#RolandMartinUnfiltered - Texas Student Hair Discrimination, Congress's Fall Agenda, Fla. Standing up to Racism, Suicide Signs

Episode Date: September 16, 2023

9.15.2023 #RolandMartinUnfiltered: Texas Student Hair Discrimination, Congress's Fall Agenda, Fla. Standing up to Racism, Suicide Signs Days after Texas' CROWN Act goes into effect, a black high school student gets disciplined for his long locs.  His mom, their attorney, and others are here to discuss how folks are finding loopholes to skirt this law prohibiting hair discrimination.  California Representative Ro Khana is here tonight to give us a rundown of what Congress will be doing this fall session. Today is the 60th anniversary of Birmingham's 16th Street Baptist Chruch Bombing.  Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson spoke in Birmingham, where she emphasized the importance of learning history so we do not repeat it.  Vice Preside Kamala Harris was at North Carolina A&T University today on her second stop of her  'Fight for Our Freedoms College Tour. And September is Suicide Prevention Month. Tonight, we will look at some of the risk factors so you may be able to help someone in crisis.  Download the Black Star Network app at http://www.blackstarnetwork.com! We're on iOS, AppleTV, Android, AndroidTV, Roku, FireTV, XBox and SamsungTV. 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.

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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. Today is Friday, September 15, 2023. Coming up on Roland Martin Unfiltered, streaming live on the Black Star Network. We are here at the House of Hope in Chicago,

where in a couple of hours, the McDonald's Inspiration Gospel Tour will kick off. We have been here doing interviews all week, and we can't wait to join the folks here in Chicago for the concert. On today's show, a black teen who was discriminated against because of his hair weeks after the Crown Act was passed will join us on the show to talk about that ordeal. Also, Representative Ro Khanna of California is here tonight to give us a rundown on what Congress will be doing this fall after they've had been off for almost 50 days.

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It's Rollin' Martin Rollin' with Rollin' now He's funky, he's fresh, he's real the best You know he's Rollin' Martin Now He's rolling Martel now. Martel. Darryl George. Darryl George is a Barbers Hill High School junior in Mount Bellevue. And Darryl George, folks, has been suspended for more than a week because his locks hairstyles violates the school district's code. Now, keep in mind, the Texas Crown Act became law on September 1st.

But some say there are some loopholes. Now, keep in mind, the Texas Crown Act became law on September 1st. But some say there are some loopholes, and the family says that their son is not being protected. Joining me now is Daryl George's mother, Darisha George, attorney Allie Brooks, Ron Reynolds, who is the chairman of the Texas Legislative Black Caucus, and Dr. Candace Matthews, statewide vice chair of the Texas Coalition of Black Democrats. So I'm trying to understand. So, Darisha, what actually happened here? So what what is the school district's code when it comes to hair? Well, they're saying that his hair fall below his eyebrows when let down. It started like a couple of days before the Crown Act went in effect. They've been sending him to ISS in school suspension every day since

then for his hair. And as you can see in the photos, his hair is not let down. His hair is kept up neatly. It is kept up. It's well groomed and it's off his eyebrows, off his shoulders, it's off his earlobes. So I'm not understanding how he's being violated, how he's violating their policies anyways. Allie Booker, what is this loophole? So what's happening here in terms of why he is not able to be in school? Allie? Yes.

Can you hear me? Yeah. What exactly is this loophole? Well, the loophole that they are discussing is that, well, it's basically that the law is not defined. So the argument is that although there is a Crown Act that protects, that covers texture as well as protective hairstyles, it does not cover length, or at least that's their argument. Our argument is that it does. The protective hairstyle in and of itself is protected. Therefore, the length would be protected underneath. Ron, I'm confused. The law is the law. It's hair discrimination. So how can they even remotely make this argument that hair, that length isn't covered? Well, Fred, this is.

No, no. One second. Representative Reynolds, go. OK, Fred, this this is totally outrageous. We passed House Bill 567, the Texas Crown Act, to protect students like Daryl from being able to wear their natural hair and being discriminated against. This school district has a history. They started with DeAndre Arnold. That's what led us to file the Crown Act last session. This session, we got it over the hump. Roland, you know, like your viewers, some of them, that Texas is one of

the most conservative states in the country. It was hard as heck to get the Crown Act passed, but we did it in a bipartisan way. And there is no reason why Barbers Hill High School is continuing to discriminate against these black students because they choose to wear locks and braids and twists. This policy is to circumvent the law. They are like no better than when they did to those Little Rock Nine and those other students after they passed the civil rights laws. They are violating the law and trying to find anything to circumvent it so that they can continue to perpetuate hair discrimination. And we won't stand for it. And I'm here as the chair of the Legislative Black Caucus to,

again, put them on notice that we will continue to fight to stand up for students like Daryl and others for being able to express their natural hair and not have to conform to European standards that Barbra's Hill is trying to place on Daryl and other students like him. So, Candace, what is next? What is happening there? What does the school board say? Well, at this point right now, we have not talked to the school board as of yet. But I did send communication to the superintendent. And what I find interesting is that I have not got a hello, how you doing, what's going on, because, you know, I guess he's probably scared that I'm going to probably come over there and slap him with the hammer of accountability or something.

But, see, the thing that they have to understand is this. You don't have to like the law, but you have to follow it, because at the end of the day, you don't like black hair and you don't like black people. But, see, you've got to learn today because there is a law. We testified at Ron Reynolds for hours on end to get this law passed. So it's kind of, it's very disrespectful. It's a slap in the face and I don't mind kicking any door down to let them know that you're going to follow this law and that's what it's going to be. What, Darisha, so your son, he's suspended.

So that means he's not in class. Correct. Well, he's in in-school suspension. In-school suspension, but it also goes on his record, do you and Allie, maybe you can answer this, are y'all planning to sue the school district? Absolutely. We are going to sue them because guess what? This is the same school as Representative Ron Reynolds stated that is the cause of the Crown Act. So let's get in there and let's get it defined. Ron, do you see any need for the legislature to add to this, to modify this?

Or is this simply a school district that is defying a state law? Well, Roland, this is a school district defying a state law. The Crown Act, they know the spirit of the law because they're the reasons why we filed the bill in the first place. I'm so proud of Retta Andrews Bowers, the author, and I'm the proud joint author of this bill. And they know that this bill was passed to protect students like Daryl because of what they did to DeAndre and also Kayden. So this school has a history. Maya Angelou said when people show you who they are, believe them the first time. We believe you, Barbers Hill, that you want to discriminate against people.

And we don't need a new law. What we need, Roland, is the attorney general's office in the state of Texas to enforce the existing law. We need the Texas Education Agency to do that. So Commissioner Mike Moraff, that's what you need to do. Because if they don't, then we're going to ask the U.S. Department of Justice Civil Rights Division to bring Dr. Candace Matthews' hammer of accountability. So we're going to, when I'm in D.C. next week at the Congressional Black Caucus,

I intend to talk and have conversations with members of the Congressional Black Caucus, Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee and Congressman Al Green, to ask them to intervene. Because if the state of Texas won't do their jobs after we pass this law, then we need to have the U.S. Department of Justice. That's what had to happen when they didn't want to allow African-American schools

to enter their schools after desegregation, after Brown v. Board. We have to have the federal government come in. Unfortunately, Barbara's Hill is no different, and we may just have to have the federal government to come in and help step in and protect students. And I appreciate Attorney Alley for bringing a lawsuit. I appreciate people like Candace Matthews for speaking truth to power. But we are, it takes a village. And Roland, thank you for allowing us to get this out because people need to be outraged that in 2023,

we still have students that are being discriminated against simply because of their natural hair. All right. Well, first of all, keep us abreast of what happens in this case. Thank you to all of you. Thanks a lot. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

Folks, we've got to go to break. When we come back, we'll chat with us about our panel. Also, we'll talk about more news of the day right here on Roller Martin Unfiltered. If you're watching on YouTube, be sure to hit that like button, folks. We need you to hit that like button. It impacts, of course, the algorithm. So appreciate if you do that. Also, please, if you support us in what we do, join our Bring the Funk fan club. Your dollars will make it possible for us to do what we do, traveling across this country, covering the news of the day. So you're checking money, order the PO Box 57196, Washington, D.C., 20037-0196.

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whether real or symbolic, there has been what Carol Anderson at every university calls white rage as a backlash. This is the rise of the Proud Boys and the Boogaloo Boys. America, there's going to be more of this. There's all the Proud Boys, guys. This country is getting increasingly racist in its behaviors and its attitudes because of the fear of white people. The fear that they're taking our jobs, they're taking our resources, they're taking our women. This is white fear. Hello, we're the Critter Fixers. I'm Dr. Bernard Hodges. And I'm Dr. Terrence Ferguson. And you're tuning in to...

Roland Martin Unfiltered. Let's go. Welcome back to Roller Martin Unfiltered right here on the Black Star Network. My panelist today, Michael Imhotep, hosts the African History Network show out of Detroit, Kilimanjaro Communications Strategies out of Washington, D.C. Kelly, this right here is why the Crown Act needs to be federal law. California was the first state. We've seen other states make this move. It passed in the House, led by Democrats. It failed in the Senate because Republicans wouldn't act on it. But this should be federal law. It absolutely should, because at its core, the reason for this young man to not have, you know, the protections that be outside of the Crown Act is not fair because your hair does not define who you are. Your hair does not get the straight A grades

that you may receive or whatever grades you may receive. It does not get you that bonus. It does not get you anything except a bomb-ass hairstyle. Should you choose to do that? You can go look and bust it if you want to, too. But what I'm saying is your hair shouldn't be the defining moment for anything that has nothing to do with hair.

And it is blatantly racist for anybody to think otherwise. It is culturally insensitive for anybody to think otherwise because this affects white people, too. It affects any ethnicity. You have people out there who do spikes, who do mohawks, who do a bunch of things with their hair who aren't taken as seriously, who have been passed up.

Who do mullets! Mullets? I mean, I wasn't trying to say mullets. I don't like no mullets. That can be banned if you want to. I'm good with that. Well, no, you ain't gotta like it, but I'm just saying, it's a white folks walking around with a mullets. I don't like my mullets. That can be banned if you want to. You ain't got to like it, but I'm just saying it's a white folks walking around

with a mullet, okay? You right. You know, the business in the front, party in the back, I feel it. I don't, but I got your point. I got your point. The point being is that it has nothing to do exactly with who you are and, you know,

hair is hair. It has no, it shouldn't have any bearing on who you are. And, you know, hair is hair. It shouldn't have any bearing on how you are navigating through life. And people shouldn't be barring you from the life that you want to live based off of how you do your hair, or lack thereof. I just don't understand these school districts.

Who, with the hair policy, Michael, I don't get it. What does that have to do with education? Yeah, well, Roland, you know, I looked at the article from CNN as well as New York Times. And the questions I had was, how often do you apply this rule for white boys? Because I know white boys come with long hair. I know they're going to come with hair that's below their earlobes, things like this. So how often do you apply this for white boys? But when you look at these articles, it says that even though Darryl wears his hair pinned up,

they said they still send him home because when his hair is let down, it's below his earlobes, or they deem it too long, things like this, even though he wears it pinned up. So like, if you look at the article from the New York Times, they show him, they said, this is how he wears his hair. So what, if he wears his hair pinned up, why are you worried about how long it is if he lets it down, but he's not letting it down in school? So, you know, this is more dealing with white supremacy. This is more dealing with harassing African-Americans, multi-aggressions, things like this. So hopefully they win this battle. Yes, it needs to be federal law as well, which is another reason why these coup plotters need to be voted out of office, because most of them in the House voted against the Crown

Act when they did pass the House. It's overwhelmingly Democrat supported it. So this is another troubling story. I just, again, if you're a school district, you've got to have a lot more issues you've got to deal with in terms of policing hair. And I get dress codes. I get things along those lines. And, okay, if you have a policy that it can't go over your eyes, got it. Show me. This is my deal with the school district. Show me the example of when he came to school and his hair wasn't pulled back.

Mm-hmm. Show me. Yeah, I mean. Show me the photo. Show me the video. Because if you're trying to make the argument that it can't fall in front of his eyes, okay, gotcha. Show me the example of it doing that apparently they don't have one and if you can't again and if you can't produce that example you need to mind your business and leave this boy

alone and let him get his education so he can graduate and get up out of this school i mean that that's that's the bottom line of it all. You know, I understand some hair policies, right? Like if you're in the military, you need to be uniform. There's a policy behind that. Everybody needs to look the same. So if the enemy comes through, he can't tell who's who and y'all move as a unit, right? If you have, you know, hair policies in the food industry,

I can understand that because that can be a health hazard. That could be a safety hazard, things like that. But when we're talking about school, when we're talking about corporate, when we're talking about things that have no bearing on the industry itself, that's where the problem comes in. That's where the implicit bias comes in. That's where the racist comes in, the racism, rather, comes in. And that is what the Crown Act talks about. That's where the racist comes in. The racism, rather, comes in. And that is what the Crown Act talks about. That's why the Crown Act needs to be implemented. And like you said earlier, that's why it needs to

be implemented federally, because this issue is in all 50 states across the board. Absolutely. And what gets me is when these stories happen, it's amazing how every time there's some black kid. Mm hmm. Every time. Right. We see a lot of these cases coming out of Texas as well.

So I hope they sue them. And I can't wait to see this. Good. You should have to pay a big settlement because they were stupid. Got to go to break. because they were stupid. Gotta go to a break. We'll be back on Roller Martin Unfiltered right here on the Black Star Network. Vice President Kamala Harris traveling to North Carolina. Speaking to North Carolina A&T, we'll show you some of what took place

on that particular campus. Also, some breaking news. Prosecutor Jack Smith, he wants Donald Trump to shut up. We're gonna explain to you exactly why. You're watching Roland Martin Unfiltered right here on the Black Star Network. All change is not growth. Right. But thoughtful change

is real good fertilizer. And that's what has been so beneficial to us. But you also were not afraid of the pivot. Well, and I'm a black woman in business. Come on, I don't care how I dress up. I don't care who I'm speaking with.

I don't care what part of the world I am in. I still am a black woman in business. Being afraid of the pivot, being fearful of change is not what got me here. Respectful of change. Respectful of pivot. Yeah. Fearful? No. Uh-uh.

No. ... ... ... ... ... ... When you talk about

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Mr. Love King of R.B. Waheem Duvall. Me, Sherri Shebron, and you know what you watch. You're watching Roland Martin Unfiltered. All right, folks, Republicans adjourned the House. They've been gone almost two months. Well, now they're back in session. And already the focus is on trying to impeach President Biden. Speaker Kevin McCarthy is trying to hold on to his job because he's been pressured by the rabbit dogs in the Freedom Caucus. California Representative Moe Conlon-Jones is right now.

Glad to have you back on the show. Man, that was quite the long vacation you guys had. Well, some of us were doing work back home, but you would have thought, Roland, that six weeks would give McCarthy enough time to get his own house in order. But it is crazy time in the House. We don't know every day whether we're actually going to have votes. We don't know whether McCarthy is going to stay as Speaker of the House every day. I mean, it's a reality TV show, and it would be funny if it weren't for the fact that people are going to get hurt if there's a shutdown. You know, and what gets me is these Republicans complain that Democrats weren't doing the job, weren't up to the task, not working for the American people.

My goodness, I think a lot of Americans would love six weeks off. Well, I, you know, I don't want to feed into the narrative that it's just six weeks off because people are back in their districts and doing town halls, meeting constituents, doing trips overseas, which aren't junkets. I mean, it is important that we meet with our allies, that we make sure that we're supporting Ukraine or make sure that we're not having a war with China and engaging in relationships. But all of that said, I mean, I do think six weeks is too long. It probably should have been the August recess back home. And what's unacceptable is for us not to be moving forward now. I mean, why aren't we? Biden had a deal with McCarthy.

Why is McCarthy reneging on that deal? Why are they putting more cuts for rental assistance right now when you know the rents are up? Why are they having cuts in food assistance for people who need that? Cuts in getting assistance to get your social security checked? I mean, they're totally out of touch with working class needs.

There are so many different, obviously, issues that are important to the American people. And you have your counterparts who want to use the debt ceiling as a way to extract more corporate tax cuts. Are Democrats going to make clear, no, we're not going to play that game? Are they going to call these folks out for the child tax credit, causing the rate of child poverty to increase after we had a significant low? Yes. I mean, Roland, it's rare that you have a policy that has as direct an impact on people that you can see. We did a child tax credit. What does that mean?

It meant families that are working class, middle class, got 300 bucks in their pocket or 600 bucks, depending if they had one or two kids or more, if they had more than two kids. And they used that money to be able to buy school supplies for their kids, clothing for their kids, food for their kids. Child poverty dropped 40 percent in this country. Then President Biden said, I want to extend that. House Democrats said we want to extend that. And not a single Republican agreed to extend it. So the $300, $600 assistance stopped and child poverty has doubled. It is as clear a policy as it can be. And what that says very clearly, Ron, is that poverty in America is a policy choice. We know what would reduce it. We choose not to do it. Every Democrat, except maybe one or two in the Senate, were for this. And not a single Republican is with it.

Questions for the panel. Michael, you first. All right, Representative Roe, Connor, thanks for coming on and sharing this information with us. I had a question about the farm bill. Oftentimes when we talk about policies that impact the African-American community, we'll talk about policing, we'll talk about voting rights, things like this, but we don't talk about the farm bill, which comes from the Department of Agriculture. Can you talk about how the significance of the farm bill and some aspects of it that people may not know about, please? Sure. Well, you're absolutely right to talk about, more broadly, wealth generation and generational wealth generation and the racial wealth gap of 10 to 1. And there are

many causes of that. One of it is the lack of home ownership of the African-American community, 46 percent to 62 percent in the white community. One of it is lack of black participation in the tech economy, which I've tried to work on getting more tech companies with HBCUs. But another is the policies of racism at the Department of Agriculture, where black farmers did not get the assistance. They did not qualify for any of the assistance at the Department of Agriculture. And we've tried to, Jesse Jackson was talking about this 30, 40 years ago, and we have tried to fix that with funding targeted to black farmers to make sure that some of the Black farmers that are still there get support. And that is an issue in the Farm Bill, whether that money is going to stay there,

whether the president's priorities of having correction for that historical wrong is going to pass. All right. Thank you. Kelly. Sure. So one of the other line items in your agenda for the fall is the National Defense Authorization Act. Can you explain to the audience exactly what that is? I also noticed in what I'm reading here that there are a lot of climate amendments regarding that that Republicans have put in that Democrats are pretty much going to reject. Can you explain why those are going to be rejected and what the solution would be in order for it to go through? Well, Kelly, I'm going to be candid. I don't support the National Defense Authorization Act of a trillion dollar defense budget. I mean, it's crazy to me that 56 percent of our budget is going into military spending when we can't tackle child poverty in

this country, where we can't have health care for folks, where we can't have child care for folks. And so I have voted with a number of other progressives against a trillion dollar defense budget. My guess is it's going to eventually pass because the one thing that Democrats and Republicans are fine coming together with is increasing defense. And a lot of that money is going to defense contractors who are overcharging according to 60 Minutes and other reports of the American people. Now, some of the Republican amendments make that defense bill even worse by basically giving a license to fossil fuel companies to build more infrastructure and not care about any of the climate goals.

And that will give some Democrats pause. But I think the broader question we have to ask is the question that Dr. King had us ask, that Jesse Jackson had us ask, which is, militarism is hurting our ability to tackle the economic and health conditions of our society. Obviously, the battle over the debt ceiling is going to be a lot of back and forth. You've got the Freedom Caucus who are making their demands. And look, can you actually reason with these people? A lot of times the big economic forces we hear about on the news

show up in our lives in small ways. Three or four days a week, I would buy two cups of banana pudding. But the price has gone up, so now I only buy one. The demand curve in action. And that's just one of the things we'll be covering on Everybody's Business from Bloomberg Businessweek. I'm Max Chavkin. And I'm Stacey Vanek-Smith. Every Friday, we will be diving into the biggest stories in business, taking a look at what's going on, why it matters, and how it shows up in our everyday lives.

But guests like Businessweek editor Brad Stone, sports reporter Randall Williams, and consumer spending expert Amanda Mull will take you inside the boardrooms, the backrooms, even the signal chats that make our economy tick. Hey, I want to learn about VeChain. I want to buy some blockchain or whatever it is that they're doing. So listen to Everybody's Business on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. 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. 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. Look, the ones who you can reason with are actually they have their positions. They say, I want to cut spending. The problem here is that you have McCarthy saying that I'm going to make a

deal with the president. We're going to not do more than 1% cuts. Now, some of us thought those cuts were too many. The president, though, made that deal to avoid a default. And now what McCarthy is saying is, oh, I got to go back on the deal. We need more cuts. Really? So you want to cut the assistance that's going to working class families and low wealth individuals so they don't go into poverty. You want to cut the rental assistance. You want to cut the food assistance. But you're not willing to look at any aircraft carrier that we may not need.

You are not willing to look at the 703 bases overseas. You're not willing to repeal the tax cuts to the millionaires and billionaires. And, you know, I don't think it's a reasoning issue. It's a values issue. It's a values issues in this country. And the problem is President Biden, for him, his word means something. For McCarthy, you know, he'll change his word the next day. The thing that I just don't understand when it comes to the defense budget is put into the contracts the waste or blowing past the deadlines, and it is if it's kind of like, okay, oh, well, no big deal. It's military contractors. We can move on. No. Thank you, Roy. We're on the cuffs of spending $900 billion on defense.

And I swear, every year it's, oh, they need more. They need more. It's like, really? Yes. Well, I appreciate it. If your audience remembers one thing about me, Ro Khanna is the one vote in the Armed Services Committee against the defense budget. I was the lone vote. Fifty six people voted for it. I said we aren't going to have a trillion dollar defense budget.

And the reality, as you pointed out, is these Republicans want to go after the earned income tax credit because the grandma may be claiming it for raising their kids and it's not mom and dad claiming it or, God forbid, a poor family, not mom and dad claiming it, or, God forbid, a poor family, both mom and dad claim it, and they happen to be divorced. And they claim that that's fraud. And that's a few billion dollars, and it's families that are struggling to get by. And then they are totally oblivious, where you've got the Pentagon buying an oil pressure switch for $10,000 when NASA is paying $328 for it.

When you have the Patriot missile system, Raytheon admitting that they're overcharging for that and now have to reimburse $290 million. Where you have Lockheed and others making 40 percent profits. And I guess, look, there's a reason that Dr. King with the civil rights movement said you cannot disconnect the fight on racism away from the fight against militarism. And we used to have people like Jesse Jackson, other progressives, Mario Cuomo used to speak out against that. And I want to return the party to talking about that and talking about where we really need to invest in education and healthcare

and in our people. In addition to the questions, Michael Kelly. Yeah, Representative Ro Khanna, follow up dealing with the African American farmers. I know that in the American Rescue Plan, $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan, there was $5 billion, well, 4 billion for debt forgiveness for farmers of color, including African-American farmers.

They got sued. Government gets sued by white farmers. That's tied up in the courts. What is it, you mentioned in this farm bill, allocating funds, I think I heard you say, to address the discrimination, historic discrimination against African-American farmers and possibly other farmers of color. What is it in this farm bill that addresses that problem? Well, the Democratic proposal has additional funding of $4 billion to redress that and

make it clear that the court shouldn't strike it down. But the question is whether that's going to make it in in the final farm bill. The reality, as you know, is that it's not just that black farmers were excluded. It's that then they had to compete with white farmers who were getting all this government subsidy and government advantages. And we have such a low ownership of black farms today. And so the Democrats, led by Mr. Clyburn, have been championing this. But it's a bipartisan bill, and we have to see whether it gets into the final package. All right. Thank you. Kelly, anything? Sure. So pivoting a little bit into Biden's new student repayment plan, do you have any hesitation that it'll pretty much stay such that it's not going to be challenged by the courts?

Is it more stable? Do you find it to be a little bit more constitutional? What, if anything, would you change about it legislatively so that, you know, we can get some debt relief? I think the president is making a Herculean effort. I mean, I thought his first plan was constitutional under the HEROES Act, and I'm hoping under the Higher Education Act, he's going to be able to do more debt relief. But they're doing what they can for people who've already made a lot of payments, that that should go towards the principal and not just the interest. But I've got to tell you, I'm talking to students, and many of them are going to have to start making $500, $600 payments starting in October. I had student loans, $100,000 of them. I'm fortunate.

I got to go to Silicon Valley. I've done well in life. But I remember in my 20s, I had forbearance and couldn't make the payment. And then when I started making the payment, it said it seemed like the number kept going up because you were barely paying the interest. I mean, it is criminal in this country that we have young people graduate with 30, 40, 50 thousand dollars of debt just to get an education. And you can never overcome the racial wealth gap if you're getting people starting out at $100,000, $200,000 in the hole. People say,

well, they're going to become doctors or they're going to become professionals. Yeah, but if they happen to have generational wealth, then they're becoming doctors and lawyers and they can buy a house. And for people who are first in their families to go to college because of 250 years of slavery or 100 years of Jim Crow or economic dislocation, and then they're becoming a professional, how are they going to get a house? How are they going to build wealth? So this is a racial justice issue. It is an equity issue. And I believe we need to even be bolder. I thought I was on the side that said the president should zero it out and let the let the Republicans sue the kids to get the money back. All right. I had one question. We appreciate it, man. Thanks a lot.

I'm sorry, Michael. Michael, go ahead. Go ahead. Real quick. Real quick. Go ahead. Very quickly. California Reparations Task Force just released their one thousand page study and about one hundred ten recommendations to help repair the damage of a legacy of slavery, Jim Crow segregation, et cetera. How do you think either in this Congress or the next we can implement some of those policies at the federal level? Right. I'm for the reparations task force. But here's what I believe on reparations. I'd say reparations is why aren't we funding our HBCUs and having them have certain endowments? I mean, you can't have them comparable to Stanford or Harvard, but at least have some endowments. How are we giving black men and women opportunities to start businesses, venture capital technology? How are we doing with opportunities, investment in black farmers

and black schools and black communities with hospitals and medical centers that are needed? Those are all things that will build up communities that have suffered from historical racism. And it's one of the reasons I just have to get a plug that I'm supporting Barbara Lee for the Senate seat in California. And I was appalled. And she was really disrespected when you had a statement by the governor saying, well, he can appoint an African-American perhaps as a caretaker, but not in the final position to actually serve the full term. I disagreed with that, and I hope he'll reconsider.

All right. Thank you. Thank you. With that, that was a story that Politico dropped today, stating that a couple of people who were advisors to California Governor Newsom are resigning from a super PAC that was supposed to be supporting Congressman Barbara Lee. Your thoughts on that? Well, this is how the establishment works. Look, Barbara Lee has got a few million dollars, and Adam Schiff and Katie Porter, they're both colleagues of mine. I respect them. They've got $20, $30 million. Now, Barbara Lee has represented Oakland, California her whole time. There are not a lot of wealthy people there. I raise a lot more money than Barbara Lee because I represent Silicon Valley. And these are the historical challenges that

African-American women and African-Americans in general face. That's why they don't, there's not a black woman in the Senate. And so to come and say someone who has worked for 30 years, who was the lone vote against a blank check in Afghanistan, who was one of the loudest voices against going into Iraq, who has the biggest grassroots support, that because she had the audacity to say that she wasn't going to accept just a caretaker, she wasn't going to accept to be passed over, now you have these people resigning from a super PAC and intimidating her financially? When are we going to say no to that?

I mean, it is disrespectful to her. Even if you're not going to pick her, show her the respect. She is an icon. I said if there was a Profiles of Courage written today, Barbara Lee would be probably chapter one for her courage. And I'm so proud to be her co-chair. A lot of times the big economic forces we hear about on the news show up in our lives in small ways. Three or four days a week, I would buy two cups of banana pudding. But the price has gone up, so now I only buy one. The demand curve in action.

And that's just one of the things we'll be covering on Everybody's Business from Bloomberg Businessweek. I'm Max Chavkin. And I'm Stacey Vanek-Smith. Every Friday, we will be diving into the biggest stories in business, taking a look at what's going on, why it matters, and how it shows up in our everyday lives. But guests like Businessweek editor Brad Stone, sports reporter Randall Williams, and consumer spending expert Amanda Mull will take you inside the boardrooms, the backrooms, even the signal chats that make our economy tick. Hey, I want to learn about VeChain. I want to buy some blockchain or whatever it is that they're doing. So listen to Everybody's Business on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

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 Glott. And this is season two of the War on Drugs podcast. Yes, sir. We are back.

In a big way. In a very big way. Real people, real perspectives. This is kind of star-studded a little bit, man. We got Ricky Williams, NFL player, Heisman Trophy winner. It's just a compassionate choice to allow players all reasonable means to care for themselves. Music stars Marcus King, John Osborne from Brothers Osborne. We have this misunderstanding of what this quote-unquote drug 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 Cote. Marine Corps vet. MMA fighter. Liz Karamush. What we're doing now isn't working and we need to change things.

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

subscribe to Lava for Good Plus on Apple Podcasts. I still believe that if progressives rally around her, she can win this race. All right. Congressman, we appreciate it. Thanks so very much. All right. Congressman, we appreciate it. Thank you so very much. Thank you. Folks, I've got to go to a break. We'll be right back on Rolling Mountain Unfiltered.

Before we do so, be sure if you're on YouTube, hit that like button, folks. I see you all commenting. Certainly hit the like button. It has an impact on the algorithm. So we want you to be easy to build 1,000. We should be hitting 2,000 likes every single show. We want you all to support us in what we do. Your dollars are critically important for us to do the work that we do here.

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In addition, you can watch us on Plex TV. Simply go to Plex TV, search for Black Star Network, or go to live TV. We're under news and opinion. We'll be right back. I'm Faraji Muhammad, live from L.A., and this is The Culture. The Culture is a two-way conversation. You and me, we talk about the stories, politics, the good, the bad, and the downright ugly. So join our community every day at 3 p.m. Eastern and let your voice be heard.

Hey, we're all in this together. So let's talk about it and see what kind of trouble we can get into. It's the culture. Weekdays at 3, only on the Black Star Network. On a next A Balanced Life with me, Dr. Jackie, we're going to be talking about common sense. We think that people have it, know how to use it, but it is something that people often have to learn.

The truth is most of us are not born with it and we need to teach common sense, embrace it and give it to those who need it most, our kids. So I always tell teachers to listen out to what conversations the students are having about what they're getting from social media. And then let's get ahead of it and have the appropriate conversations with them. On a next A Balanced Life with me, Dr. Jackie, here at Black Star Network. Next on The Black Tape with me, Greg Carr. What do Deion Sanders, a lawnmower, and the phenomenon of invisible labor all have in common? They're all now part of, shall we say, a colorful lore at our historically black colleges and universities. Our Master Educator Roundtable convenes to explain it all as we explore the good, the bad, and the downright ugly of one of the black America's national treasures.

That's next on the Black Table, right here on the Black Star Network. Farquhar, executive producer of Proud Family. Bruce Smith, creator and executive producer of the Proud Family, Louder and Prouder. You're watching Roland Martin. Johnny Jones has been missing from Charlotte, North Carolina, since September 5th. The 39-year-old is 5 feet 5 inches tall, weighs 145 pounds with black hair and brown eyes. Anyone with information about a Johnny Jones is urged to call the Charlotte Mecklenburg North Carolina Police Department at 704-334-1600.

I think the graphic was wrong there, folks. She's been missing since September 5th or August 23rd. It's been some time there. And so, again, the number to call is 704-334-1600. That is Johnny Jones. She's 39 years old. Folks, it's been four years since Elijah McClain was murdered in Colorado, and two of the officers involved are finally going on trial. Drew

will decide if Randy Rodima and Jason Rosenblatt are guilty of manslaughter, criminally negligent, reckless homicide, and assault charges. McClain was stopped by police officers Rodima Rosenblatt and Nathan Woodyard in a Denver suburb in 2019 after a 911 caller reported a man who seemed sketchy. When paramedic Jeremy Cooper and Lieutenant Peter Cichunic arrived, officers forcibly restrained him using a chokehold as paramedics injected him with ketamine. Woodyard will be tried separately because he was first on the scene and allegedly placed McClain in the charitoid hold. Cooper and Sitchunek, who allegedly injected the ketamine, will be tried together. Rodima and Rosenblatt's trial is expected to last about one month.

The United Auto Workers have made good on their promise in making history. They have gone on strike against not just one, but all three Detroit car makers. The big three American automakers, General Motors, Ford, and Stellantis. Picket lines went up in Missouri, Michigan, and Ohio, with thousands of union members walking out. The automakers are unhappy, saying the union strategy hurts the workers, not helps them. Ford, for instance, says those striking workers getting $500 a week strike benefit will only see a fraction of what they'd earn by staying on the job. The UAW demands several benefits, including a 46% pay raise

over four years, more safeguards for part time workers and a 32 hour work week. The car makers counted with raises between 10 and 15 percent said the other demands are simply too expensive. Experts said the strike could cause severe downsides for those shopping for new cars. Well, the question is, is that going to come to pass? We certainly shall see. All right, folks, we come back from the next break. Vice President Kamala

Harris goes to North Carolina A&T. She is on her speaking tour all across the country. So she is at, of course, Hampton University. Now she's at North Carolina A&T. We live streamed that on the Black Star Network. And we'll have a breakdown for it next.

We'll talk to our panel about it as well in the next hour. We'll also talk to my buddy Keisha Dennis with the elephant in the room talking about mental health. This is Suicide Prevention Month. And she works with a lot of athletes and it's amazing how more and more professional athletes and college athletes and high school athletes are understanding the importance of mental health and how they are demanding things be done to address it. We'll talk with her on today's show as well. Folks, you're watching Roland Martin unfiltered right here on the Black Star Network.

Please support us in what we do. First and foremost, if you're watching, hit that like button on YouTube. Love for you to do the exact same thing on the Black Star Network OTT app. You can also support us in what we do by joining our

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We got our Rolling with Roland show. You see the great interviews with Janice Howrod and John O'Brien. You've been seeing as well. You're getting all of that. You get the live streaming of events with the vice president and other things happening around the country. Rallies are happening. Events are recovering. You're getting all of that. Folks, what you're getting right here on this show, nobody else is doing. And it's no shame, but the reality is this here.

The Griot, Ebony, Essence, Black Enterprise, Blavity, Urban One, none of these people, none of these people are doing what we are providing every single day. When people say, man, I wish we had some people who could cover our stories right here. We're not interested in mainstream media being the only place where we can hear our stories.

We are speaking to the issues that matter the most. And so your donations are critical. When I launched this show five years ago, people told me I should be charging a subscription. But here's the reality. Black people out there, they're paying for cable set-top boxes, they're paying for Hulu, Apple Plus, they're paying for Disney Plus,

they're paying for Netflix, they're paying for all kinds of different stuff like that. And I said, you know what? We wanna make sure our show and our information goes out to the masses. So I said, we're gonna put it out there on YouTube, on Facebook, on Instagram, on Twitch, now our OTT app, now on Amazon News, now on Plex TV. I got a big announcement on Tuesday.

But your support is critical. The advertisers out there, they are not spending the money with us. Those three automakers, Ford, they have no money spent with us. We had a deal with General Motors last year. I wanted a multi-year deal. Nothing being spent with us this year. Solantis, nothing. Toyota, nothing.

I can go down the line of major companies that black people spend their money, nothing being done. We have a partnership here in Miami. The reason I'm in Chicago right now, we have a partnership with McDonald's. We signed a multi-year deal with McDonald's. Appreciative of that deal. But most of these companies

don't even wanna sign multi-year deals. But guess what? I see their ads on the Fox News. I see their ads on CNN. I see them on MSNBC. They don't support black-owned media. And so your support is critical. And so please send your check and money order to PO Box 57196, Washington, D.C., 20037-0196. Cash App, Dollar Sign, RM Unfiltered, PayPal, or Martin Unfiltered.

Venmo is RM Unfiltered. Zelle is Roland at RolandSMartin.com. Roland at RolandMartinUnfiltered.com. is rolling at rolling. S Martin dot com. Rolling at rolling. Martin filter dot com. Folks, we'll be right back. Hatred on the streets, a horrific scene, a white nationalist rally that descended into deadly violence. You will not. White people are losing their damn minds. As an angry pro-Trump mob storm to the U.S. Capitol.

We're about to see the rise of what I call white minority resistance. We have seen white folks in this country who simply cannot tolerate black folks voting. I think what we're seeing is the inevitable result of violent denial. This is part of American history. Every time that people of color have made progress, whether real or symbolic, there has been what Carol Anderson at Emory University calls white rage as a backlash. This is the wrath of the Proud Boys and the Boogaloo Boys. America, there's going to be more of this. This country is getting increasingly racist in its behaviors and its attitudes

because of the fear of white people. The fear that they're taking our jobs, they're taking our resources, they're taking our women. This is white fear. Next on The Frequency with me, Dee Barnes. Producer, writer, and activist Drew Dixon joins us for an honest conversation about black women and trauma. Right here on The Frequency on the Black Star Network. On his first day in office with the country in crisis, President Biden got to work for us.

Cutting black child poverty in half, more money for black entrepreneurs, millions of new good paying jobs. He's lowered the cost of living and prescription drugs. But there's more to do. He gets it because we all deserve dignity, safety, respect, and a chance to do more than just get by. A lot of times the big economic forces we hear about on the news show up in our lives in small ways. Three or four days a week, I would buy two cups of banana pudding, but the price has gone up. So now I only buy one. The demand curve in action. And that's just one of the things we'll be covering on Everybody's Business from Bloomberg Businessweek. I'm Max Chavkin. And I'm Stacey Vanek-Smith. Every Friday, we will be diving into the biggest stories in business, taking a look at what's going on, why it matters, and how it shows up in our everyday lives.

But guests like Business Week editor Brad Stone, sports reporter Randall Williams, and consumer spending expert Amanda Mull will take you inside the boardrooms, the backrooms, even the signal chats that make our economy tick. Hey, I want to learn about VeChain. I want to buy some blockchain

or whatever it is that they're doing. So listen to Everybody's Business on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. I know a lot of cops, and they get asked all the time, have you ever had to shoot your gun? Sometimes the answer is yes. But there's a company dedicated to a future where the answer will always be no.

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

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

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

Music stars Marcus King, John Osborne from Brothers Osborne. We have this misunderstanding of what this quote-unquote drug ban. Benny the Butcher. Brent Smith from Shinedown. 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 podcast but to get ahead i'm joe biden and i approve this message what's up everybody it's your girl latasha from the a and you're watching roland mart Martin Unfiltered. Să ne urmăm în următoarea mea rețetă. One of the things that you keep hearing people attacking Vice President Kamala Harris saying she's a drag on President Joe Biden and the ticket, that he should somehow drop her if they talk about these poll numbers. But here's one thing that's interesting. A lot of things that she does never gets covered. Earlier today, she was speaking on the campus of North Carolina A&T. We covered it live right here on the Black Star Network. It was, of course,

we covered yesterday when she was at Hampton University. Mainstream media is not covering those things on a regular basis. This is one of the things that you often see. And so one of the reasons why I talk about why we have to support Black on media, why we want you to support this show as well. It's because the things that they ignore, then we cover. And I made it clear to my team, every HBCU campus that Vice President Kamala Harris goes to, we are going to show on the Black Star Network because those students deserve it. And again, her voice needs to be heard. So when people say, oh my goodness, you know, we never see Vice President Kamala Harris.

We don't know what she's doing. She's not doing anything. And you see a lot of stupid people make those comments. And so when I hear them say that, I then go, well, clearly you don't watch Roland Martin Unfiltered. Clearly you don't watch the Black Star Network because we happen to cover those things. And so here is the vice president today at North Carolina A&T. Before we begin, we have to greet our guests the proper way. Can I get an Aggie Pride? Aggie Pride! Welcome.

We are so thrilled to have you, Madam Vice President, Administrator Regan. Thank you guys so much for coming. How are you feeling? Feeling good. Feeling good. All right. So you have had an extremely busy summer, Madam Vice President. You visited over 17 states, talking to young leaders across the country about issues that matter. This summer alone, you've visited climate leaders in Colorado, gun safety advocates in Virginia,

and now you've launched this college tour so that we can discuss fundamental freedoms with our young people. Can you tell us why doing this was important to you and why you've embarked on this journey? Well, as a proud HBCU graduate, it was very important for me to start this tour at some of the most distinguished, exceptional higher education institutions in America. And that is why I'm here at A&T.

And let me also say that together with Administrator Regan, you know, we have been traveling our country and I have to tell you, all the young leaders who are here, we are counting on you. We need you. We need your ambition, your aspirations for the future of yourself and your country. I strongly believe that you have already decided to be leaders. That is why you are here at this school. And as you continue in your role of leadership, you are going to make a fundamental and profound difference for the betterment of our entire country and the world.

So I'm here on this tour to remind you of everything that you learn here, which is you stand on the shoulders of extraordinary Americans. You stand in the path of that legacy. They held the baton for the time they had it, and then they passed it to us and to you. And the challenge will be what we do while we carry the baton. And I am here to remind you that what you are doing now and what you will do as the days, months, and years go by will be extraordinary and

a testament to all that we take in terms of the pride of who we are as a nation. So that's why I'm here. And I'm here because I also feel so strongly that you must have the freedom to live your best life. And that means the freedom to make decisions based on having freedom to have access to the ballot when you want to vote, the freedom to make decisions about your own body,

the freedom to love who you want to love, freedom from violence, freedom to have opportunity you want to love, freedom from violence, freedom to have opportunity and access to opportunity, all of that I want for you. And I'm here then to emphasize that you are going to be a part of making all of that real. That's why I'm here. That's why I'm here. A&T, she's bringing that heat.

So Madam Vice President, in the height of the pandemic in 2020, we saw record voter turnout. In 2022, we saw near record voter turnout for young people. And here today, we have the very students who voted in those elections. And we have students here who will vote for the first time in the 2024 elections. So you and the president have done so much. What did the voters get from voting in the last election, and what will they get when they vote in 2024?

So let's start with this. Can I see a show of hands who was able to and did vote in 2020? Wow. All right. Well, let me just tell you something. You elected Joe Biden, president of the United States, and me, vice president of the United States. You did that. You did that.

You did that. You did that. You did that. You elected the first HBCU graduate vice president of the United States. You did that. And so when we talk about voting, there are many ways that you, each of you, will make a difference. And that is one of the very important ways that you have already and will continue to make a difference, by seeing and knowing that your voice is your vote, your vote is your voice.

And so when you went to vote, let's think about that in 2020. That was the height of a pandemic. For so many of you, the freshmen and sophomores in particular, you were probably in high school trying to figure out how you're going to even get your applications into college, how you're going to get your finals done, how you're going to graduate, if you're going to have a graduation. For those who are already in college trying to figure out how you're going to graduate and where you're going to graduate and

where you're going to live and are the dorms going to be open. Our country faced so much hardship during the height of that pandemic, so much loss, loss of life. People lost their jobs, loss of normalcy. And in spite of all of that, you all got out there and stood in line, filled out a ballot, early voted, dropped it in a drop box, and exercised what we learn at HBCUs, which is the importance of self-determination, to make sure you were heard. And as a result, in 2020, we had the highest young voter turnout in history. You all did that.

And Michael, what I like to think about is that folks put in their order. And so they said, for example, our HBCUs, our Centers of Academic Excellence, but for too long have been underfunded. And so pay attention to that. And because you voted, we, Joe Biden and me and our administration, have put over $7 billion into our HBCUs. You all said, I'm going to vote because I know too many of the babies and too many of the communities in our country are drinking toxic water out of lead pipes.

And it is time that is addressed because it is having an impact on their health and learning abilities. And because you voted, we are now in process, to a great deal because of Administrator Regan, in the process of eliminating all lead pipes in America. Because you voted and said during the height of the pandemic, it's not right that some people don't have access to or cannot afford high-speed internet. It is not a luxury. It is a necessity in life. And because you voted, we are now on the path to ensuring all families and individuals will have access and be able to afford high-speed internet. You voted and said, y'all got to deal with these student loans. Because especially we know for HBCU students, we're talking about a majority are on Pell

grants, many are first in the family to go to college, and should be able to study and not have to worry about whether they have to take a job based on their income alone versus what they want to do in terms of their passion. And so we have been reducing payments for student loans, and I'll say to the juniors and the seniors who are here, look up what we're doing. It's called SAVE, S-A-V, it's an acronym that is for the reduction of student loan payments to zero with zero interest if you come out of school making less than $30,000 a year, which for a lot of the types of jobs that are public interest would be in that

salary range. So these are some of the many examples of why when you voted it made a difference because be clear, you vote for something, but you got to also look at like who's on the ballot. And of the people who are on the ballot, who will best represent your needs? And the other thing then you would understand, and we all are experiencing every day out of Washington, D.C., is there are plenty of folks on the ballot who are not representing, necessarily, the needs of the leaders who are in this room. You know, it's surreal when you talk about voting and access.

I voted for the first time right here in this room. I'm a proud graduate of North Carolina A&T, and the voting booths were set up, and I remember how proud I felt casting that ballot. Now there are so many laws that are attacking our right to vote. Like you said, young people came out in record numbers in 2020. A lot of times the big economic forces we hear about on the news show up in our lives in small ways. Three or four days a week, I would buy two cups of banana pudding, but the price has gone up,

so now I only buy one. The demand curve in action, and that's just one of the things we'll be covering on Everybody's Business from Bloomberg Businessweek. I'm Max Chavkin. And I'm Stacey Vanek-Smith. Every Friday, we will be diving into

the biggest stories in business, taking a look at what's going on, why it matters, and how it shows up in our everyday lives. But guests like Business Week editor Brad Stone, sports reporter Randall Williams, and consumer spending expert Amanda Mull will take you inside the boardrooms,

the backrooms, even the signal chats that make our economy tick. Hey, I want to learn about VeChain. I want to buy some blockchain or whatever it is that they're doing. So listen to Everybody's Business on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. I know a lot of cops, and they get asked all the time, have you ever had to shoot your gun? Sometimes the answer is yes. But there's a company dedicated to a future where the answer will always be no.

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

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

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

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

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

And to hear episodes one week early and ad-free with exclusive content, subscribe to Lava for Good Plus on Apple Podcasts. There are so many different bills that are being presented to try to stop that from happening. Can you talk to us a little bit about what we can do to combat those attacks on our right to vote. Terrence, you can be more correct. You know, listen, I- Commercial break. Come to me. Here we go. We're going to go to commercial break. We're going to come back. We're going to play another block of that conversation that took place today at North Carolina A&T, Vice President Kamala Harris.

Later in this hour, we'll talk about this being Suicide Prevention Month with Keisha Dennis, a mental health expert who works with a lot of athletes to really recognize the important issues that they face when it comes to mental health and not to simply just try to play through it. Folks, you're watching Roller Martin Unfiltered right here on the Black Star Network, live from the House of Hope here in Chicago, where shortly McDonald's will kick off their 17th annual Inspiration Gospel Tour. We are here.

We've been here all week. Can't wait for that to happen and show you, beginning next week, a lot of the interviews that we've had. Folks, we'll be right back and roll them out in a moment. On the next Get Wealthy with me, Deborah Owens, America's Wealth Coach, are you working hard and yet your performance doesn't reflect your paycheck? On the next Get Wealthy, you're going to learn some

savvy career moves so that all your efforts actually show up in your bank account. Joining us is the founder of a career network, and she's going to share the three R's of accelerating your financial growth. Here's a tip as well. If you are an individual contributor and you desire to be a leader, do the work where you are now. Because if you do the work where you are now, when you do reach the level, you'll be prepared to stay there.

Right here on Get Wealthy, only on Blackstar Network. All change is not growth. Right. But thoughtful change is real good fertilizer. And that's what has been so beneficial to us. But you also were not afraid of the pivot. Well, I'm a black woman in business.

Come on, I don't care how I dress up. I don't care who I'm speaking with. I don't care what part of the world I am in. I still am a black woman in business. Being afraid of the pivot, being fearful of change is not what got me here. Respectful of change, respectful of pivot, yeah. Fearful, no, uh-uh, no. president biden has delivered for black america more funding for black entrepreneurs millions of

new good paying jobs he's lowering the cost of medications and the cost of living joe biden is delivering for us and that's the facts. Hi, everybody. I'm Kim Cole. Hey, I'm Donnie Simpson. Yo, it's your man, Deon Cole from Black-ish and you're watching Roland Martin Unfiltered. Welcome back to Roller Barton on a Filter. We continue the conversation today. Vice President Kamala Harris and the campus of North Carolina A&T. Traveling this country, I'm fully aware, I do believe there is a national agenda which is about a full-on attack against hard-won, hard-fought freedoms.

So on the freedom to vote, you see laws — first of all, let's also understand back to 2020. One of the highest rates of young people voting. Well, that scared a lot of people. And so, you saw almost immediately thereafter, laws being proposed and passed, like the one in Georgia, that makes it against the law to give somebody food and water if they are standing in line to vote. The hypocrisy abounds because, you know, by the way, what happened to love thy neighbor? Right?

Laws like the ones that Governor Roy Cooper has been fighting against that would divide A&T into separate districts to dilute your power as a group to vote based on your collective interests. We are seeing laws that are being passed that would say that student IDs are not sufficient to prove your identity to vote because when you all vote it scares some folks. But when you vote you have the ability to determine the future of our country in a way that might challenge a lot of people's notions about what is possible and who can possibly do it. And so when we look at these attacks on voting, let's understand that there is an effort to make it more difficult for you to vote so that you don't vote.

Not to mention those who would suggest that, oh, if you voted, it won't make a difference. Or those who would suggest your vote oh, if you voted, it won't make a difference. Or those who would suggest your vote's not going to count. And, you know, they don't want you to vote anyway. And I think it's really power that it's powerful when we understand when people are trying to suppress our vote and make us feel small and to make anybody feel like they don't matter and don't count. And don't fall for it. Don't fall for it.

Because when you all vote in your numbers, so much is going to change about our world. Well, Madam Vice President, you know, you're no stranger to justice. And I believe that this administration has such a strong position on environmental justice because of what you bring to the table. I believe as District Attorney in San Francisco, you established one of the first environmental justice units of any prosecutor in the country. In addition to environmental justice, I think with your leadership, we are making historic investments in climate change to reduce the climate anxiety that so many of our young

people are facing. When you think about environmental justice, when you think about climate change and the climate crisis, what goes through your mind? What are you thinking when people talk and approach you and say, what is this administration doing to address the climate crisis? Well, first, let me again acknowledge your leadership as the administrator of the EPA, because you've been extraordinary, Michael Regan. You've been extraordinary.

And bold, because you know, when you get to Washington, D.C., you find that people are really happy with status quo. They're happy with the way things are and have always been. And it takes a lot of willpower and determination and courage to change things and that's what you've been doing. On the issue of environmental justice, you know, here's the deal. If you look at, for example, the map of our country in terms of where are the regions that have some of the poorest air quality, you would not be surprised to know it is low-income communities and communities of color. In the South, we have a whole span, a strand that we call Cancer Alley.

Because we have so many southern states, in particular on the Gulf and on the coast, that have been the subject of dumping and pollution and the children growing up in these communities breathing toxic air, drinking toxic water. And I believe that first of all we must agree that it should be a right of every child and every person to be able to drink clean water and breathe clean air. But sadly, in far too many communities in our country and in particular communities of color and poor communities, that is not a right that people can take for granted. So the work we have been doing has been about addressing right now the extreme climate changes that we are seeing and

paying attention to equity, paying attention to the fact that when we address it around adaptation and resilience to the hurricanes and the floods, that we recognize these extreme climate occurrences, they affect everybody, but they don't impact everyone equally. And I'm just going to just diverge from this point to make another point. You know, in some states in our country, there are some extremist so-called leaders who are attacking DEI, diversity, equity, and inclusion, who are trying to sell something to suggest that to talk about diversity and equity and inclusion is a bad thing. To suggest that we should not have a commitment to diversity, which is to understand

that when we have people of every background in a position of leadership, the decisions that will come out of that group will be better than if the group does not reflect the diversity of who we are as a nation. People who would suggest on the E, equity, that we should not pay attention to the fact that although we all strive for equality, not everybody starts out on the same base. So when you talk about equality, that suggests sometimes, okay, everyone gets the same amount. But everyone doesn't start out on the same place. So that means if everyone just gets the same amount, they're going to end up with those disparities that they started with.

Inclusion. That we should be purposeful about paying attention to who's not in the room and then figuring out a path and a way that they can enter. And we are seeing extremist so-called leaders who are trying to say it's a bad thing, it's a bad word to talk about DEI diversity and equity and inclusion and I'm telling you the young leaders here this thing is an intentional thing to suggest that we should not pay attention to race, should not pay attention to gender, should not pay attention to where people start out and then make allowances for how they can compete equally.

When we talk about environmental justice, it's an extension of this point. Let's understand this extreme climate affects everybody, but not everybody equally. So we need to put extra resources into poor communities, into communities that historically experienced the worst effects of hurricanes and floods and the climate crisis. And so that's what environmental justice is. It's about, for folks who come from an urban community, knowing what we talk about in terms of, in so many of our cities where there's low-income housing, there are no trees and a lot of concrete. And so as the temperatures start to go up around the globe, that concrete will generate and reflect heat in a way that that community will actually suffer more consequences from this heating planet than communities that

have trees. That's what we talk about when we talk about environmental justice. And it is rooted in the importance of equity and fairness. Well, thank you for that. And I think it's important for the folks out here to know that she speaks dispassionately at a cabinet meeting to the president and to world leaders all across the world. It matters.

Leadership matters. So, thank you for that perspective and representing that perspective. I want to build on it a little bit because we have Terrence, myself, and you, three proud HBCU graduates, sitting on the stage on the campus of North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University, the largest black HBCU in the country. And when we think about the shoulders that we stand on, and all of the people it took to get us here, there are some forces across the country that we stand on, and all of the people it took to get us here. There are some forces across the country that are trying to remove that history from our

schools. And we all saw you down in Jacksonville, Florida. We were cheering you on. When you see those attacks that even go further beyond DEI, environmental justice, and begin to get into our history books to erase the very essence of who we are. What do we do with that? We elect them out of office. Let's start with that.

So, let's just start with something everybody here knows. Black history is American history. Period. And America's full history must be taught. And what, again, let me just back up to say about your generation. You all have been born at a time where in your whole entire life you have known the climate crisis. In your whole life you have known the significance of gun violence. In your lifetime you have seen the Supreme Court take a constitutional right that has been recognized. And in your lifetime there are people that are trying to turn the clock back in such a bold and unapologetic way to suggest that we should not teach America's

full history. My godmother was one of the first people to start a black studies department at a school in California called San Francisco State. And that was back in the 60s. And we now see people who walk around talking about themselves as though they should be considered national leaders. Suggesting that enslaved people benefited from slavery. And what I said when I went down there is do not try to gaslight us as you But this is happening where again elected extremists, so-called leaders, are pushing this agenda. We cannot sit passively by while this happens. You know, there's this story about two frogs and two pots of water.

Okay, so here's how it goes. Two pots of water, two frogs. In the first pot, you drop the frog in the pot of water, and you slowly turn up the heat. And that frog will just kind of hang out, and oh, it's getting a little warm in here. And then the water starts to boil, and that frog perishes. In the second pot of water, you start the water boiling and then you drop the frog in it. That frog jumps out. Let's not be that first frog. Let's not be that first frog. And so the other point that I would make is then they talk about,

well, let's debate the point about whether enslaved people benefited from slavery. Are you kidding me? That is not a debatable point, and we're not falling for the okey-doke. We're not falling for it because there is an attempt, and we have to see what's at play. They're attempting to distract us from what they are not doing and from a lack of true leadership that would also be about trying to unify our country instead of divide our country.

On the point of leadership, you know, HBCUs and all of the extraordinary men and women who came here over the years have taught us something about the attributes of real leaders. The attributes of true leaders are not measured based on who they beat down, but who they lift up. The attribute of a real leader is someone who has some curiosity, concern, and care for the suffering of other people, as opposed to overlooking or belittling people who have suffered. And so when we talk about these attempts to erase our history, let's be alert, conscious,

and active about making sure that folks don't get away with what they're trying to do. Which by the way is the antithesis of what we teach at HBCUs, which is the importance of learning our history, so that those moments where crimes were committed against people and a people, where those atrocities occurred, to make sure they don't happen again. Folks, great conversation there. If you want to see the entire conversation go to our black start network app go to our youtube channel we live streamed it it's all there gonna go to break we come back we're gonna check with my panel about this then and after that we're gonna talk to uh a mental uh health expert uh who is really really trying to get our athletes, professional in college and high school and junior high and other athletes,

to understand that their mental health is just as important as them being in peak physical condition. You're watching. A lot of times the big economic forces we hear about on the news show up in our lives in small ways. Three or four days a week, I would buy two cups of banana pudding. But the price has gone up, so now I only buy one. The demand curve in action. And that's just one of the things we'll be covering on Everybody's Business from Bloomberg Businessweek. I'm Max Chavkin.

And I'm Stacey Vanek-Smith. Every Friday, we will be diving into the biggest stories in business, taking a look at what's going on, why it matters, and how it shows up in our everyday lives. But guests like Business Week editor Brad Stone, sports reporter Randall Williams, and consumer spending expert Amanda Mull will take you inside the boardrooms, the backrooms, even the signal chats that make our economy tick. Hey, I want to learn about VeChain. I want to buy some blockchain or whatever it is. So listen to Everybody's Business on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

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

Heisman Trophy winner. It's just a compassionate choice to allow players all reasonable means to care for themselves. Music stars Marcus King, John Osborne from Brothers Osborne. We have this misunderstanding of what this quote-unquote drug 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. Full of Martin Unfiltered right here on the Black Star Network. When you talk about blackness and what happens in black culture, you're about covering these things that matter to us, speaking to our issues and concerns.

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57196, Washington, D.C., 20037-0196. The Cash App is Dollar Sign RM Unfiltered. PayPal is RM Unfiltered. Venmo is RM Unfiltered. Zelle is Roland at RolandSMartin.com. On the next Get Wealthy with me, Deborah Owens, America's Wealth Coach, are you working hard and yet your performance doesn't reflect your paycheck? On the next Get Wealthy, you're going to learn some savvy career moves so that all your efforts actually show up in your bank account. Joining us is the founder of A Career Network, and she's going to share the three R's of accelerating your financial growth. Here's a tip as well. If you are an individual contributor and you desire to be a leader, do the work where you are now. Because if you do the work where you are an individual contributor and you desire to be a leader, do the work where you are now.

Because if you do the work where you are now, when you do reach the level, you'll be prepared to stay there. Right here on Get Wealthy, only on Black Star Network. Me, Sherri Shebritt. With Tammy Roman. I'm Dr. Robin B., pharmacist and fitness coach. And you're watching Rolandland martin unfiltered kelly mathea uh michael uh as well uh they're on our panel today glad to have both of them here. Kelly, I'll start with you. Here's the thing that's interesting to me. When I listen to a lot of these yahoos, these simple simons out here, especially a lot of these black haters,

they constantly are trashing Vice President Kamala Harris. Oh, she doesn't discuss black stuff. We heard a whole bunch of that here. But see, that's what happens when they aren't paying attention, when they are listening to mainstream media that is not actually covering the vice president in depth. You're absolutely right on that. And to be fair, outside of, you know, VP Harris, you didn't really get a whole lot of media coverage with vice presidents anyway. But the difference here is this is a historic vice presidential pick. She is the first black woman. She is the first woman of color, being that she is biracial. She is the first HBCU graduate. She is the first woman, period, to hold this office.

And it is a disservice to the historical implications and impact of this. And it is a disservice to herself. It is a disservice to this country that we don't have this kind of coverage on mainstream media to the extent that it needs to be. Because like you said, when you don't, you get that BS narrative of she's not doing anything. She doesn't care about Black people. She doesn't have any awareness of Black people's issues, et cetera, et cetera. This is a Black woman. She already innately knows Black issues,

but she's actually a proponent of getting them solved as evidenced by conversations like this. But again, like you said, we don't see that, and that's a problem. But regarding this particular event, I think it's absolutely incredible. Even though she is a historic pick, You didn't see vice presidents before her paying attention to us to this extent. And that is something to be commended and revered. I'm incredibly proud to be an HBCU grad myself.

So I'm beaming with pride on several fronts on this. But she's doing the work and she's putting in the work and it needs to be recognized and it needs to be valued. We saw this week all of these white columnists, Michael, talking about, oh, how Vice President Kamala Harris is a drag on the ticket. Dude, I can't think in my lifetime any vice president or people are going, you know what? I'm not going to quite vote for that person because of who the vice president is. They're voting for that person. And I don't even care about Biden's age. People are still judging the administration really on him. And so I think it's a bunch of BS when you hear these folks talk about, oh, Biden really should replace Kamala

Harris as vice president. That is not going to somehow be, oh, there you go. He got rid of her. Boom. I'm definitely voting for him now. Yeah, Roland, you know, so I saw, I think it was either Wednesday or Thursday on Morning Joe when David Ignatius was on talking about a stop-ed article in The Washington Post entitled President Biden Should Not Run Again in 2024. And in that article, he talked about how Vice President Kamala Harris should not be on the ticket in 2024. He called a lot of backlash. There are people on MSNBC that

disagree with him. I know Recy Colbert did an Instagram video. She cussed him out, basically. She really disagreed with him. So a lot of this deals with misogyny and anti-Black sentiments. That's what this really boils down to. And for the black social media disinformation agents that put out negative things about Vice President Kamala Harris that are not true, I wouldn't even say that they're following mainstream media not covering her. They just don't really follow politics. And the way you know that they don't follow politics is when you go to these sites and platforms and all they do is talk about Democrats, but they can't tell you what Republicans are doing. Those are people who are social media

whores. That's what that is. They don't follow politics. I recognize this game. I can tell. But very quickly here, something that Vice President Kamala Harris talked about is in the reparations recommendations coming is either from California, San Francisco or both because there's overlap. But one of the things they talk about how is inner cities, especially communities that have a high African-American population, suffer from a lack of trees. That's a history of redlining, history of expressways running through our communities. And trees provide shade, they provide cover, and they lower temperatures in those communities. When you have higher temperatures in African- American communities, it causes us to have higher energy costs. It also causes us to have higher rates when it deals with heat-related illnesses and heat-related deaths as well. Okay? So, for instance, people just read the article from the griot.com, Earth Day and Everyday Trees Tell Neighborhood Stories in Black and White.

And also National Public Radio has an article about this as well. This is real. And this deals with the result of policies. And the infrastructure bill, the $1.2 trillion infrastructure bill, one of the things that it's starting to address is starting to repair the damage in African-American communities as a result of the Interstate Highway Acts in 1952 and 1956. Well, I just think that, again, when you see these articles, and then when you start seeing one after the other after another, and it wasn't just David Ignatius, Kelly, when you see these articles, and then when you start seeing one after the other after the other, and it wasn't just David Ignatius, Kelly, it was Josh Barrow, and CNN had him on, and they had the two anchors,

and they had him, and they had Andrew Yang. And I'm sitting here going, y'all can find somebody black? And I love, like, Barrow was so stupid. He's like, well, you know, she doesn't come from a place where traditionally have lots of lots of African-American voters. So therefore, she doesn't have a large black political base. And I see it. You stupid. If Joe Biden even thought about trying to take Kamala Harris off the ticket, he would be D-O-A. The backlash from black people would be vicious, Kelly. And I'm trying to think, who was the last? And y'all know, I mean, I know this stuff at the top of my head. Who was the last vice president that got replaced?

The one I could think about was during the second term of Abraham Lincoln, when he replaced the first vice president with Andrew Johnson. That's the one I could think of. And that didn't end up well. Because Johnson. That didn't turn out well. But the point is. Well, he won.

Yeah, yeah. Yeah, because we. Yeah. No, because when Lincoln got assassinated, we got one of the biggest racists in American history in the Oval Office. But that's what I'm saying, Kelly. If they even attract. You make that move. Oh, my God.

The black backlash would be crazy. That's why these white guys are just dumb. I mean, they need something to talk about. Right. And it's like we were talking about in the last portion of this segment, the something that they can talk about is Kamala Harris herself and what she's done and why she is so impactful and why she needs to stay on the ticket. But that doesn't create media buzz in the way that the negative media does. And that's really what the crux of the issue is here.

I was talking with some colleagues earlier this week regarding, you know, politics and the upcoming elections and even past elections, specifically with Trump. And, you know, politics and the upcoming elections and even past elections, specifically with Trump. And, you know, someone made the point that, you know, Fox News elected Trump and that's how he became president. And I made the argument that Fox News didn't do it. CNN did it. MSNBC did it. You know, these left, relatively left-wing, progressive, you know, left-of-center news outlets did it. Why? Because they didn't harp on the fact of why the Democrats needed to be in office, and they countered with why Trump was so bad. In fact, I would argue that they treated Trump as such a joke that they didn't take the grovement seriously, right? And that's how we got to this space of Democrats in general

not being taken seriously and why we are still talking about Trump to this day in a serious fashion, ironically. If we actually used comms in a way where it uplifted, it informed, and it was pushed well, we would not be in a situation where the best work that the Democrats have done in decades is being buried by a, you know, mafia kingpin with, what, 91 indictment, 91 charges across four jurisdictions? That's crazy. You know, like the fact that we're talking more about that, the fact that we're talking about all of these peripheral issues as opposed to what is really important is the reason why we are in the predicament that we're in as far as why people don't know what's going on. Folks, hold tight one second.

We come back. The importance of mental health. We'll chat with my buddy, Keisha Dennis, next. Right here on Roller Martin Unfiltered on the Black Star Network. It's just not growth. Right. But thoughtful change is real good fertilizer. And that's what has been so beneficial to us.

But you also were not afraid of the kid. Well, I'm a black woman in business. Come on. I don't care how I dress up. I don't care who I'm speaking with. I don't care what part of the world I am in. I still am a black woman in business. Being afraid of the pivot, being fearful of change is not what got me here. Respectful of change. Respectful of pivot. Yeah. Fearful? No. Uh-uh. No. Hatred on the streets. A horrific scene. a white nationalist rally that descended into deadly violence white people are losing their lives

so now we approach from the mob storm to the u.s capital we're about to see the rise of what i call white minority resistance we have seen white folks in this country who simply cannot tolerate black folks voting. I think what we're seeing is the inevitable result of violent denial. This is part of American history. Every time that people of color have made progress, whether real or symbolic, there has been what Carol Anderson at Emory University

calls white rage as a backlash. This is the wrath of the Proud Boys and the Boogaloo Boys. America, there's going to be more of this. There's all the Proud Boys, guys. This country is getting increasingly racist in its behaviors and its attitudes because of the fear of white people. The fear that they're taking our jobs, they're taking our resources, they're taking our women. This is white fear. It's John Murray, the executive producer

of the new Sherry Shepard Talk Show. This is your boy, Herb Quaid. And you're tuned into... Roland Martin, Unfiltered. Just the other day, I was looking at a story and it was a book excerpt of Mark Navarro. Excuse me, Mark Navarro was a Super Bowl winning tight end for the New York. A lot of times the big economic forces we hear about on the news show up in our lives in small ways. Three or four days a week, I would buy two cups of banana pudding.

But the price has gone up, so now I only buy one. The demand curve in action. And that's just one of the things we'll be covering on Everybody's Business from Bloomberg Businessweek. I'm Max Chavkin. And I'm Stacey Vanek-Smith. Every Friday, we will be diving into the biggest stories in business, taking a look at what's going on, why it matters, and how it shows up in our everyday lives. But guests like Businessweek editor Brad Stone,

sports reporter Randall Williams, and consumer spending expert Amanda Mull will take you inside the boardrooms, the backrooms, even the signal chats that make our economy tick. Hey, I want to learn about VeChain. I want to buy some blockchain or whatever it is that they're doing. So listen to Everybody's Business on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

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

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

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

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

NHL enforcer Riley Cote. Marine 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. Giants, and he was talking about the injuries and the pain and all the different things that he has gone through and said that life really wasn't worth it anymore. And then began to seek some help.

What a lot of people don't realize is that for a number of professional athletes, when the cheering stops, when you don't have the accolades and the praise, is a very lonely existence. These are people who literally have received this and felt this, this love and adoration from elementary school, junior high, high school, college, and in the pros. And then they lose the teamwork, if you will. They lose the camaraderie of the locker room. And they literally are now in a place where what they were so used to, where someone really controlled their schedule and they knew exactly what to eat and weight room and all those different things along those lines. And now their world's totally changed.

And this month is Suicide Prevention Month. And we don't think about that a lot. We don't think about what happens with people who commit suicide, especially athletes. The other day I was looking on Instagram, and there was a sister who was a realtor out of Atlanta in Los Angeles, and she had posted about three weeks ago that her mother had passed away. And she then posted this week that she said this has been difficult, but her mother actually took her life. And it's hard for us to talk about these things,

but we really have to because folks endure this. My next guest is a life coach. She is the founder of Elephant in the Room. It is an organization that works with individuals, especially in the area of athletics, to address mental health and wellness. So welcome back to the show. My buddy, Keisha Dennis. Keisha, glad to have you on the show. You have been basically on tour. You were in New York Monday night hanging around with the New York Jets when they came back from that game. Been going to different camps of athletes, visited the Minnesota Vikings. Just share with folks what you're now seeing where more and more professional athletes are talking about mental health and wellness.

And now we're seeing this even trickle down to colleges and high schools. Well, first, thank you so much for having me. It is Suicide Prevention Month, and it also is the start of the NFL season. So we're excited that football is back, but we do have to talk about some of the things that happened during offseason. being incorporated into their camps where they have been spending time with youth, explaining the importance of mental health along with doing some of the physical drills. So I've had a chance to talk with many of the student athletes, collegiate athletes, as well as pro athletes about how they want to continue to incorporate mental health because it's just as important as physical health. Something that we did over the summer, we had a camp with Rob Covington, with the LA Clippers, as well as Sauce Gardner. And in both of those camps,

it was towards the end of the session, we had all the kids come together and really be present and really talk about mental health. And we had the athletes, they wanted to share their stories. And I think more and more as time has gone by, athletes in general, they wanted to share their stories. And I think they're more and more, as time has gone by, athletes in general, they want to share the wisdom and knowledge that they're learning and more about mental health so that they can, the athletes that they're training at the camps today, they're going to be our future Hall of Famers and our future Pro Bowlers. And so it's just as important to shed light on this the younger they are. And for them to be vulnerable enough to talk about it,

what's also now happening is it's forcing these teams and these coaches to now factor these things in. Because so long in athletics, it was like, yo, man up, toughen up. We don't deal with all that sort of stuff and what's interesting is you're now seeing coaches you're now seeing people in the front office have to now acknowledge the realities of depression uh anxiety all these different things that are part of uh that all of them that go under this mental health umbrella? Yeah, absolutely. Most of the teams, they have clinicians that are on site. It's been mandated, especially within the NFL, NBA, and the MLB.

And most of my colleagues and good friends are team clinicians to where they're able to help these players out. And honestly, Roland, what I'm also seeing with the coaches and their staff members' trainings, they are wanting to because it's a team effort. Some of the coaches are dealing with the same pressures, the game days, the plans, injuries. And so I think that we've had so much time where people have spent some time during COVID where they were isolated and players included, and they got a chance to see what the impact had on people just in general, from the coaches to the players, to the team staff. And so everyone is really cognizant about making sure that they check in on the players. Um, uh, maybe a couple of months ago, I had a chance to go out and do a

presentation and speak with, um, the Minnesota Vikings. I teamed up with their team clinician, uh, coach, uh, KO, um, and a couple other people. Um, we were able to talk to the entire team and staff just about mental health, and the feedback was awesome. They were truly engaged, and a lot of them want to know. They want to hear more. They want these experiences more and more. I know somebody watching, they say, well, okay, rolling to my mental health and mental wellness

and the Suicide Prevention Month, but these things actually escalate, and what ends up happening is a lot of people who get to that point, they feel isolated and feel as if there's nobody that they can talk to and share with. And that's also one of the things that you are encouraging these athletes to do. Absolutely. We want them to normalize and talk about mental health and them utilizing their platform. It's not something that is required for work. It's something that they realize is truly important. It's something that they deal with themselves and they decide, you know, as a collective, the more that we can normalize those conversations, the more that we can glamorize those

conversations to where it doesn't feel uncomfortable when you're sharing that you're dealing with something or you're not caught off guard and have that sinking in your stomach when one of your friends or your teammates tell you that they're dealing with something or just educating them on learning some of the signs and symptoms of someone who may present suicide ideations and discussions. And so I think that a lot of the players now, I think now it's becoming more of a topic. It needs to be more of a topic. And it's for the greater good of the entire team and the sports just in general. I know recently I was watching.

Sure. No, no, go ahead, go ahead, go ahead. Oh, no, I was just thinking about, I think I saw something the other day with the U.S. Open. They made it a point to have a panel, and I believe Naomi Osaka was on the panel, along with Michael Phelps, just continuing to have those discussions, continuing to bring out some pivotal points to make sure that people know that they're not alone in this fight and that isolation doesn't mean that, you know, that it's not something that they need to endure on their own. They need to reach out to someone and ask for help. Question from the panel. Michael, you're first.

All right. Yeah, thanks for coming back and sharing this information with us. I was looking at an article by Dr. Jessica Johnson dealing with more focus on suicide awareness for African Americans. And one of the things that it talks about in the article is how African-Americans are more likely to historically turn towards the church when it comes to trying to address mental health, as opposed to seeking a in your research, where do you think that comes from and how can we change that attitude today? A lot of people say, well, I don't need to go to a psychiatrist. I just need Jesus. Right. Um, we hear that so much, especially in many communities. And so, uh, recently I've had the opportunity to partner with a church, Dream Center Church here in Atlanta with Pastor D.

She's amazing, a really close friend of mine. But we were able to sit down and have a discussion about doing the work and having the faith. And so it's important that you have faith and you do go to church and you pray about things. And, you know, you also have to put in the work. You have to do the work, the shadow work. You have to talk about some of the thoughts that you're having, depression, anxiety, anything that may be going on. Because sometimes just praying about it, it's not going to make everything disappear. But I do think that it had a lot to do with our upbringing.

We were always taught not to talk about it, especially at the church. It was like what goes on at home stays at home. And so now we're just trying to break that stigma. And I think it helps if we're able to continue partnering with our spiritual leaders and guidance so that we can work together to create change. All right. Tell them God made psychiatrists. Absolutely. Kelly. Sure. Again, thank you for coming back on the show and raising awareness to this issue. I have, you know, been pretty open on this show and other platforms that I've been on regarding my struggle with mental health

and suicidal ideations that I've had, a large reason why I have gotten better is because it felt like, as a woman, as someone who presents as feminine, it is, I have license to be vulnerable. I have license to seek help.

What I've noticed, specifically, we were talking about athletes, whether you are a man, woman, what have you, is that because of the athletic mentality, you don't feel like you have license to do that, hence the isolation and the like. And the irony being that you don't, like you have license to do that, hence the isolation and the like. And the irony being that you don't, that you're, depending on the sport, you're far from isolated.

So how do you dismantle that notion of isolation within the team environment so that they can get the help that they need? That's a really great question and something that we're also doing at the Elephant in the Room. We've created, it's more of, it's a program. So this year, the organization, we are the NFLPA's Charitable Partner of the Year for Mental Health. And so within this program, we have also, we've been able to work with some collegiate athletes. And I do think that this is going to be the same for some of the professional athletes. But I've been able to create an ecosystem. And I have a group of HBCU student athletes from all over the state of Georgia at different schools.

But being able to create that ecosystem where you have a group of people that are like-minded, share the same likes, and also they're able to be vulnerable during that time that they spend with us. We also provide them with a few free therapy sessions so that whenever we have our meetings, they're able to talk amongst each other and they can really relate. And I do believe that that translates over to the field because I do think that the coaching staff, the team, they have to get together and have more time where they're able to bond and be vulnerable with each other so that they don't feel like they have to isolate themselves, especially when it comes to injuries, because everyone's not OK. It's a really dangerous sport.

Most athletes endure physicality. And so it's important that they rally together and you find a community so that you don't feel isolated and alone in this fight. All right, then. All right. Folks who want more information, where do they go for the elephant in the room? Yes, you can find us. Our website is www.TheElephantInTheRoomInc.org. dot the elephant in the room inc dot org and we are on socials at the elephant in the room inc and you can also text T E I T R to 707070

to support alright Keisha Dennis always a pleasure thank you so very much good to see you thank you guys thanks a bunch folks that's it. Let me thank Kelly, Michael for being on the panel today. Thank you so very much. Folks, we're here at the House of Hope in just a few minutes. Literally, the McDonald's Inspiration Gospel Tour is going

to be kicking off. Unbelievable talent who's there. We're in Chicago tonight. We'll be in Detroit tomorrow, 7 p.m. at the Fox Theater, coming soon to Philadelphia, Atlanta, Jackson, Mississippi, Dallas, Texas. And we can't wait to show you some of the great interviews. We've had some amazing interviews with Sir the Baptist, with the Walls family, Hezekiah Walker, Doe. Boy, wait till y'all see this interview we did with Brie Babineau She is absolutely hilarious And so looking forward to it

If you want to get tickets to future concerts Simply go to blackandpositivelygolden.com You can get the tickets there And so again we're here at the house Hope you're in Chicago Come on by folks and check us out I look forward to spending some time with you That's it, folks.

Appreciate all of you for joining us. Thank you so very much. Don't forget, support us in what we do. Please. I can't. I'm telling you, I'm very transparent with you to understand, to run this network, to run this show, all the shows, the OTT network, all things that we do, it literally is $195,000 a month. Straight up, that's what it is. So your support is absolutely crucial. And so please join our Bring the Funk fan club. Send your check and money.

Order at PO Box 57196. Washington, D.C., 20037-0196. Cash App is Dollar Sign, RM Unfiltered. PayPal, R Martin Unfiltered. Venmo is RM Unfiltered. Zelle is Roland at RolandSMartin.com. Roland at RolandMartinUnfiltered.com. And don't forget, we also want you to download the Black Star Network app,

Apple Phone, Android Phone, Apple TV, Android TV, Roku, Amazon Fire TV, Xbox One, Samsung Smart TV. And, of course, be sure to get a copy of my book, White Fear, How the Browning of America is Making White Folks Lose Their Minds, available at bookstores nationwide. We always appreciate those who support us. We run the names every Friday as a result. And so we appreciate doing so. And so I will see you all on Monday. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. ¶¶ I'm out. Thank you. Thank you. A lot of times, big economic forces show up in our lives in small ways.

Four days a week, I would buy two cups of banana pudding. But the price has gone up, so now I only buy one. Small but important ways. From tech billionaires to the bond market to, yeah, banana pudding. If it's happening in business, our new podcast is on it. I'm Max Chastin. And I'm Stacey Vanek-Smith. So listen to Everybody's Business on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

I know a lot of cops. They get asked all the time, have you ever had to shoot your gun? Sometimes the answer is yes. But there's a company dedicated to a future where the answer will always be no. This is Absolute Season 1, Taser Incorporated. I get right back there and it's bad. Listen to Absolute Season 1, Taser Incorporated on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. I'm Clayton English.

I'm Greg Lott. And this is Season 2 of the War on Drugs podcast. Yes, sir. Last year, a lot of the problems of the drug war. This year, a lot of the biggest names in music and sports. This kind of starts that a little bit, man. We met them at their homes. We met them at their recording studios.

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