keep doing the white thing. They keep hiring their friends. They only go to recruit at places that they know. They deny opportunities from folks who don't come from places they're not familiar with.

So when Bari Williams was on our show, she was talking about when she was in Silicon Valley, how they would be in meetings, and the person who was deciding who gets the internship or who gets the interview will go, oh, I'm unfamiliar with that school, so therefore we're going to put them aside. And Barrett would say, wait a minute, I'm sorry, what are you doing right here? Because you don't know the type of school that person's come from. You know nothing about the brilliance of that student. You are making an arbitrary decision to remove this black applicant from the pool of talent because you are unfamiliar with the school. Two years ago, a study was done where they took the names of black sounding names and white sounding names.

Exact same resume. And then they then sent it out. And the white sounding name had a 50% chance of getting a call back for the interview. Then the black sounding name. We had a white sounding name and a black sounding name. But the exact same resume. See, this is why I don't want to hear nothing from any of these white racists when they talk about they are against DEI, because they say nothing about that. They have no problem defending white privilege.

White privilege is not a phrase that speaks to white people with economic resources. White privilege means that by virtue of you being white, you get the privilege of getting a callback. You get the privilege of being hired. You get the privilege of being able to walk in stores without being accosted. You get the privilege of being able to sell your home at a high value. You get the privilege of having books of white people and photos of white people and art of white people on your homes. Yet when you're black, you can remove all elements of blackness in your home because mostly a white appraiser is going to praise your home at a much lower value. This is why you have DEI. You have DEI to create

special contracting programs because white businesses freeze out black businesses from the process. Oh, and the same company then, the companies then create these artificial barriers where we're going to concoct a special set of rules that only white businesses can actually qualify for the contracts. And so we're going to say insurance has to be higher, bonding has to be higher, all these requirements. This is why DEI was created. DEI is nothing but the grandchild of a diversity officer. The diversity officer is nothing but the grandchild of the community affairs officer. The community affairs officer was created in the aftermath of affirmative action. Of course, it took place under Arthur

Fletcher and President Richard Nixon, and that simply followed President Lyndon Baines Johnson going to Howard University talking about the need to have affirmative action required. We are where we are today because of DEI, because of white exclusion from the process. White folks in this country created a system where they excluded black people from all parts of American society. Black people could not tap grants. Black people could not buy houses. Black people could not buy car loans. Black people could not get corporate jobs. Why do black people represent 20% of all federal jobs? It's because black people could not work in corporate America. 20% in federal government, 10% in corporate America. Why do you have so few black people in significant positions? It has nothing

to do with smart, has nothing to do with talent. It has to do with whether or not we are provided an access to the same platform. If y'all want to understand how whiteness works, I just need y'all to understand what happened just the other day when I saw a story in the New York Times. This is a perfect example of how white privilege works and how whiteness works. So I was sitting here reading The New York Times and The New York Times had a story on their site called Chuck Todd wants you to meet the pause. And it says after leaving NBC News in January, the former Meet the Press moderator is starting a new chapter as a media entrepreneur. And I saw that and I was kind of like, wow, that's interesting. So allow me to read further. And so I then begin to scroll down and in the article by Benjamin Mullen, who was the media reporter for the New York Times, he begins to describe the life of Chuck Todd. And he

is going down and he said, after leaving the corporate home of Meet the Press in January, Mr. Todd is embarking on a career as a media entrepreneur. He has a podcast and a YouTube channel and plans to hire other hosts for a podcast and video network focused on politics and culture. He also said he was working with an advisor from a major financial firm to build or acquire a company focused on community news. They begin to talk about how he's adjusting and all of these different things and talking about what he's working on. And Mr. Todd's business plan calls for a constellation of local sites owned by their communities, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. Mr. Todd and the bank he is working with are eyeing a purchase

that could cost up to two billion dollars he declined to say whether he had lined up any backers or specify the company they were looking at but he ruled out major newspaper publishers now I saw that article and I said my god it's amazing the things that Chuck Todd is doing so then I went over to YouTube and then when I went over to YouTube, I said, well, man, Chuck Todd has got to be killing this thing on YouTube because they are describing Chuck Todd as being a media force, a media entrepreneur. And I just sat there and said, man, he must be killing that thing. Well, the

day I saw the article, I said, wow, he must be killing that thing. Well, the day I saw the article, I said, wow, it said to me that Chuck Todd had 2,100 subscribers on his YouTube channel. No, I'm sorry. I didn't say Chuck Todd had 2.1 million. I didn't say Chuck Todd had 210,000. I didn't say Chuck Todd had 21,000. They said Chuck Todd had 2,100 YouTube subscribers. Well, today, this is just three days later, he now has 8,200, 8.28. And I sat there and I said, my God, he's tripled his numbers, quadrupled his numbers in three days. He's gone from 2,100 to 80,200. Now some of y'all may say, I don't understand why you're sitting here bringing this up. Because in six and a half years, the New York Times

has, matter of fact, I take that back. The New York Times did call us when Ben Smith was the media reporter, when they were working on the Carlos Watson article, but they never called us to do a story on how I built Roland Martin Unfiltered from the ground up to now have almost 2 million subscribers, how we've been profitable for five years, and how I built a network called the Black Star Network that has, oh, I'm sorry, let me go on back

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

dedicated itself to one visionary mission. This is Absolute Season 1, Taser Incorporated. I get right back there and it's bad. It's really, really, really bad. Listen to new episodes of Absolute Season 1, Taser Incorporated, on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

Binge episodes 1, 2, and 3 on May 21st and episodes 4, 5, and 6 on June 4th. Add free at Lava for Good Plus on Apple Podcasts. I'm Clayton English. I'm Greg Lott. And this is Season 2 of the War on Drugs podcast. We are back. In a big way. In a very big way.

Real people, real perspectives. This is kind of star-studded a little bit, man. We got Ricky Williams, NFL player, Heisman Trophy winner. It's just a compassionate choice to allow players all reasonable means to care for themselves. Music stars Marcus King, John Osborne from Brothers Osborne.

We have this misunderstanding of what this quote-unquote drug thing is. Benny the Butcher. Brent Smith from Shinedown. We got B-Real from Cypress Hill. NHL enforcer Riley Cote. Marine Corvette. MMA fighter Liz Karamush. What we're doing now isn't working, and we need to change things.

Stories matter, and it brings a face to them. It makes it real. It really does. It makes it real. Listen to new episodes of the War on Drugs podcast season two on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. And to hear episodes one week early and ad-free with exclusive content, subscribe to Lava for Good Plus on Apple Podcasts.

They said Chuck Todd was working on launching a, oh, that's here, right here. He said Chuck Todd plans to hire other hosts for a podcast and video network focused on politics and culture. Oh, do you mean like having Reverend Dr. Jackie Hood Martin have her show fulfilled? Do you mean like having Greg Carr having his show, The Black Table? Do you mean Bria Baker and Jameer Burley having their show, The Other Side of Change?

Do you mean when we had Stephanie Humphrey's show called The Pivot when we had other shows on the network. Do you mean that the business show we are launching right now? Do you mean that the health show we are launching right now? Oh, I'm sorry. The New York Times, Benjamin Mullen has never called me about this. Now, if you a media reporter, you can't say you didn't know because Steve, particularly over at the L.A. Times, the media reporter did a big story on us last year laying out what we are doing. I see some of y'all might be saying, well, I still don't understand the point.

The point I'm making is it is white privilege when you are a white media voice and you get a large story in The New York Times when you have launched a podcast that has only generated 2,100 subscribers and they land out a story where you are talking about acquiring a company upwards of two billion dollars when there's nothing in your history that shows you've ever owned or run anything. We call that white privilege. And see, this is precisely what we're talking about here. See, on this day, Jackie Robinson, his book, I Never Had It Made, always talked about how do you create opportunities? How do you create space? Jackie Robinson said in his own words that if there is one black person who is not free to move and operate

the way they should, then I have not made it. Jackie Robinson didn't say, oh, I'm one of the special ones. I'm one of the ones they chose to be able to have riches and being able to go places and do things. He said, no, if any one of my brothers and sisters is not able to be able to work and live where they want, I never had it made. So don't say I made it. Same Jackie Robinson, who white America loves to praise as a patriot, is the same Jackie Robinson who said, I'm not

standing for the Star Spangled Banner, and I'm not saluting the Pledge of Allegiance because you can't stand here and tell me that I need to stand for the national anthem and salute the Pledge of Allegiance when you are virally racist against me and my people. Same Jackie Robinson. The same Jackie Robinson, days before he died. Y'all can pull it up on YouTube when he was honored at a baseball game.

He died a few days later. Jackie Robinson, who stood there and said, I can't wait for the day when I look down that line and see a black coach at third base. Why is that? Because if you are a black coach, you can go on and coach over there on first base, but see that third base coach is the one who's next to get hired as a manager. Even in his final days, Jackie Robertson died, I think, at the age of 56. He had

diabetes for quite some time, died of a heart attack, the stress and all that in his life. Jackie Robertson was still forcing Major League Baseball to change. Here I was at the golf tournament. The golf tournament and hooting the blowfish and I was talking to Tony Womack, former Major League Baseball player. When Tony Womack played

40% of Major League Baseball was black. Today is 6%. Okay, I'm going to repeat that for the folk who didn't hear me. When Tony Womack said he came into the game of baseball, it was 40% black. Today is 6%. You might say, well, I don't know what the big deal is. Well, the big freezing them out of the riches of Major League Baseball. And then if they don't get in as baseball players, you damn nationalists want to destroy programs that create diversity, equity and inclusion, that create to the jobs, to the housing, to the contracts, to the riches. Yes, things have changed since Jackie Robinson played his first inning on April 15, 1947. The reality is, on April 15, 2025, we are still dealing with the grandchildren of Jim Crow. And reality is, those racist views have now been refined,

and they now still are withholding opportunities because for them, they still want an America that is about whiteness and the only color they wanna see is the color in the uniform. Comments from our panelists, Mustafa, you first. I mean, everything you said, and Jackie Robinson was an ambassador for change. She was an ambassador for equity and justice.

All the things that he went through and did it with grace and dignity and helped to open up doors. So, you know, wish him nothing but blessings as he looks down on us. Larry. And Roland, I'm a baseball fan and watched baseball for years, big Philadelphia Phillies fan. And I've seen that in real time over the last several years in terms of the decrease of, you know, African-American baseball players. Obviously, C.C. Sabathie was, you know, a few weeks ago found out he's going to be in the Hall of Fame. But we don't have enough black players in baseball, as you highlighted.

And the other thing is they talk about the pipeline, but also Major League Baseball has to do a better job of marketing itself. But as we recognize, you know, Jackie Robinson's historic role in, you know, baseball, also remember all the Black players who never got an opportunity. You know, we could go on and on

about the list of those individuals who played during his time and for Jackie Robinson, that were phenomenal players who never got the opportunity. Lastly, I want to say, I've said this on the show before, these anti-DE policies are really pro-Jim Crow policies. So it's really important we think about that. Joe?

These policies are about the return of an advantage. It's not about making us colorblind and fair. It's about us going back to where we were. For so long, and I've said this before, folks have had, white folks have had the force of tradition, the force of privilege, the force of relationships. Affirmative action and its ilk were about the force of law. And it's so important because we've lost some progress in baseball to go down so far from a percentage standpoint, particularly as it pertains to African-Americans. And often the way to get to the front office is ground level, starting as a player. Meanwhile, back at the ranch and football, for instance, you're seeing black folks, you're seeing coaches that were never players who are analytics guys getting coaching jobs in their 20s.

And so we really have to we honor Jackie Robinson tradition of forcing change and doing it in a way where people were receptive and were moved. He had to have a certain disposition to be successful in Major League Baseball when there was no one else there and he was able to do it. And we've got to continue to be determined to move it forward, and that's by making sure the narrative is what it needs to be about what is really going on here, what they really mean when they say DEI, what it's really about. It's about them giving up an advantage, and they're willing to change the rules in order to keep that advantage, and they want to do that at all costs.

Indeed. And indeed. So, y'all, we're going to keep pushing. We're going to keep prodding. And in, you know, in the name of Jackie Robinson, in the name of Roy Campanella, the name of Satchel Paige and Josh Gibson and all of those brothers who were star athletes in the Negro Leagues. And my last point is this here. I need black people to also remember this. In our desire to show white folks that we could compete on the field with them, it also led us to destroy the Negro Leagues. Jackie Robinson may have gone into the Negro leagues, but guess what? You didn't see

a black owner go into white major league baseball. And so that's the other thing we cannot forget. We cannot forget the ownership piece. Jets, I appreciate it. Thanks a lot. Nani, all three of y'all, take y'all out to the driving range, get y'all golf game together. All right. Thank you so very much.

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Roland Martin unfiltered right here on the Black Star Network. Holla! The Black Star Network is here. Oh, no punch. A real revolution right now. Thank you for being the voice of Black America. All momentum we have now. we have to keep this going. The video looks phenomenal.

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